The fundamental concerns of a Habitat Conservation Plan are the species at risk. In order to effectively plan for the long-term conservation of each species and its habitat, biologists and planners must have knowledge of the biology and natural history of the species as well as ecological processes serving that community of organisms. This includes information such as:

• habitat requirements
• physiology including food preferences, water and nutrient requirements, etc.
• demography, population and social organization
• breeding biology
• susceptibility to disease, predation, and other biotic interactions
• vulnerability to environmental change
• geographic distribution
• genetic variability

Research field data on the above topics, increase our understanding of the intrinsic biology of the species in question, their habitat, and the ecological processes that provide suitable conditions necessary to maintain self-sustaining populations. These data are collected through research or monitoring projects established by Center scientists. Examples of current research that are contributing to our knowledge about certain species at risk include:

• At-sea distribution of seabirds and marine mammals in Southern California Bight
• Changing landscape affect and population size assessment on Tule White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons gambelli) in Southern Oregon and Northern California - a Vulnerable Population
• Coastal Ecosystems: Foraging Ecology and Environmental Contaminants in Migratory Birds in the San Francisco Bay Estuary
• Coastal Sage Scrub Monitoring at Cabrillo National Monument
• Desert Tortoise Ecology Studies for Habitat Conservation Planning in Clark County, Nevada
• Distribution and population assessment of the yellow-billed cuckoo
• Effects of Livestock Grazing on a Community of Species at Risk of Extinction in the San Joaquin Valley, California
• An Evaluation of Shorebird Movements, Foraging Behaviors, and Juvenile Survival on Mitigation Ponds in San Joaquin Valley
• INATURES-- Science support for wetland restoration in the Napa/Sonoma salt ponds, San Francisco Bay Estuary
• Metapopulation Dynamics of Tidewater Gobies
• Movements and distribution of green-winged teal during winter in the San Joaquin Valley
• Population Status and Conservation of the Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata)
• Population Surveys and Preliminary Contaminant Anaysis of Birds on the Salton Sea
• San Francisco Bay Estuary Wetland Restoration
• Satellite Tracking of Northern Pintails: Spring Migration Routes, Staging Areas, Nesting Regions, and Postnesting Dispersal Relative to Prairie Habitat Conditions
• Technical Support for the Washington County, Utah, Habitat Conservation Plan
• Trend and Power Analysis of Long-term Vegetation Monitoring Data, Channel Islands National Park
• Waterfowl migration, staging and wintering patterns in the Klamath Basin of California and Oregon