Sagebrush Ecosystems

The Northern Great Plains of North America are a region of profound global importance because organisms that live in these semi-arid prairie environments have developed a unique ability to live through conditions of extreme heat, cold, floods, and drought. Prairie streams are essential components of these ecosystems because they provide critical “green lines” of habitat for both aquatic and...

Streams in the Northern Great Plains provide critical “green lines” of habitat for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. However, changes in water quantity associated with global climate change may transform some prairie streams from essential refuges to habitats no longer capable of supporting fishes. Although studies have examined climate change effects on larger river basins across the United...

We work with a diverse collection of other researchers and resource managers, at local to national and international levels, to address ways in which herbivory and grazing systems interact with the broader ecosystems in which they occur. We investigate whether long-term weather patterns may interact synergistically to affect how soils, vegetation, and other animals respond to grazing or browsing...

We work with a diverse collection of researchers, resource managers, and conservation practitioners to address the “how” and “why” questions that underlie species-and ecosystem-level responses to long-term weather patterns. Although it is more challenging, this level of more-mechanistic understanding is critical for informing climate-adaptation actions and strategies. We use a diversity of study...

Weather and climate impact terrestrial wildlife habitat through their influences on plant productivity. Plant phenology – the timing of life-history events such as green-up, flowering and senescence – provides one indicator of the timing and magnitude of productivity. Changes and variability in plant phenology in space and time are indicators of habitat quality, which is a driver of fitness for...

These are Geneva Chong's past projects.