Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center Staff

Kirsten Dutcher

UC Irvine Desert Reserves Director

Office: 760-767-1010

Email: [email protected]

Directs and implements research, education, and public outreach for the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center and Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve.

Kirsten is a biologist who has lived and worked extensively in desert communities, especially those associated with the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Her research involves identifying the spatial distribution of genetic patterns to uncover the influence of landscape on population connectivity. The primary aim of her work is to answer questions related to the risk of population decline and extinction associated with habitat disturbance in an effort to better inform management decisions. Kirsten is passionate about desert conservation. She also believes strongly in environmental and social commitment, fostering connection to the natural world, increased access to science and scientific tools, and quantitative approaches. She received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Oregon State University, her Master’s in Biology from California State University-Long Beach, and her doctorate in Geography from the University of Nevada-Reno.

Megan Lulow

Manager (UCI Nature Executive Director)

Office: 3021 Biological Sciences III
Cell: 949-500-8754
Email: [email protected]
University of California, Irvine
Mail: 4120 Natural Sciences 2
Irvine CA 92697-1450

Megan began her work with UC Irvine’s UCI-NATURE (UC Irvine’s Networked Assets to Understand the Environment) program when it was initiated in 2016.  The program oversees operations and stewardship for UC Irvine’s field-based assets for research, teaching, and outreach, including the Steele-Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center within the UC Natural Reserve System.  Prior to her work with UCI-NATURE, Megan held multiple positions with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy over a ten-year period, during which the organization tripled in size.  She worked with staff and partners to develop programs and integrate science into their resource management strategy to inform best management practices.  Upon completing her graduate research, she was Assistant Director for two years at the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center, also within the UC Natural Reserve System. Megan has worked extensively on both project implementation and research in the field of restoration ecology in a variety of California ecosystems since 1997.  Her research and methodologies look to leverage natural processes to advance the restoration of ecosystems at scales and in locations that optimize ecological impact and cost efficiency. She received her doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis, with an emphasis in restoration, plant ecology, and plant-soil relations, and her bachelor’s degree with a double major in biology and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  She is broadly interested in ecology and enjoys bringing people together from multiple sectors of society to better understand natural environments and identify solutions to conservation and restoration challenges.

Kailen Andrews Mooney

Faculty Director (UCI Nature)

Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences
Scientist, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Association of Delegates, Organization for Tropical Studies

Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2004, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Research Interests
community ecology, evolutionary ecology, plant-insect interactions
URL Lab website: tritrophic.org
Appointments: Postdoctoral Researcher, Cornell University, Dept. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Anurag A. Agrawal Lab (www.herbivory.com), 2005-2007

Research Abstract
I use manipulative field experiments and to study the interactions between plants, arthropods and insectivorous birds in both ecological and evolutionary contexts. Traits of plants (e.g. defensive chemistry, morphology) influence whole communities of arthropods from the ‘bottom-up’, while predators influence the same communities from the ‘top-down’. These two influences have traditionally been considered separately. Plant defense theory has been bi-trophic in nature, focusing on the pairwise plant-herbivore interaction without explicitly addressing the community context in which the interaction is embedded. At the same time, community ecology has addressed the top-down effects of predators without considering how plant traits affect food web structure.

The goal of my research is to conceptually unite community and evolutionary ecology. To do this, I ask how heritable plant traits influence interaction networks among herbivores, herbivore mutualists, and predators, and in turn how such networks drive the microevolution of plant defense. Methodologically, I model the results of long-term and large-scale field experiments using a combination of quantitative genetic and multivariate statistical techniques. By incorporating complex dynamics into my experiments, I rigorously test theory while simultaneously collecting detailed natural history observations as the basis for refining and pushing forward those same theories.

Publications: https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5484
Contact Information
Phone: (949) 824-7852
Email: [email protected]
University of California, Irvine
3112 Biological Sciences 3
Mail Code: 2525
Irvine, CA 92697