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Publications

Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.

Trying to access a publication? Or looking for a GCMRC/GCES historical report? Reach out to Meredith Hartwell meredith_hartwell@ios.doi.gov with your request.

Filter Total Items: 1538

An integrative ecological drought framework to span plant stress to ecosystem transformation An integrative ecological drought framework to span plant stress to ecosystem transformation

Droughts have increased globally in the twenty-first century and are expected to become more extreme and widespread in the future. Assessments of how drought affects plants and ecosystems lack consistency in scope and methodology, confounding efforts to mechanistically interpret structural and functional impacts and predict future transformations under climate change. To promote...
Authors
Seth M. Munson, John B. Bradford, Kevin R. Hultine

Ecohydrological responses to surface flow across borders: Two decades of changes in vegetation greenness and water use in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta Ecohydrological responses to surface flow across borders: Two decades of changes in vegetation greenness and water use in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta

Hydrological and bioclimatic processes that lead to drought may stress plants and wildlife, restructure plant community type and architecture, increase monotypic stands and bare soils, facilitate the invasion of non‐native plant species and accelerate soil erosion. Our study focuses on the impact of a paucity of Colorado River surface flows from the United States (U.S.) to Mexico. We...
Authors
Pamela L. Nagler, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Christopher J. Jarchow, Marth M. Gómez‐Sapiens, Hamideh Nouri, Stefanie M. Herrmann, Kamel Didan

Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management

Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand...
Authors
Shelley D. Crausbay, Julio L. Betancourt, John B. Bradford, Jennifer M. Cartwright, William C. Dennison, Jason B. Dunham, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, Abby G. Frazier, Kimberly R. Hall, Jeremy S. Littell, Charlie H. Luce, Richard Palmer, Aaron R. Ramirez, Imtiaz Rangwala, Laura Thompson, Brianne M. Walsh, Shawn Carter

The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes

The importance of soil age as an ecosystem driver across biomes remains largely unresolved. By combining a cross-biome global field survey, including data for 32 soil, plant, and microbial properties in 16 soil chronosequences, with a global meta-analysis, we show that soil age is a significant ecosystem driver, but only accounts for a relatively small proportion of the cross-biome...
Authors
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Peter B. Reich, Richard D. Bardgett, David J. Eldridge, Hans Lambers, David A. Wardle, Sasha C. Reed, Cesar Plaza, Guochen K. Png, Sigrid Neuhauser, Asmeret A. Berhe, Stephen C. Hart, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Felipe Bastida, Sebastian R. Abades, Fernando D. Alfaro, Nick A. Cutler, Antonio Gallardo, Laura García-Velázquez, Patrick E. Hayes, Zeng-Yei Hseu, Cecilia A. Perez, Fernanda Santos, Christina Siebe, Pankaj Trivedi, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Luis Weber-Grullon, Mark Williams, Noah Fierer

Wildfire risk and hazardous fuel reduction treatments along the US-Mexico border: A review of the science (1985-2019) Wildfire risk and hazardous fuel reduction treatments along the US-Mexico border: A review of the science (1985-2019)

The ecosystems along the border between the United States and Mexico are at increasing risk to wildfire due to interactions among climate, land-use, and fuel loads. A wide range of fuel treatments have been implemented to mitigate wildfire and its threats to valued resources, yet we have little information about treatment effectiveness. To fill critical knowledge gaps, we reviewed...
Authors
Katherine M. Laushman, Seth M. Munson, Timothy N. Titus

Changes in prey, turbidity, and competition reduce somatic growth and cause the collapse of a fish population Changes in prey, turbidity, and competition reduce somatic growth and cause the collapse of a fish population

Somatic growth exerts strong control on patterns in the abundance of animal populations via effects on maturation, fecundity, and survival rates of juveniles and adults. In this paper, we quantify abiotic and biotic drivers of rainbow trout growth in the Colorado River, AZ, and the resulting impact on spatial and temporal variation in abundance. Inferences are based on approximately 10...
Authors
Josh Korman, Michael D. Yard, Maria C. Dzul, Charles B. Yackulic, Michael J. Dodrill, Bridget R. Deemer, Theodore Kennedy

