Mission
The Center for the Study of Biodiversity (CSB) serves as the unifying intellectual entity for all CSUN faculty, staff and students engaged in research that furthers our understanding of the causes, importance and protection of biological diversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The CSB's mission is to promote the protection of biological diversity through education, training, expertise, and research in ecology, evolution and systematics. Find recent news about people in the CSB here.
Goals of the CSB
- Promote undergraduate and graduate research and training in ecology, evolution, conservation, and systematics.
- Establish links and partnerships with colleagues, institutions, government agencies, and field stations to enhance scientific exchange for the preservation of biodiversity.
- Serve as a regional resource of scientific expertise for issues on biodiversity in southern California.
- Promote awareness within the Southern California region of the importance of biodiversity and sustainable use of biological resources for the long-term health and well-being of human societies.
Student Research Spotlight
Dawn Bailey's research focuses on the importance of predators on populations of fish within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). She is investigating whether an accumulation of large predatory fish in MPAs causes increased mortality among juveniles, and smaller fishes, and thus alters the size structure of fish communities. Dawn works in the kelp forest communities of southern California (primarily at Catalina Island), focusing on the dominant fish-eating predator, the kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus). Her investigation so far suggests that fish communities inside the MPA are distinguishable from those outside the MPA by the presence of both large predatory species and disproportionately few individuals of small species and size classes. The goal of Dawn's research is to provide a basis for more realistic predictions of how MPAs may affect marine fish communities.(Advisor: Dr. Mark Steele)