UC DAVIS
Division of Environmental Studies


Susan Harrison
Professor
Davis Campus Director, UC Natural Reserve System
See www.ice.ucdavis.edu/nrs and ucop.nrs.edu

Office: 3128 Wickson
Phone: (530) 752-7110
Fax: (530) 752-3350
Email:spharrison@ucdavis.edu Mailing Address: Environmental Studies, 2132 Wickson Hall, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
Education:

Ph.D., Biology, 1989, Stanford University
M.S., Ecology, 1986, University of California, Davis
B.S., Zoology, 1983, University of California, Davis

Research:

Susan Harrison's fields of interest include plant ecology, invasion biology, and conservation. Her major area of emphasis is spatial ecology, which examines the influence of heterogeneous environments on populations, communities, and patterns of diversity. One current research project is on how the diversity of the endemic-rich plant communities on California's serpentine outcrops is shaped by the patchiness and heterogeneity of the environment. Another research effort concerns exotic species invasion and native species survival in Californian grasslands, with emphasis on the interacting roles of fire, grazing, roads, and soil variation.

Selected Publications:

Harrison, S., H. D. Safford, J. B. Grace, J. H. Viers and K. F. Davies, 2006.  Regional and local species richness in an insular environment: serpentine plants in California. Ecological Monographs 76: 41-56.

Harrison, S., K. F. Davies, J. B. Grace, H. D. Safford, and J. H. Viers 2006.  Exotic invasion in a diversity hotspot: disentangling the direct and indirect relationships of exotic cover to  native richness in the Californian serpentine flora. Ecology 87: 695-703.

Harrison, S., K. F. Davies, H. D. Safford, and  J. H. Viers 2006.  Beta diversity and the scale-dependence of the productivity-diversity relationship: a test in the Californian serpentine flora. Journal of Ecology 94: 110-117

Harrison, S. and  J. H. Viers, 2006. Serpentine Grasslands.  In:  Ecology and Management of California Grasslands. M.R. Stromberg, C. d’Antonio and J. Corbin, eds.  Island Press.

Freestone, A. L. and S. Harrison 2006. Regional enrichment of local assemblages is robust to variation in local productivity, abiotic gradients, and heterogeneity. Ecology Letters (in press).

Gelbard, J. L. and S. Harrison, 2005. Invasibility of roadless grasslands: an experimental study of          yellow starthistle. Ecological Applications (in press).

Davies, K. F., P. Chesson, S. Harrison, B. D. Inouye, B. A. Melbourne, and K. J. Rice, 2005. Spatial heterogeneity explains the scale dependence of the native-exotic diversity relationship.  Ecology 86: 1602-1610. 

Safford, H. D. and  S. Harrison, 2004. Fire effects on plant diversity in serpentine versus sandstone chaparral. Ecology 85: 539-548.

Harrison, S., B. D. Inouye and H. D. Safford, 2003. Ecological heterogeneity in the effects of grazing and fire on grassland diversity. Conservation Biology 17: 837-845.

Gelbard, J. L. and S. Harrison, 2003.  Roadless habitats as refuges for native plant diversity in California grassland landscapes.  Ecological Applications 13: 404-415.


Teaching:

ESP 127. Plant Conservation Biology. (no description yet).

ECOLOGY 208. Conservation Biology 4 Units, Offered Winter Quarter. Lecture: 3 hours; Discussion: 1 hour. This is the core course in conservation biology for the graduate curriculum in Ecology. It introduces graduate students to the role and future directions of research in conservation biology. Hence the course emphasizes the reading and discussion of current primary literature. Specific topics are roughly equally divided between single-species (e.g. population viability) and multi-species (e.g. reserve design and ecosystem management) approaches. PREREQUISITES: An advanced introductory ecology course, such as ENT 106, EST 100, EVE 101, PLB 117. Familiarity with basic concepts of population dynamics and population genetics, as well as calculus and linear algebra will be assumed. ECL 200 A/B or 204/205 recommended. The course is open to all graduate students who meet the above requirements, and to undergraduates who meet the requirements subject to the instructor's permission. TEXT USED: No textbook is required. Readings will be assigned from the primary literature. Supplementary reading lists will also be distributed. MODE OF GRADING: Letter grades are assigned. Students will be required to write 2 essays from a choice of topics. Essays are graded on a decimal system. TOPICAL OUTLINE: An outline for a typical year includes:
Genetics of small populations
Dynamics of small populations
Habitat fragmentation and populations
Reserve design
Ecosystem management
Environmental laws and policies

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