Shawna Dark

ee-mail: shawna.dark@csun.edu

Personal Web Page

Office: Sierra Hall, Room 130-P
Office phone number: (818) 677-3530
Office hours: Fall 2004

Office Hours	Crs	Class	Course Name	Rm	Day	Time
Tue 4:00-5:00pm	444	17781	Conservation	SH108	MW	1400-1515
Wed 1:00-2:00pm	630D	17785	Ecosystem Studies	SH170	T	1800-2045

Education:

• PhD, 2003, University of California, Los Angeles
•  
• Dissertation: "The Spatial Distribution of Invasive Plants
• at a Local and Regional Scale in California."
•  
• MS, 1996, Humboldt State University
•  
• Thesis: "The Landscape-scale Analysis of Mammalian Carnivore Distribution and Habitat Use by Fisher."
•  
• BA, 1990, University of California, Davis
•  

Courses Taught:

• World Vegetation and Soils
  

• Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  

• Physical Geography

Research Interest

• My current research focuses on biological invasion. More specifically, I have focused my research on identifying the distribution of invasive plant species in California at both a regional and local scale. My primary goal is to identify the current distribution of invasive plants and to predict their potential impact on
• native plant communities. My techniques have focused on the use of field
• data, GIS, remotely sensed imagery, and spatial statistics for modeling
• species distribution. I am also interested in the impacts of non-native
• animals and the spread of diseases. In addition to biological invasion, I also
• have an interest in topics related to conservation biology, environmental
• studies, and spatial analysis. I am particularly interested in looking at issues
• related to the use of GIS/Remote Sensing and spatial analysis with a focus
• on the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (the MAUP) and it's impact on
• biogeographical analysis.

Publications:

Dark, S.J.  Using remote sensing to identify non-native plant species in Coastal Sage Scrub of California. International Journal of Remote Sensing. In Preparation.               

Gillespie T., C. Pattengill-Semmens, B. Semmens, P.C. Fung, and S.J. Dark. 2003. Macroecology and conservation of fish on coral reefs in the Florida Keys. Coral Reefs. In Review.

S.J. Dark, 2003. The distribution of invasive plants in California: An application of spatial regression models. Diversity and Distributions.

S.J. Dark, R. Guitierrez, and G. Gould. 1998. The invasion of Barred Owls (Strix varia) in California: Potential impacts on the Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis). The Auk 115 (1): 50-56.

Presentations:

S.J. Dark. 2003. The distribution of invasive plants in California: An application of GIS and spatial regression analysis. American Association of Geographers 2003 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

S.J. Dark and H. Walter. 2002. Continental approaches to conservation: A refutation of Island Biogeography. American Institute of Biological Sciences, Annual Conference, Poster. Washington, D.C.

S.J. Dark and J.L. Cavalli. 1998. Identification of Electric Vehicle Market Areas for Southern California Edison. GIS Analysis, ESRI Poster, Selected for Distinction. San Diego, CA.