Kathryn McEachern
Biography
Dr. Kathryn McEachern began her career in the open pit coal mines of Pacific Power and Light in Wyoming and Montana. There she designed long-term vegetation monitoring programs, directed topsoil salvage operations, and designed and tested native plant seed mixes for habitat reclamation. Her interest in ecosystem restoration led her to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she participated in the restoration ecology group, and helped design a new Conservation Biology Master’s program. In 1988, she began working with the National Park Service in the Great Lakes region on conservation of coastal ecosystems. She began long-term studies of a threatened dune thistle in one of the habitats she loves best: coastal dunes. Her research interests led her to the California south coast, where she continues to study rare plants and vegetation. Her particular interests are in the study of how the vegetation forms the context for rare plant persistence, as seen through long-term demographic patterns in the rare plants of the California Channel Islands. To look at this question, she is tracking the native and alien plant communities of the islands along with a suite of rare native plants that inhabit these communities. She guides the Prototype Vegetation Monitoring Program at Channel Islands National Park, and assists other agencies with plant community and rare plant monitoring program design.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 1992
- B.S., Botany, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 1979
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Chaparral Ecology
- Coastal Sage Ecology
- Community ecology
- Conservation biology
- Ecological monitoring
- Geographic Information Systems
- Invasive species ecology
- Landscape ecology
- Landscape patterns
- Plant ecology
- Pop. viab. models
- Population biology
- Restoration ecology
- Species/Population management
- Weed management
PROFESSIONAL AND HONORARY SOCIETIES AND SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES
- California Native Plant Society
- International Association for Vegetation Science
- Society for Conservation Biology
- The Ecological Society of America
Science and Products
Drivers of Ecosystem Recovery on Santa Rosa Island
The Channel Islands were used as ranches for almost 150 years. Sheep, cattle, pigs and other livestock grazed on native perennial scrub, leaving behind barren landscapes that could not collect moisture from coastal fog. In time, ranching ended and livestock were removed. WERC’s Dr. Kathryn McEachern is monitoring habitat recovery and testing the efficacy of restoration practices on the islands...
Developing Monitoring Programs for Damaged Ecosystems
California’s Channel Islands are recovering from a long history of ranching. As the island ecosystems respond to the absence of livestock, WERC’s Dr. Kathryn McEachern is working with the National Park Service to test new monitoring programs that could help ecologists and biologists study recovering environments across the West.
Restoring Rare Plants on Public Lands
Ecosystems throughout the U.S. face threats from invasive species and rapid changes to the environment. Dr. Kathryn McEachern is studying the long-term effects of invasive plants and animals, and environmental change on the survival and recovery of rare plants across the 18 California Islands and in the Great Lakes.
Channel Islands Field Station
Eight islands make up the California Islands archipelago in the United States, extending from Point Conception to the U.S. border with Mexico. The archipelago extends even farther south off the coastline of Baja Sur, Mexico, adding another 10 islands to the chain. WERC’s Channel Islands Field Station is the site of key research on endangered plants, invasive species, and conservation projects...
Sea-cliff bedstraw (Galium buxifolium) patterns and trends, 2005–14, on Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands, Channel Islands National Park, California
Sea-cliff bedstraw (Galium buxifolium [Rubiaceae]) is a delicate dioecious subshrub endemic to Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands, in the northern California Channel Islands. It was listed as endangered in 1997 under the Federal Endangered Species Act, threatened by soil loss, habitat alteration, and herbivory from more than a century of ranching...
McEachern, Kathryn; Chess, Katherine A.; Flagg, Karen; Niessen, Kenneth G.
Effects of life history and reproduction on recruitment time lags in reintroductions of rare plants
Reintroductions are important components of conservation and recovery programs for rare plant species, but their long‐term success rates are poorly understood. Previous reviews of plant reintroductions focused on short‐term (e.g., ≤3 years) survival and flowering of founder individuals rather than on benchmarks of intergenerational persistence,...
