About

Adina Merenlender is a Professor of Cooperative Extension in Conservation Science at the Rausser College of Natural Resources. She was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in West Los Angeles, California. She earned her BA in Biology from UC San Diego in 1985, followed by an MS from the same institution in 1986. She completed her PhD in Biology at the University of Rochester in 1993. Her primary research focus is in conservation biology, specifically examining the forces that influence biodiversity loss from genes to ecosystems. Her experience spans from single species management to regional land use planning. Merenlender initiated the UC California Naturalist Program, engaging Californians in environmental stewardship and developing a certification course to prepare UC Climate Stewards for local community and ecosystem resilience efforts. Her research involves mapping, monitoring, and modeling natural resources and human land-use patterns, with a focus on habitat connectivity and climate change resilience of protected area networks and vineyard landscapes in California. She studies wildlife in agricultural matrices, watershed restoration, and sustainable land use, and has recently launched a study on bats in North Coast redwood forests to examine the influence of fog and forest management on bat distribution and behavior, as well as vulnerabilities to White-Nose Syndrome.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Geography
• Environmental science
• Geology
• Forestry
• Physical geography

Selected publications

• Habitat Connectivity and Ecological Corridors for Biodiversity Conservation

  Elsevier eBooks · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The California Naturalist Handbook, Second Edition

  2025-09-30

  bookSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Microclimatic drivers of winter bat activity in coast redwood forests

  Journal of Mammalogy · 2024-07-02 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Bats are among the least well-known mammals, particularly in terms of their behavior and activity patterns during the winter. Here, we use passive acoustic monitoring to overcome some of the challenges inherent in surveying cryptic forest bats during the wet season to quantify overwintering behavior for 11 species in California coast redwood forests under varying microclimates. Because different species are active at different forest heights, we also examined the effect of acoustic detector placement (treetop or ground level). Generalized linear mixed models were used to relate acoustic detection probability for 8 species to daytime and nighttime temperature, relative humidity, water vapor pressure, and detector placement. The results indicate that daytime maximum temperature best explained variation in nightly probability of detection, and temperature threshold at which bats were predicted to be detected varied considerably across species. By using more precise species detection methods, we were able to resolve significant differences in activity patterns between Myotis yumanensis and M. californicus, 2 species with similar acoustic signatures that are often lumped together. Myotis californicus was predicted to have a 50% probability of detection at maximum daytime temperature as low as 12.5 °C, whereas M. yumanensis was not predicted to have 50% detection probability until maximum daytime temperature was at least 22 °C, suggesting that M. californicus spends less time in torpor. Also, monitoring at the top of the canopy revealed 4 migratory species to be present in the ecosystem on significantly more monitoring nights than could be observed using conventional ground-based monitoring methods. Improving winter bat survey methods provides evidence that diverse bat species are more active in redwood forests during the winter than previously documented. This finding suggests that coastal forests could provide important winter bat habitat for both resident and migratory species.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Influence of microclimate and forest management on bat species faced with global change

  Conservation Biology · 2024-03-06 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Climate refugia, areas where climate is expected to remain relatively stable, can offer a near-term safe haven for species sensitive to warming temperatures and drought. Understanding the influence of temperature, moisture, and disturbance on sensitive species is critical during this time of rapid climate change. Coastal habitats can serve as important refugia. Many of these areas consist of working forestlands, and there is a growing recognition that conservation efforts worldwide must consider the habitat value of working lands, in addition to protected areas, to effectively manage large landscapes that support biodiversity. The sensitivity of forest bats to climate and habitat disturbance makes them a useful indicator taxon. We tested how microclimate and forest management influence habitat use for 13 species of insectivorous bats in a large climate refugium in a global biodiversity hotspot. We examined whether bat activity during the summer dry season is greater in forests where coastal fog provides moisture and more stable temperatures across both protected mature stands and those regularly logged. Acoustic monitoring was conducted at a landscape scale with 20 study sites, and generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the influence of habitat variables. Six species were positively associated with warmer nighttime temperature, and 5 species had a negative relationship with humidity or a positive relationship with climatic moisture deficit. Our results suggest that these mammals may have greater climate adaptive capacity than expected, and, for now, that habitat use may be more related to optimal foraging conditions than to avoidance of warming temperatures and drought. We also determined that 12 of the 13 regionally present bat species were regularly detected in commercial timberland stands. Because forest bats are highly mobile, forage over long distances, and frequently change roosts, the stewardship of working forests must be addressed to protect these species.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ecological corridors for which species?

