Follow

• 

  Sociobiology of Loyola Marymount University's Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Reproductive Group

  Melissa Morado and Caitlin Shafer

  As urbanization increases, nesting habitat for avian predators will likely become limited and may cause them to be unsuccessful in exploiting urban areas. Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are common synanthropic, top-order predators that appear to thrive in urban environments. The Loyola Marymount University campus presents optimal nesting habitat due to tall trees and built other anthropogenic structures. Anecdotal reports indicate that a single breeding group has nested on the LMU campus for the past eight breeding seasons (years). Remote video monitoring of the nest began in 2015, and indicates continual usage of the area for several purposes including use of these areas for hunting and territorial defense. In addition, observations of raptor soaring behavior were taken throughout the 2016 fall season at the LMU bluff. Several behaviors observed included reproductive behavior, soaring on the bluff, migratory patterns and interspecific and intraspecific interactions. This study suggests further investigation in usage of updrafts in different species of raptors and can contribute to landscape planning and how urbanization affects flight, avian behavior, migratory patterns, courtship behavior, and nest site preference.

• 

  The Value of Urban Parklands: A Park User Study of the Baldwin Hills

  Jorge Gamboa, Nelson Hunter-Valls, E. Eberts, Dr. P. Auger, Dr. M. Romolini, and Dr. E. Strauss

  The preservation and conservation of public open spaces are essential in urban settings as they promote the growth and sustainability of local communities and surrounding environments. The Baldwin Hills Conservancy manages the Baldwin Hills Parks System, and aims to promote recreation, restoration and protection of urban parks. In order to inform significant improvements to the parks system, a longitudinal study of the attitudes and behaviors of park visitors is being conducted. As part of the CURes (Center for Urban Resilience)/ TBF (The Bay Foundation) internship program, numerous LMU students administered a visitor survey over the course of 4 study seasons. This poster summarizes the survey findings from season 3, from June through September 2016. A total of 501 hours were spent in the park allowing for 416 surveys collected and 150 counts completed. Preliminary analyses on this data show several interesting findings, including a decrease in the number of users walking or cycling to the park throughout seasons, an increase in refusal rates by season, and evidence of a diverse user population. Future efforts consist of fully analyzing the collected data, and applying this study to public green spaces in Los Angeles as well as internationally.

• 

  Community Gardens and Environmental Justice in the LA Area: A Comparative Analysis

  Ann Eme

  In the realm of environmental studies, researchers in urban ecology have been able to find that urban vegetation and green space produce beneficial outcomes. Community gardens specifically have also been known to promote healthy relationships with local communities, promote mental wellness, and promote youth empowerment through civic action. By engaging members in their environment in both a holistic and remediating way, community gardening can be a form of environmental justice in urban communities, and particularly in communities of color, which have been known to receive unequal environmental benefits and protection.

• 

  Hummingbird Responses to Predator Decoys

  Michael Gloudeman, Erich Eberts, Peter Auger, and Eric Strauss

  Hummingbirds act as important plant pollinators. In an urban environment, artificial feeders have become an important food resource. 1 Without artificial feeders, hummingbirds would be forced to move around to different flower locations to find nectar and thus be less predictable to a predator. However, as feeders provide consistent food, hummingbirds often habitually return to the same feeder. This provides a unique opportunity to predators. If hummingbirds are not able to properly identify or respond to threats near a feeder, they are likely more susceptible to predation. This may significantly affect hummingbird demographics in urban areas and/or apply selective pressure towards behaviors that minimize predation. In this study, various predators and threats are presented at established feeder sites using both artificial predator decoys and vocalizations, then analyzed and interpreted. This investigation aims to develop a better understanding of the broader impacts of artificial hummingbird feeders within the urban environment.

• 

  Social and Biological Interactions of the Culver City Rain Garden

  Emily Simso

  As climate change progresses, cities are looking for sustainable strategies to address its impacts. Urban ecology has emerged in recent decades as a field that looks at how humans interact with their environment (Pickett et al, 2008), marking a shift towards viewing cities as social-ecological systems versus seeing a city as a closed ecosystem (Wu, 2014). Urban greening projects are increasingly relevant as cities reconsider planning and development to accommodate climate change impacts as well as citizens’ needs. Cities are both a primary cause of environment degradation and a source of innovative solutions (Urban Ecology History); specifically, Los Angeles has been growing its urban ecology programs since April, 2015 (Sustainable City pLAn). Urban greening projects form a city’s “green infrastructure,” and not only provide environmental benefits, such as temperature decreases, but are positively linked to community building and civic engagement, as well (Bowler et al, 2010, Westphal, 2003, Beatley, 2011). Therefore, urban green spaces provide the opportunity for local social cohesion, while simultaneously addressing a global phenomenon. While there are many forms of green infrastructure, this study looked at the Ballona Creek rain garden. Rain gardens help neighborhoods with storm water runoff, biodiversity, and groundwater recharge, as well as direct citizen engagement and education (Church, 2014). Therefore, the goal of this study was to analyze the perceptions and knowledge of residents surrounding the Ballona Creek rain garden to see if there are correlations between green spaces and wellbeing

• 

  The Value of Urban Parklands: A User Study of the Baldwin Hills Park System

  Stephanie Kim and Edward Hustleby

  Urban parklands are well-documented as critical resources that provide users with extensive benefits and protect open spaces and natural habitat. The Baldwin Hills (BH) urban park system serves residents of Culver City, Los Angeles, Inglewood, local unincorporated counties, and the Larger Los Angeles County, as well as tourists and visitors from other parts of the region. This poster represents the pilot phase of an impending 2-year comprehensive survey of BH park user experiences that aims to inform improvements to quality of urban recreational spaces. The pilot study focused on 6 heavily used parks/ riverways within the BH system. Ten undergraduate research assistants (URAs) were trained according to LMU’s Institutional Review Board policies for human subjects research. URAs visited each park and conducted user surveys that included the following: frequency of park use, demographics, park activity engagement, park accessibility, and health/ disposition. URAs also conducted strategic counts of the number of park visitors. A total of 8 visitor counts and 236 surveys were conducted. This study yielded numerous recommendations on how to improve local urban parks, such as: extending the park grounds to surrounding neighborhoods, adding public transit stops nearer to the parks, installing educational exhibits around the sites to increase environmental awareness, etc. Future efforts will be focused on expanding the scope and scale of the survey assessments and narrowing down the questions to more user- specific topics.