Southwest Biological Science Center
Publications
Book review of rattlesnakes of the Grand Canyon, by Schuett, G.W., Smith, C.F., and Ashley, B.
No abstract available.
Nowak, Erika M.; Drost, Charles A. Assessing plant production responses to climate across water-limited regions using Google Earth Engine
(Munson) Climate variability and change acting at broad scales can lead to divergent changes in plant production at local scales. Quantifying how production responds to variation in climate at local scales is essential to understand underlying ecological processes and inform land management decision-making, but has historically been limited in...
Bunting, Erin L.; Munson, Seth M.; Bradford, John Evolutionary history predicts high-impact invasions by herbivorous insects
A long‐standing goal of invasion biology is to identify factors driving highly variable impacts of non‐native species. Although hypotheses exist that emphasize the role of evolutionary history (e.g., enemy release hypothesis & defense‐free space hypothesis), predicting the impact of non‐native herbivorous insects has eluded scientists for over...
Mech, Angela M.; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Marsico, Travis D.; Herms, Daniel A.; Allen, Craig; Ayres, Matthew P.; Gandhi, Kamal J.K.; Gurevitch, Jessica; Havill, Nathan P.; Hufbauer, Ruth A.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Raffa, Kenneth F.; Schulz, Ashley N.; Uden, Daniel R.; Tobin, Patrick C.
Managing sand along the Colorado River to protect cultural sites downstream of Glen Canyon Dam
The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona has greatly reduced the supply of sand to the Colorado River corridor through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, hereafter referred to as Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, respectively. This deficit has strongly affected the natural sediment cycle in this iconic...
Cook, Terri; East, Amy; Fairley, Helen; Sankey, Joel B. Climate-driven shifts in soil temperature and moisture regimes suggest opportunities to enhance assessments of dryland resilience and resistance
Assessing landscape patterns in climate vulnerability, as well as resilience and resistance to drought, disturbance, and invasive species, requires appropriate metrics of relevant environmental conditions. In dryland systems of western North America, soil temperature and moisture regimes have been widely utilized as an indicator of resilience to...
Bradford, John; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Lauenroth, William K.; Palmquist, Kyle A.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Campbell, Steven B. A framework for quantifying resilience to forest disturbance
(Bradford) The concept of ecological resilience is an invaluable tool to assess the risk of state transitions and predict the impact of management on an ecosystem’s response to future disturbances. However, resilience is difficult to quantify and the factors contributing to resilience are often unknown in systems subject to multiple disturbances....
Bryant, Timothy; Waring, Kristen; Sánchez, Meador; Bradford, John B.
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.