Fort Ord Natural Reserve

Located on part of the former Fort Ord Army Base, Fort Ord Natural Reserve supports excellent examples of maritime chaparral endemic to the Monterey Bay region. Research at Ford Ord includes: Baseline studies: Status of HMP-listed species; preliminary surveys of birds, legless lizards, coast horned lizards, ants, and habitat-use patterns, and Conservation biology: Distribution and genetic studies of the black and silver forms of the California legless lizard; survey of coast horned lizards; survey of native ants and invasive Argentine ants; research on the demographics and community ecology of sand gilia, Monterey spineflower and shrubs of the maritime chaparral; the role of change in ant biodiversity on seed dispersal; comparative genetic and morphological analysis of different and gilia populations.