Mark your calendar now to visit Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve on Saturday, February 7th from 9 am - 2 pm. This family-friendly day on the marsh is our biggest outreach event of the year. Join us for science talks, learn to construct traditional Kumeyaay tule boats, help clean up the marsh, and connect with local environmental organizations as we celebrate our love of wetlands. 

This event is co-hosted by UC San Diego Natural Reserve System and San Diego Bird Alliance, in partnership with the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the City of San Diego.

Learn more about last year's Love Your Wetland Day at our event website. 

Attention UC undergraduate students: Apply now for the spring quarter of California Ecology and Conservation, offered as a seven week course. Students will live at several of the UC Natural Reserves for the duration of the course, staying in accommodations that range from rustic indoor facilities to tents. The course concludes with presentations of independent research projects. 

Dr. Janet Walker is a coastal community ecologist who received her Ph.D in ecology from a joint doctoral program at San Diego State University and UC Davis. Over the course of multiple years, Walker and co-authors Shelby Rinehart, Wendi White, Edwin Grosholz, and Jeremy Long studied how burrowing crab species like fiddler crabs (Uca crenulata, also called Leptuca crenulata) and striped shore crabs (Pachygrapsus crassipes) affect the way plants grow in salt marshes. The two plant species focused on were Pacific cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) and perennial pickleweed (Sarcocornia pacifica) This research took place in multiple sites, including our very own Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve. Overall, Walker found that burrowing crabs sometimes had positive effects on cordgrass, but had no direct impact on pickleweed. In some places, burrowing crabs actually helped cordgrass grow during times of stress. This was different from predictions. Prior studies indicate that burrowing crabs can be damaging to marsh plants and decrease their growth. This paper is important because it tells us that burrowing crabs might instead play an important role in keeping our marsh ecosystems intact and healthy. Find the full paper here:

Walker, J. B., Rinehart, S. A., White, W. K., Grosholz, E. D., & Long, J. D. (2021). Local and regional variation in effects of burrowing crabs on plant community structure. Ecology, 102(2), e03244.

At first glance, the fly above resembles a stinging bee or wasp, but it is actually a fly in the Syrphidae, or Hoverfly family. This is an example of Batesian mimicry that provides an advantage to the non-stinging fly as potential predators mistake it for an insect that might sting. It was spotted by Roy Little Fellow Javier Garcia on the recent 30x30 tour of the reserves. 

Find the latest on our Calendar of Events

Second and fourth Saturday, 9 - 11 AM
Activities will alternate between guided bird outings, fish seining (counting) and work parties to improve the habitat of Kendall-Frost Marsh. Locations will vary between the dirt lot at the north end of Crown Point Park and the Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve Field Station, 2055 Pacific Beach Drive. This is a partnership project between UC San Diego Natural Reserve System and San Diego Bird Alliance. No pre-registration is required. Find the activity on our calendar of events.