A long track record

The $38,000 awarded this year comes from the Kenneth S. Norris Endowment Fund for the California Environment, provided to the NRS by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Since its inception in 1988, the Mathias Grant program has awarded a total of $906,444 to 486 students.

Most of this year’s award recipients will study aspects of ecology. These include an analysis of how forest thinning affects tree and plant communities; an investigation of how native fungal pathogens shape maritime chaparral communities; and how honeybees spread disease among other Southern California pollinators.
 

Making the most of the NRS

Multiple studies will examine the unexpected affects of a changing climate. These projects include experiments into whether ocean acidification is harming the ability of marine snails to escape predation; whether drought reduces the degree of adaptive variation in wild populations; and how climate variability affects the gray-crowned rosy finch, the highest-elevation breeding bird in North America.

Many projects are also being conducted at multiple NRS reserves. These take advantage of the natural environmental gradient the NRS forms across California, from the coast to alpine mountaintops and from rainy northern forests to southern deserts. Among these is a study of how genetics affect vulnerability and virulence among the chytrid fungus devastating amphibians in California and beyond. The study will sample frogs at nine reserves ranging from Angelo Coast Range Reserve in Mendocino to Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve near Los Angeles.

Projects on other topics include a study testing mechanisms responsible for geological uplift and subsidence near Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center; an examination of the role of organic nitrogen in grassland soil stability at Sedgwick and Angelo reserves; and a biomedical investigation into the effects of high altitude on inflammation at White Mountain Research Center.

Preparing for a career in science

The Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant program gives students experience applying for and managing research grants, and reporting on their research progress—invaluable skills for a career in science. The program also encourages students to establish studies on reserves that can become the foundation of their research careers.

Receiving a Mathias Grant signals to other scientists and institutions that a researcher's work is serious and worthy of funding. Early career support by a Mathias Grant has advanced the professional success of dozens of students over the years.

Aiding UC graduate students

The Mathias Grant competition is open to UC graduate students who submit a proposal for research to be conducted at one or more NRS reserves. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applications are evaluated based on academic merit. Students at an early stage of their careers and in underrepresented fields of study receive preference.

All award recipients are invited to present their findings at the Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant Symposium. Held every three years, the symposium enables students to meet peers, interact with leading field researchers, and discuss career options. The next symposium will be held in 2022 at Bodega Marine Reserve.