Biology Professor Wins Research Grant
William O. Wirtz, professor of biology at Pomona College, has received $10,000 from the U.S. Forest Service to study how brush fires affect potentially endangered Southern California birds.
He will attempt to determine a fire’s impact by counting the number of birds that continue to live and reproduce in a burned-out area. Species to be observed include the California gnatcatcher, sage sparrow, rufous-crowned sparrow and cactus wren.
The study will be done in the coastal sage scrub near Camp Pendleton and western Riverside County.
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