Creekside Science

Tiburon paintbrush (Castilleja affinis ssp. neglecta) is a perennial forb that is limited to serpentine soils in only a few Bay Area locations.  In its southern-most station, Paintbrush hill, located on Coyote Ridge, the population of this rare plant is slowly declining.  We believe that certain grazers/browsers – namely rabbits – have been impacting the plants as they flower.  We’re testing this hypothesis with a paired experiment using caged and uncaged paintbrush habitat.  We’ll be measuring survivorship, recruitment and fecundity.  What a beautiful place to work.  More to come…