  Therya · 2022-01-30 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Overwhelming evidence points to the importance of maintaining connectivity given rapidly fragmenting habitats and climate change. Many efforts to identify where ecological corridors should be placed are based on estimates of structural connectivity that take advantage of readily available land-cover data. We provide an overview of structural connectivity methodology and review the various limitations of these methods for functional connectivity -- the degree to which corridors facilitate the movement of organisms. These limitations include not accounting for dispersal complexities and specific habitat requirements of focal species, and invisible barriers to movement. Also, to what extent will the resulting corridors serve the most vulnerable species under a rapidly changing climate? We describe several connectivity-modeling approaches designed to be climate-wise. Assessing species for traits that may make them more susceptible to extinction is one way to prioritize which species warrant additional data collection and demographic analyses to improve the likelihood that corridors will function for them. There is substantial evidence that traits such as limited movement or dispersal ability as well as geographic range and habitat restrictions make species more vulnerable. Therefore, we suggest using these traits to guide focal-species selection. Finally, we discuss the importance of employing new technologies to monitor individual movement and species utilization of corridors varying in width and other characteristics to help plan and verify functional connectivity for these species .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Adult Climate Change Education Advances Learning, Self-Efficacy, and Agency for Community-Scale Stewardship

  Sustainability · 2022-02-04 · 29 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Education per se does not necessarily foster positive environmental behaviors; rather, a complex assemblage of influences including social integration, discovering shared values, strengthening environmental identity, self-efficacy, and agency is needed to foster environmental stewardship. We examine the participant outcomes from a new adult climate education and service course, which is delivered by local organizations. The UC Climate Stewards certification course includes relationship building, social-emotional learning, climate science, climate communication, monitoring resilience, and how to take community-scale action. Based on results from ~154 participants, we observed significant improvement in self-efficacy, with confidence to help protect communities increasing from x¯ = 3.59 (3 is neutral) to x¯ 4.32 (4 is agree) (p < 0.00). The importance of doing something or taking action about climate change appears to be a value that was strongly held prior to taking the course and aligns with motivations for becoming a certified Climate Steward; hence, it only slightly increased from (x¯ = 4.25) to (x¯ = 4.57) (p < 0.00). Climate Stewards’ feeling of competency in talking about the subject increased (from x¯ 3.05 before to x¯ = 4.24 after, p < 0.00, N = 111). Finally, we examine the community-scale stewardship taken by the Climate Steward volunteers, from information provided through self-reporting, and explore additional approaches to researching pathways from education to agency.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Climate Stewardship

  2021-09-07 · 1 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  As climate disruption intensifies the world over, Californians are finding solutions across a diversity of communities and landscapes. Though climate change is a global existential threat, we cannot wait for nation-states to solve the problem when there are actions we can take now to protect our own communities. In Climate Stewardship: Taking Collective Action to Protect California , readers are invited on a journey to discover that all life is interconnected and shaped by climate and to learn how communities can help tackle climate change. Climate Stewardship shares stories from everyday people and shows how their actions enhance the resilience of communities and ecosystems across ten distinct bioregions. Climate science that justifies these actions is woven throughout, making it easy to learn about Earth's complex systems. The authors interpret and communicate these stories in a way that is enjoyable, inspiring, and even amusing. California is uniquely positioned to develop and implement novel solutions to widespread climate challenges, owing to the state's remarkable biogeographic diversity and robust public science programs. Produced in collaboration with the UC California Naturalist Program, Climate Stewardship focuses on regenerative approaches to energy, agriculture, and land and water use across forested, agricultural, and urban landscapes. The authors' hopeful and encouraging tone aims to help readers develop a sense that they, too, can act now to make meaningful change in their communities.

  PublisherDOI

• 4. Keeping Forests Green and Snow White

  2021-09-07

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Climate Stewardship

  2021-08-31 · 1 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• 7. Riding the California Current

  2021-09-07

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Sarah E. Reed

  Scottish Association For Marine Science

  20 shared

• Jeff J. Opperman

  18 shared

• Vincent H. Resh

  University of California, Berkeley

  17 shared

• Peter G. Connors

  Stony Brook University

  16 shared

• Leah A. Bêche

  Université Savoie Mont Blanc

  16 shared

• Adena R. Rissman

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  15 shared

• David A. Newburn

  University of Maryland, College Park

  13 shared

• Andrés Muñoz‐Sáez

  University of Chile

  11 shared

Labs

• Adina Merenlender LabPI

Education

• PhD, Biology

  University of Rochester

  1993

• M.S., Ecology and Evol. Biology

  University of California, San Diego

  1986

• B.S., Biology

  University of California, San Diego

  1985

Awards & honors

• President, Society for Conservation Biology 2019-2021
• Conservation planning award - American Planning Association…
• Program of the Year -- Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach…
• Outstanding Extension -- UC Agriculture and Natural Resource…
• California Academy of Science Fellow 2018