Per CCR 249.3, this job control may be used to fill subsequent vacancies.
Under the general administrative direction of the Environmental Program Manager I, the Senior Plant Taxonomist is responsible for providing timely and accurate identification of plants of real or potential agricultural and environmental significance, providing expert scientific consultation, keeping abreast of scientific advancements and participating in scientific meetings, and conducting original scientific research in botany and plant taxonomy. The duties include, but not limited to:
• Examine and identify plant specimens including plant parts and propagules submitted to the laboratory by CDFA border inspection stations, various CDFA Programs, County Commissioners, Universities, and other state/federal/county agencies for the purpose of identifying new invasive species to California’s agriculture and native environment, including plants unknown to be present in California and of known or unknown pest significance using morphological and molecular-based techniques.
• Serve as a scientific information resource for the CDFA, the County Departments of Agriculture, USDA, and other stakeholders of the Department by providing scientific botanical information that factors into the scientific evaluation of a plant’s potential or significance as an agricultural or environmental pest, and as a result, for the enforcement of quarantine regulations of the Food and Agricultural Code.
• Perform taxonomic research, to resolve critical identification and nomenclatural problems of foreign or domestic weed pests to prevent accidental introduction of certain plants into California or the underestimation of their potential as a pest because of misidentification or confusion of their identity with closely related species.
• Provide timely information on plant identification and biology, including scientific and taxonomic information, weedy/invasive characteristics, geographic distribution, and its known or potential impact to the environment and agriculture to clients and agencies to prevent inadvertent introduction or spread of invasive plant pests.
• Maintain a database of CDA herbarium on the CDFA internal network. Oversee and ensure the accuracy of data entered in the CDA herbarium database as well as the Department’s Pest and Damage Records (PDR) database.
• Oversee and ensure the accuracy of CDFA herbarium data entered into the California Consortium database to ensure a high degree of accuracy, while maintaining confidentiality in the data that becomes accessible to CDFA and other botanists who identify weeds of significance to California Agriculture.
• Working independently, the Senior Plant Taxonomist designs and implements a research program that results in improved diagnostic capabilities in the Botany Laboratory, including the use of molecular tools for plant identification at the DNA level.
Candidates may perform these essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.
The incumbent works in the Botany laboratory of the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center (PPDC) at the CDFA Meadowview complex, Sacramento. The lab consists of two offices and one science laboratory which contain specialized scientific equipment such as microscopes. The extensive botanical herbarium houses plant specimens from all 58 California Counties. Individual labs are equipped with built-in standing height counter and sink with eyewash, wall-mounted bookshelves, and assorted tables and desks to accommodate microscopes and other magnification equipment, fiber optic lights and computers.
The PPDC also houses four other scientific laboratories (Entomology, Nematology, Plant Pathology, and Seed Botany). Safety features include emergency showers and first aid kits in every hallway, and eyewash stations and fire extinguishers in every room. Shared facilities among all five labs include conference rooms, special project rooms, a multi-room DNA laboratory (with standard equipment and supplies including ultra-low freezers, micro-pipettors, thermocyclers, gel documentation system, transilluminators, etc.), an electron microscopy suite (SEM and TEM), a macrophotography station, a literature reference library, a packing and receiving area, and various freezers and refrigerators, and several storage and cold storage rooms.
PPDB is located near public light rail transportation and offers free parking.
