Lara Brenner

Island Ecologist
Terrestrial
[email protected]

Lara is an ecologist on TNC’s California Islands Science Team, providing leadership and support for conservation-oriented research within the scope of the Santa Cruz Island Preserve, as well as the Channel Islands, the California Islands, and islands of the Pacific. Lara’s main areas of research focus include island biosecurity, climate resiliency, threatened and endangered species recovery, and invasive species control. Lara’s goal is to pilot, streamline, and evaluate cutting-edge conservation technologies on TNC’s Santa Cruz Island Preserve for export to islands worldwide. 

Lara has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota, and an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, where she was based in Elizabeth Metcalf’s Human Dimensions of Wildlife Lab and completed a thesis on Human-Cougar Conflict. She has worked as a wildlife biologist and land manager on the California Channel Islands since 2017.

What Lara is working on now:

Lara Brenner is leading and supporting multiple conservation initiatives on Santa Cruz Island, including the eradication of invasive Argentine ants, enhancement of biosecurity practices, refinement and uptake of early detection technology for invasive species prevention, recovery actions for island foxes and spotted skunks, and restoration of overgrazed habitat.


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2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Publications & Reports

Real-time island biosecurity surveillance: evaluating a wireless camera network for AI-assisted early detection of invasive mammals on Santa Cruz Island, CA

Lara J. Brenner, Nathaniel Rindlaub, Juliana Matos, Scott Meyler, Sue Pollock, Falk Schuetzenmeister, Nick D. Holmes

Invasive mammals like rats pose a major threat to island ecosystems and endemic species. This study tests a wireless camera network on Santa Cruz Island that uses AI to detect nonnative mammals in…

2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports

Phylosymbiosis and Elevated Cancer Risk in Genetically Depauperate Channel Island Foxes

Alexandra L. DeCandia, Jasmine Lu, Emily E. Hamblen, Lara J. Brenner, Julie L. King, Calypso N. Gagorik, Juliann T. Schamel, Stacy S. Baker, Francesca J. Ferrara, Melissa Booker, Andrew Bridges, Cesar Carrasco, Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jesús E. Maldonado

Isolated island species may be more susceptible to disease because of their lack of genetic diversity. Santa Catalina Island foxes have the highest rate of cancer ever measured in wildlife - over 50%…

2025 | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports

The wildlife attitude-acceptability framework’s potential to inform human dimensions of wildlife science and practice

Alexander L. Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli Metcalf, Lara J. Brenner, Holly K. Nesbitt, Conor N. Phelan, Michael S. Lewis, Justin A. Gude

The long-term survival of large carnivores like wolves, grizzly bears and mountain lions depends not just on ecological factors like habitat, but also on social factors like human acceptance of their…

2025 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Conservation planning for climate change vulnerability across the islands of the Californias

Lara J. Brenner, Piper D. Wallingford, Nick D. Holmes, John J. Knapp, John M. Randall, Scott A. Morrison

Island ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change, yet planning for these impacts remains challenging due to a lack of available data. This paper reports on a collaborative workshop across…

2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports

The gut microbiomes of Channel Island foxes and island spotted skunks exhibit fine-scale differentiation across host species and island populations

Samantha Pasciullo Boychuck, Lara J. Brenner, Calypso N. Gagorik, Juliann T. Schamel, Stacy Baker, Elton Tran, Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jesús E. Maldonado, Alexandra L. DeCandia

On California’s Channel Islands, two rare carnivores—the island fox and island spotted skunk—have coexisted for millennia despite competing for similar resources. This study explores…

2023 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Ear mite infection restructures otic microbial networks in conservation–reliant Santa Catalina Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis catalinae)

Jasmine Lu, Emily E. Hamblen, Lara J. Brenner, Julie L. King, Bridgett M. VonHoldt, Alexandra L. DeCandia

Over 50% of federally threatened Santa Catalina Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis catalinae) develop life-threatening ceruminous gland tumors in their ear canals. Previous work suggests that tumors may…

2022 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Interspecific Asymmetries in Behavioral Plasticity Drive Seasonal Patterns of Temporal Niche Partitioning in an Island Carnivore Community

Victor Y. Zhang, Calypso N. Gagorik, Lara J. Brenner, Christina L. Boser, Tad C. Theimer, C. Loren Buck

Despite occupying similar niches in a relatively resource-poor environment, island foxes and island spotted skunks have coexisted for years through fine-scale spatial, temporal, and dietary niche…