To the untrained eye, CSUDH could be viewed as a somewhat nondescript stretch of the urban landscape. But to biology professor Karina Sanchez and her team of student researchers, the wildlife on campus tell a much different story.
Sanchez’s research examines how animals respond to urban environments, focusing on behavior, communication, and the ecological impact of city life. Sanchez arrived at CSUDH last summer from the University of New Hampshire, where she completed her postdoctoral work on natural resources and the environment while also being named a Diversity and Innovation Scholar. She was inspired by the university’s mission and excited to explore the various creatures that call Dominguez Hills home.
Take a species of bird called the killdeer, for example. Killdeer are known to engage in a behavior referred to as “broken wing display”—an evolutionary adaptation in which they will feign injury as a way of redirecting predators away from their nests.
“Nobody has studied these birds in urban spaces—killdeer in particular, because they’re shore birds, supposed to be on the shore, but they’re not, they’re everywhere,” Sanchez told The Bulletin. “There’s very little information about them, so we’re really excited about that project that’s kicking off. We have cameras on them, like, 24/7.”
Sanchez said she wants to learn as much as possible about the animals on campus, especially because she had never studied California’s wildlife before coming to CSUDH. Sanchez added that she and her team went “full out” last year, recording various populations.
“We did bird surveys where we are systematically counting all the birds that we see and hear along the transect on campus,” Sanchez said. “We’re using that data to compare it to data that was collected earlier, about a decade ago, to see what’s changing on campus with the avian population.”
Sanchez said urban environments impact wildlife in several ways; The two largest sensory pollutants affecting local bird populations are light and noise.
“They may stay up later, continue to eat later, and feed their young later because they think it’s still daytime, but that means they’re not getting sleep,” Sanchez explained. “Noise pollution is another sensory pollutant—constant stimuli that causes stress and has been shown to increase stress in these birds.”
Collecting all of that research was far from easy. CJ Pasos, a third-year ecology and environmental biology major, has been working with Sanchez since last fall.
“You work on the animal’s schedule,” Pasos told The Bulletin. “You don’t really control what they do, and that’s part of it, right? Like, you’re studying wildlife in their natural habitat. Nature is complex—you’re not always going to get what you want.”
Sanchez’s research also explores how social inequalities shape urban ecosystems and how these factors influence the way city dwellers view and interact with wildlife.
Fewer green spaces and increased urban development have also impacted animal behavior. The effects of redlining policies that existed before the Fair Housing Act of 1968 are still felt today. People living in those neighborhoods, Sanchez said, experience much higher levels of noise pollution.
“When you build parks in areas that people don’t want to invest in, they’re often concrete parks,” Sanchez said. “Versus if it’s a place that can get more money to build a park, it’s going to be nice and green, tons of trees, and that’s where wildlife want to be.”
If people are only exposed to animals such as rats, pigeons, and raccoons, Sanchez continued, they are more likely to develop an indifferent attitude toward wildlife.
“That’s not fair to those people in those neighborhoods,” Sanchez said. “One thing that we’re doing in our lab is continuing to study wildlife across those historical racial practices to see what we can change today to improve the habitat for wildlife, and hopefully improve people’s relationship with wildlife too.”
Brianna Baeza, a first-year graduate student majoring in biology, is another member of Sanchez’s research team. She emphasized the importance of green spaces in neighborhoods that have historically lacked them—specifically with regard to mental health.
“We have this mentality of ‘go, go, go’ within generations and within the communities we grew up in, and we forget that we deserve to have the privilege to take a break and enjoy some time at the park—to enjoy nature,” Baeza said.
To further strengthen the connection between wildlife and people, Sanchez hopes to create a natural history museum at CSUDH. The museum would be used primarily for research and teaching and would allow students to gain hands-on experience with wildlife that has died recently.
“Having a place where you could visibly see research happening, especially if it’s going to be open to other students, is a great way to engage the general public,” Pasos said. “I mean, that’s how I got interested in wildlife. So the fact that I’ll be starting something like that here is really cool.”
While enrolled at UC Riverside, Baeza saw firsthand the impact of a museum on campus. When it comes to understanding local wildlife, Baeza said sometimes seeing is believing. She said it may be difficult for people to “care about things you don’t know about.”
“For me, sometimes you can speak to me, and I promise you I’m paying attention—but it takes a while for it to click. But if I can see it, it makes that connection, and I’ll remember it,” Baeza explained. “I think having that access to hands-on learning or hands-on visualization will help bridge that connection even stronger within students.”
Sanchez hopes to instill a greater respect for nature in all of the students she teaches and works with.
“My number one goal is for people to leave any of my classes with a better appreciation for nature. Especially since I was not a kid who grew up going outside,” she said. “I didn’t love nature, and I wish I had that as a kid or even as a first-year college student.”
Sanchez added that fostering a greater appreciation for wildlife is a good starting point, but advocacy is just as important.
“There is life all around us, and we get a say in that. Once you learn how to appreciate nature and wildlife, you care about it. And hopefully that means you take it to the polls, right? And you vote for legislation that’s going to protect that nature. But it all starts with appreciation.”