Research interests: (1) Biogeography and range boundaries – what are the
limiting processes? (2) Ecology, distribution, and biodiversity of chaparral
and desert scrub bird species in California – what are the effects of climate
change, fire, and habitat fragmentation? (3) Breeding versus wintering ecology
of neotropical migrants – how do factors in the wintering environment affect
the ecology of the breeding season, and vice versa? (4) Status and habitat requirements
of the Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior).
My dissertation research examines how breeding distributions of bird species
shift along an arid elevation gradient undergoing rapid climate change. I am
comparing current distribution data to historical data collected 25 and 100 years
ago along the gradient between the Colorado Desert and Peninsular Ranges in southern
California. Within this large-scale distribution context, I am also testing for
differences in breeding performance at distribution margins. My research is supported
by several funding sources, including: the Biological Impacts of Climate Change
in California Research Grant from PIEREA California Energy Commission and PRBO
Conservation Science, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the
California Desert Research Fund from The Community Foundation, the Mildred E.
Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant from the UC Natural Reserve System, the
Mewaldt-King Student Research Award from the Cooper Ornithological Society, and
the Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award from the Los Angeles Audubon
Society.
PUBLICATIONS:
Haas, W. E. and L. Hargrove. 2003. A solution to leg band injuries in Willow Flycatchers. Studies in Avian Biology 26: 180-184.
Hargrove, L. and M. G. Simpson. 2003. Ultrastructure of heterocolpate pollen in Cryptantha (Boraginaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 164: 137-151.
Allen, M. F., J. T. Rotenberry, C. W. Barrows, V. M. Rorive, R. D. Cox, L.
Hargrove, D. Hutchinson, and K. Fleming. 2005. Coachella Valley Multiple Species
Habitat Conservation Plan Monitoring Program: 2002-2005 Progress Report. Center
for Conservation Biology. http://repositories.cdlib.org/ccb/CCB2005b
Winter, K. and L. Hargrove. 2004. Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior). In The Coastal
Scrub and Chaparral Bird Conservation Plan: a strategy for protecting and managing
coastal scrub and chaparral habitats and associated birds in California. California
Partners in Flight. http://www.prbo.org/calpif/htmldocs/scrub.html