Albrecht, Matthew A.; Osazuwa-Peters, Oyomoare L.; Maschinski, Joyce; Bell, Timothy J.; Bowles, Marlin L.; Brumback, William E.; Duquesnel, Janice; Kunz, Michael; Lange, Jimmy; McCue, Kimberlie A.; McEachern, Kathryn; Murray, Sheila; Olwell, Peggy; Pavlovic, Noel B.; Peterson, Cheryl L.; Possley, Jennifer; Randall, John L.; Wright, Samuel J. Informing our successors: What botanical information for Santa Cruz Island will researchers and conservation managers in the century ahead need the most?
Climate changes are predicted to drive changes in plant species composition and vegetation cover around the world. Preserved specimens and other botanical information that we gather today—a period future practitioners may look back on as an early stage of modern anthropogenic climate change—will be of value to conservation managers and...
Randall, John M.; McEachern, Kathryn; Knapp, John; Power, Paula; Junak, Steve; Gill, Kristina; Knapp, Denise; Guilliams, Matt Regeneration and expansion of Quercus tomentella (island oak) groves on Santa Rosa Island
Quercus tomentella (island oak) is an endemic species that plays a key functional role in Channel Island ecosystems. Growing in groves on highland ridges, Q. tomentella captures fog and increases water inputs, stabilizes soils, and provides habitat for flora and fauna. This cloud forest system has been impacted by a long history of...
Woolsey, Jay; Hanna, Cause; McEachern, Kathryn; Anderson, Sean; Hartman, Brett D. Oak habitat recovery on California's largest islands: Scenarios for the role of corvid seed dispersal
Seed dispersal by birds is central to the passive restoration of many tree communities. Reintroduction of extinct seed dispersers can therefore restore degraded forests and woodlands. To test this, we constructed a spatially explicit simulation model, parameterized with field data, to consider the effect of different seed dispersal scenarios on...
Pesendorfer, Mario B.; Baker, Christopher M.; Stringer, Martin; McDonald-Madden, Eve; Bode, Michael; McEachern, Kathryn; Morrison, Scott A.; Sillett, T. Scott Population-specific life histories contribute to metapopulation viability
Restoration efforts can be improved by understanding how variations in life-history traits occur within populations of the same species living in different environments. This can be done by first understanding the demographic responses of natural occurring populations. Population viability analysis continues to be useful to species management and...
Halsey, Samniqueka J.; Bell, Timothy J.; McEachern, Kathryn; Pavlovic, Noel B. Terrestrial vegetation monitoring protocol for the Mediterranean Coast Network—Cabrillo National Monument, Channel Islands National Park, and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: Standard Operating Procedures, Version 1.0
These Standard Operating Procedures are one part of a two-part protocol for monitoring terrestrial vegetation in the Mediterranean Coast Network. The second part of the protocol is the narrative:Tiszler, J., D. Rodriguez, K. Lombardo, T. Sagar, L. Aguilar, L. Lee, T. Handley, K. McEachern, L. Starcevich, M. Witter, T. Philippi, and S. Ostermann-...
Tiszler, John; Rodriguez, Dirk; Lombardo, Keith; Sagar, Tarja; Aguilar, Luis; Lee, Lena; Handley, Timothy; McEachern, Kathryn; Harrod Starcevich, Leigh Ann; Witter, Marti; Philippi, Tom; Ostermann-Kelm, Stacey Spatial and temporal patterns of cloud cover and fog inundation in coastal California: Ecological implications
The presence of low-lying stratocumulus clouds and fog has been known to modify biophysical and ecological properties in coastal California where forests are frequently shaded by low-lying clouds or immersed in fog during otherwise warm and dry summer months. Summer fog and stratus can ameliorate summer drought stress and enhance soil water...
