My research interests include a broad array of topics in conservation biology which align with management concerns facing my primary place of employment, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park System.  My particular research interests focus on the effects of urban encroachment and habitat fragmentation on vertebrates, including mammalian carnivores, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and birds.  A recent high priority has been understanding potential habitat connectivity needs for bobcats and mountain lions.  Other studies have included research on the ecological requirements of rare plants, identification and evaluation of invasive plant species, including modes of establishment, rate of spread, and ecological impact, and assessments of urban impacts on stream hydrology, exotic species spread, and native amphibian populations.

At the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, I serve as Chief of Planning, Science and Resource Management, and I am also a Senior Science Advisor for the National Park Service, serving other units of the National Park System.  I hold adjunct faculty positions at CSUN and UCLA.  Through my university positions, I can advise graduate and undergraduate students on research projects, including serving on graduate student thesis committees.  I also lead graduate seminars, provide guest lectures, collaborate with university faculty on research projects, submit grant proposals in cooperation with university researchers, and manage cooperative projects between the National Park Service and research institutions.  In my position at CSUN, I have advised several graduate students on projects ranging from studies of reptiles and amphibians to evaluations of bobcat kitten survival.  I encourage you to learn more about the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by visiting our website at http://www.nps.gov/samo.  Specific information about research opportunities is available at http://www.nps.gov/samo/researchlearningcenter/research/smnra.html.

Selected Publications:

Riley, S.P.D., J.P. Pollinger, R.M. Sauvajot, E.C. York, C. Bromley, T.K. Fuller, and R.K. Wayne.  2006.  A southern California freeway is a physical and social barrier to gene flow in carnivores.  Molecular Ecology 15: 1733-1741.

Riley, S.P.D., G.T. Busteed, L.B. Kats, T.L. Vandergon, L.F.S. Lee, R.G. Dagit, J.L. Kerby, R.N. Fisher, and R.M. Sauvajot.  2005.  Effects of urbanization on the distribution and abundance of amphibians and invasive species in southern California.  Conservation Biology 19: 1894-1907.

Farias, V., T.K. Fuller, R.K. Wayne, and R.M. Sauvajot.  2005.  Survival and cause-specific mortality of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in southern California.  Journal of Zoology 266: 249-254.

Ng, S.J., J. Dole, R.M. Sauvajot, S.P.D. Riley, and T. Valone.  2004.  Use of highway undercrossings by wildlife in southern California.  Biological Conservation 114: 499-507.

Riley, S.P.D., R.M. Sauvajot, T.K. Fuller, E.C. York, D.A. Kamradt, and R.K. Wayne.  2003.  Effects of urbanization and habitat fragmentation on bobcats and coyotes in southern California.  Conservation Biology 17: 566-576.

Fedriani, J.M., T.K. Fuller, R.M. Sauvajot, E.C. York.  2000.  Diets of three sympatric carnivores in the Santa Monica Mountains of California: the importance of habitat, human presence and interspecific competition.  Oecologia 125: 258-270.

Sauvajot, R.M., M. Buechner, D. Kamradt, and C. Schonewald.  1998.  Patterns of human disturbance and response by small mammals and birds in chaparral near urban development.  Urban Ecosystems 2: 279-297.

Bolger, D.T., A.C. Alberts, R.M. Sauvajot, P. Potenza, C. McCalvin, D. Tran, S. Mazzoni, and M.E. Soulé.  1997.  Response of rodents to habitat fragmentation in coastal southern California. Ecological Applications 7:552-563.

Buechner, M. and R.M. Sauvajot.  1996.  Conservation and zones of human activity:  the spread of human disturbance across a protected landscape.  Pages 605-629 in R.C. Szaro and D.W. Johnston, editors.  Biodiversity in Managed Landscapes:  Theory and Practice.  Oxford University Press, New York.

Sauvajot, R.M.  1995.  Conservation science in fire-prone natural areas.  Pages 11-19 in J.E. Keeley and T. Scott, editors.  Brushfires in California: Ecology and Resource Management.  International Association of Wildland Fire, Fairfield, Washington.