Southwest Biological Science Center
Publications
Effects of water temperature, turbidity, and rainbow trout on humpback chub population dynamics
Humpback chub (Gila cypha Miller 1946), found only in the Colorado River Basin, was one of the first species to be given full protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Habitat alterations, such as changes in flow and water temperature caused by dams, and the introduction of nonnative fish have contributed to population declines in...
Frederick, Phil; Yackulic, Charles; Hull, Julia B.
An evaluation of sedatives for use in transport of juvenile endangered fishes in plastic bags
Trucks and aircraft typically transport rare or endangered fishes in large unsealed tanks containing large volumes of water (typically hundreds of liters) during conservation efforts. Ornamental fishes, however, are commonly sent by mail in small sealed plastic bags filled with oxygen, minimal water, and a small amount of sedative to reduce weight...
Tennant, Laura A.; Vaage, Ben M.; Ward, David L. Local, temporal trajectories explain population-level responses to climate change in saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
Population demography is typically assumed to be strongly influenced by climatic factors, particularly with succulent plants and cacti. The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is a long‐lived columnar cactus of the Sonoran Desert that experiences episodic recruitment and mortality. Previous studies have attributed long‐term changes in saguaro...
Rodríguez-Buriticá, Susana; Winkler, Daniel E.; Webb, Robert H.; Venable, Lawrence Case study: Thomas Fire
No abstract available.
Kreitler, Jason R.; East, Amy E.; Sankey, Joel B.; Tague, Christina (Naomi)
The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center—Sound science to serve the American Southwest
Home to Arches, Grand Canyon, and Saguaro National Parks, among others, the American Southwest’s landscapes are as fragile as they are iconic. Energy development, water security, and grassland restoration are important to the region as it experiences population growth and increased demand for resources. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Southwest...
Biological Science Center Staff, Southwest Earlier plant growth helps compensate for reduced carbon fixation after 13 years of warming
1. Drylands play a dominant role in global carbon cycling and are particularly vulnerable to increasing temperatures, but our understanding of how dryland ecosystems will respond to climatic change remains notably poor. Considering that the area of drylands is projected to increase 11–23% by 2100, understanding the impacts of warming on the...
Winkler, Daniel E.; Grossiord, Charlotte; Belnap, Jayne; Howell, Armin J.; Ferrenberg, Scott; Smith, Hilda J.; Reed, Sasha C. Mapping research on hydropower and sustainability in the Brazilian Amazon: Advances, gaps in knowledge and future directions
In the last twenty years, multiple large and small hydroelectric dams have begun to transform the Amazonian region, spawning a growing volume of academic research across diverse disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields. In this article, we offer a critical review of recent research related to hydropower and sustainability with a focus on the...
Athayde, Simone; Matthews, Mason; Bohlman, Stephanie; Brasil, Walterlina; Doria, Carolina RC; Dutka-Gianelli, Jynessa; Fearnside, Philip M.; Loiselle, Bette; Marques, Elineide E; Melis, Theodore; Millikan, Brent; Moretto, Evandro M.; Oliver-Smith, Anthony; Rossete, Amintas; Vacca, Raffaele; Kaplan, David Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 18 Report)
Introduction A primary focus of the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program (CPNPP) is to identify and develop appropriate native plant materials (NPMs) for current and future restoration projects. Multiple efforts have characterized the myriad challenges inherent in providing appropriate seed resources to enable effective, widespread restoration...
Massatti, Robert; Winkler, Daniel; Reed, Sasha; Duniway, Michael; Munson, Seth; Bradford, John Soil texture and precipitation seasonality influence plant community structure in North American temperate shrub steppe
In drylands, the coexistence of grasses and woody plants has been attributed to soil‐water resource partitioning. Soil texture and precipitation seasonality can influence the amount and distribution of water in the soil, and their interaction may play an important role in determining the relative importance of grasses and woody plants. We...
Renne, Rachel R.; Bradford, John B.; Burke, Ingrid C.; Lauenroth, William K. Biocrust science and global change
Global environmental changes such as climate and land‐use change affect ecosystems worldwide, and this New Phytologist Virtual Issue brings together fundamental research questions and novel approaches associated with the study of biological soil crusts in the context of such shifts. In a changing world, organisms can display a limited set of...
Reed, Sasha C.; Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Ferrenberg, Scott Safety in numbers: Cost-effective endangered species management for viable populations
We develop a bioeconomic model to identify the cost-effective control of an invasive species (rain-bow trout) to achieve a population viability goal for an endangered species (humpback chub) in the Grand Canyon of the U.S. southwest. The population viability optimization problem is no-toriously difficult to solve due to a probabilistic restriction...
Donovan, Pierce; Bair, Lucas S.; Yackulic, Charles B.; Springborn, Michael R. Digital mapping of ecological land units using a nationally scalable modeling framework
Ecological site descriptions (ESDs) and associated state-and-transition models (STMs) provide a nationally consistent classification and information system for defining ecological land units for management applications in the United States. Current spatial representations of ESDs, however, occur via soil mapping and are therefore confined to the...
Maynard, Jonathan J.; Nauman, Travis W.; Salley, Shawn W.; Bestelmeyer, Brandon T.; Duniway, Michael C.; Talbot, Curtis J.; Brown, Joel R.