Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Successful eradication of invasive American bullfrogs leads to coextirpation of emerging pathogens
Interventions of the host–pathogen dynamics provide strong tests of relationships, yet they are still rarely applied across multiple populations. After American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) invaded a wildlife refuge where federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs (R. chiricahuensis) were reintroduced 12 years prior, managers launched a landscape-scale eradication effort to help ensure continue
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, David L. Hall, Catherine L. Crawford, Caren S. Goldberg, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Thierry Chambert
Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 2022 Report)
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 and have identified a broad suite of research activities to provid
Authors
Robert Massatti, Daniel E. Winkler, Sasha C. Reed, Michael C. Duniway, Seth M. Munson, John B. Bradford
Storms and pH of dam releases affect downstream phosphorus cycling in an arid regulated river
Reservoirs often bury phosphorus (P), leading to seasonal or persistent reductions in P supply to downstream rivers. Here we ask if observed variation in the chemistry of dam release waters stimulates downstream sediment P release and biological activity in an arid, oligotrophic system, the Colorado River below Lake Powell, Arizona, USA. We use bottle incubations to simulate a range of observed pH
Authors
Bridget Deemer, Robin H. Reibold, Anna Fatta, Jessica R. Corman, Charles Yackulic, Sasha C. Reed
Connecting dryland fine-fuel assessments to wildfire exposure and natural resource values at risk
BackgroundWildland fire in arid and semi-arid (dryland) regions can intensify when climatic, biophysical, and land-use factors increase fuel load and continuity. To inform wildland fire management under these conditions, we developed high-resolution (10-m) estimates of fine fuel across the Altar Valley in southern Arizona, USA, which spans dryland, grass-dominated ecosystems that are administered
Authors
Adam Gerhard Wells, Seth M. Munson, Miguel L. Villarreal, Steven E. Sesnie, Katherine M. Laushman
Models of underlying autotrophic biomass dynamics fit to daily river ecosystem productivity estimates improve understanding of ecosystem disturbance and resilience
Directly observing autotrophic biomass at ecologically relevant frequencies is difficult in many ecosystems, hampering our ability to predict productivity through time. Since disturbances can impart distinct reductions in river productivity through time by modifying underlying standing stocks of biomass, mechanistic models fit to productivity time series can infer underlying biomass dynamics. We i
Authors
Joanna R. Blaszczak, Charles Yackulic, Robert K. Shriver, Jr. Hall
The Colorado River water crisis: Its origin and the future
During much of the 21st century, natural runoff in the Colorado River basin has declined, while consumption has remained relatively constant, leading to historically low reservoir storage. Between January 2000 and April 2023, the amount of water stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, declined by 33.5 million acre feet (41.3 billion cubic meters). As o
Authors
John C. Schmidt, Charles Yackulic, Eric Kuhn
Establishing big sagebrush seedlings on the Colorado Plateau
Factors such as soil type and precipitation vary across rangeland landscapes, and these factors affect restoration outcomes and ultimately mean that “one size fits all” management strategies are not effective across large, complex landscapes. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a foundational rangeland species that is important to wildlife habitat across the western U.S. On the Colorado Platea
Authors
Kari E. Veblen, Eric Thacker, Mark Larese-Casanova, Kyle C. Nehring, Michael C. Duniway, Colby C. Brungard
Synergistic soil, land use, and climate influences on wind erosion on the Colorado Plateau: Implications for management
Two decades of drought in the southwestern USA are spurring concerns about increases in wind erosion, dust emissions, and associated impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, human health, and water supply. Different avenues of investigation into primary drivers of wind erosion and dust have yielded mixed results depending on the spatial and temporal sensitivity of the evidence. We monitored passive aeo
Authors
Travis W. Nauman, Seth M. Munson, Saroj Dhital, Nicholas P. Webb, Michael C. Duniway
Where can managers effectively resist climate-driven ecological transformation in pinyon-juniper woodlands of the US Southwest?
Pinyon–juniper (PJ) woodlands are an important component of dryland ecosystems across the US West and are potentially susceptible to ecological transformation. However, predicting woodland futures is complicated by species-specific strategies for persisting and reproducing under drought conditions, uncertainty in future climate, and limitations to inferring demographic rates from forest inventory
Authors
Adam Roy Noel, Robert K. Shriver, Shelley D. Crausbay, John B. Bradford
Linking ecosystem processes to consumer growth rates: Gross primary productivity as a driver of freshwater fish somatic growth in a resource-limited river
Individual growth can exert strong controls on population dynamics and be constrained by resource acquisition rates. Difficulty in accurately quantifying resource availability over large spatial extents and at high temporal frequency often limits attempts to understand the extent that resources limit individual growth. Daily estimates of stream metabolism, including gross primary productivity (GPP
Authors
Lindsay Erika Hansen, Charles Yackulic, Brett G. Dickson, Bridget Deemer, Rebecca J. Best
Estimating northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) pair detection probabilities based on call-back surveys associated with long-term mark-recapture studies, 1993–2018
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina; hereinafter NSO) was listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 and population declines have continued since that listing. Given the species’ protected status, any proposed activities on Federal lands that might impact NSO require consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and part of that consultation often includes
Authors
Katie M. Dugger, Alan B. Franklin, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, J. David Wiens, Gary C. White, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Charles B. Yackulic, Carl J. Schwarz, Steven H. Ackers, L. Steven Andrews, Larissa L. Bailey, Robin Bown, Jesse Burgher, Kenneth P. Burnham, Peter C. Carlson, Tara Chestnut, Mary M Conner, Krista E. Dilione, Eric D. Forsman, Scott A. Gremel, Keith A. Hamm, Dale R. Herter, J. Mark Higley, Rob B. Horn, Julianna M Jenkins, William L. Kendall, David W Lamphear, Christopher McCafferty, Trent L. McDonald, Janice A Reid, Jeremy T. Rockweit, David C. Simon, Stan G Sovern, James K. Swingle, Heather Wise
Recreation use values for water-based recreation
Outdoor recreation is an important and growing activity worldwide. Water-based outdoor recreation is a subset that includes various activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. While a large portion of water-based recreation is either free or provided at administratively set minimal entrance fees, these activities still involve significant economic value in aggregate. Because many water-base
Authors
John B. Loomis, Lucas Bair