Rastogi, Bharat; Williams, A. Park; Fischer, Douglas T.; Iacobellis, Sam F.; McEachern, Kathryn; Carvalho, Leila; Jones, Charles Leslie; Baguskas, Sara A.; Still, Christopher J. Managed island ecosystems
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for California’s remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem type—its distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state...
McEachern, Kathryn; Atwater, Tanya; Collins, Paul W.; Faulkner, Kate R.; Richards, Daniel V. Comparison of reintroduction and enhancement effects on metapopulation viability
Metapopulation viability depends upon a balance of extinction and colonization of local habitats by a species. Mechanisms that can affect this balance include physical characteristics related to natural processes (e.g. succession) as well as anthropogenic actions. Plant restorations can help to produce favorable metapopulation dynamics and...
Halsey, Samniqueka J; Bell, Timothy J.; McEachern, Kathryn; Pavlovic, Noel B. Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use and...
Rick, Torben C.; Sillett, T. Scott; Ghalambor, Cameron K.; Hofman, Courtney A.; Ralls, Katherine; Anderson, R. Scott; Boser, Christina L.; Braje, Todd J.; Cayan, Daniel R.; Chesser, R. Terry; Collins, Paul W.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Faulkner, Kate R.; Fleischer, Robert C.; Funk, W. Chris; Galipeau, Russell; Huston, Ann; King, Julie; Laughrin, Lyndal L.; Maldonado, Jesus; McEachern, Kathryn; Muhs, Daniel R.; Newsome, Seth D.; Reeder-Myers, Leslie; Still, Christopher; Morrison, Scott A. First report of fasciation in Pitcher's Thistle, Cirsium pitcheri (Asteraceae)
We document the first reported occurrence of fasciation in the federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle, Cirsium pitcheri (Asteraceae). In 2013, we discovered two adult plants of Pitcher’s thistle out of a total of 176 plants at West Beach, near Miller, Indiana, USA, that exhibited both normal and fasciated growth. Unlike plants with...
Pavlovic, Noel B.; Korte, Megan K; McEachern, Kathryn; Grundel, Ralph
Channel Islands: Island Bush-Mallow
“Endangered” may sometimes seem like a vague term, but it is an unfortunately suited description for the Island Bush-Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus). This endangered flower is now only known from four locations in the world, all on Santa Cruz Island, part of the remote and hauntingly gorgeous Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Los Angeles.
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Channel Islands: Ranching on Santa Rosa Island
Remnants of former ranching enterprises, feral horses can still be found on Santa Rosa Island, part of the remote and hauntingly gorgeous Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Los Angeles. This small herd is just one of the many biological and cultural legacies of human habitation that National Park Service managers and USGS scientists have to keep in mind when
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Channel Islands: Harnessing Fog on Santa Rosa Island
The familiar marine fog of Southern California’s coasts evokes more than just beauty and emotion — it also brings life. At the remote and hauntingly gorgeous Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Los Angeles, USGS scientists are helping the National Park Service understand how the loss of native plants has changed the natural water cycle of these islands.
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Channel Islands: Invasive Species
Imagine being a fragile seedling pushing through the earth and reaching for the sun — but constantly being smothered by strange grasses growing faster and taller than you are. That is the plight of the Island Phacelia (Phacelia insularis var. insularis), a tiny flower found only on Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands, part of the remote and hauntingly gorgeous Channel
..."Fog and Wind" - Cloud Forests of Santa Rosa Island
Fog and wind are ever present on Santa Rosa Island -- one of the Channel Islands offshore of Los Angeles and southern California. Fog condenses on twigs and leaves of island woodland plants, dripping and soaking into the ground. These "cloud forests" harvest the fog and provide critical water for wildlife and the ecosystem.
But grazing in decades past nearly
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 1
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 6
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 5
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 4
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 3
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...Changing Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island — Part 2
Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center scientist Kathryn McEachern and musician/videographer Trey Demmond worked with Channel Islands National
...
It Takes Collaboration!
Cloud Forest restoration gallery exhibit on display at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.