Nitrogen enrichment reduces nitrogen and phosphorus resorption through changes to species resorption and plant community composition Nitrogen enrichment reduces nitrogen and phosphorus resorption through changes to species resorption and plant community composition

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition has affected plant community composition and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. This includes changes to the way plants use and recycle nutrients, including effects on nutrient resorption, which is a key process through which plants recover nutrients from tissue during senescence. Nutrient resorption has considerable adaptive and...
Authors
Xiao-Tao Lu, Shuang-Li Hou, Sasha C. Reed, Jiang-Xia Yin, Yan-Yu Hu, Hai-Wei Wei, Zhi-Wei Zhang, Guo-Jiao Yang, Zhuo-Yi Liu, Xing-Guo Han

Postfire growth of seeded and planted big sagebrush - Strategic designs for restoring Greater Sage-grouse nesting habitat Postfire growth of seeded and planted big sagebrush - Strategic designs for restoring Greater Sage-grouse nesting habitat

Wildfires change plant community structure and impact wildlife habitat and population dynamics. Recent wildfire‐induced losses of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial losses in habitat for sagebrush‐obligate species such as Greater Sage‐grouse. Managers are considering restoration strategies that...
Authors
David A. Pyke, Robert K. Shriver, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod, Cameron L. Aldridge, Peter S. Coates, Matthew Germino, Julie A. Heinrichs, Mark A. Ricca, Scott E. Shaff

A hybrid approach for predictive soil property mapping using conventional soil survey data A hybrid approach for predictive soil property mapping using conventional soil survey data

Soil property maps are important for land management and earth systems modeling. A new hybrid point-disaggregation predictive soil property mapping strategy improved mapping in the Colorado River Basin, and can be applied to other areas with similar data (e.g. conterminous United States). This new approach increased sample size ~6-fold over past efforts. Random forests related...
Authors
Travis W. Nauman, Michael C. Duniway

Forest density intensifies the importance of snowpack to growth in water-limited pine forests Forest density intensifies the importance of snowpack to growth in water-limited pine forests

Warming climate and resulting declines in seasonal snowpack have been associated with drought stress and tree mortality in seasonally snow‐covered watersheds worldwide. Meanwhile, increasing forest density has further exacerbated drought stress due to intensified tree‐tree competition. Using a uniquely detailed dataset of population‐level forest growth (n=2495 sampled trees), we examined...
Authors
Kelly Erika Gleason, John B. Bradford, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, Brian J. Palik, Michael A. Battaglia

Macroinvertebrate oviposition habitat selectivity and egg-mass desiccation tolerances: Implications for population dynamics in large regulated rivers Macroinvertebrate oviposition habitat selectivity and egg-mass desiccation tolerances: Implications for population dynamics in large regulated rivers

Aquatic insects exhibit complex life cycles that include egg, larval, adult, and, in some instances, pupal stages. Disturbances at any of these life stages can affect overall population dynamics. Yet, efforts to understand the effects of disturbances, such as hydrologic alterations, overwhelmingly focus on the larval life stage of aquatic insects. We evaluated the potential for load...
Authors
Scott W. Miller, Matt Schroer, Jesse R. Fleri, Theodore A. Kennedy

Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management

Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the...
Authors
John B. Bradford, Jake Weltzin, Molly L. McCormick, Jill Baron, Zack Bowen, Sky Bristol, Daren M. Carlisle, Theresa Crimmins, Paul C. Cross, Joe DeVivo, Mike Dietze, Mary Freeman, Jason Goldberg, Mevin Hooten, Leslie Hsu, Karen Jenni, Jennifer L. Keisman, Jonathan G. Kennen, Kathy Lee, David P. Lesmes, Keith A. Loftin, Brian W. Miller, Peter S. Murdoch, Jana Newman, Karen L. Prentice, Imtiaz Rangwala, Jordan Read, Jennifer Sieracki, Helen Sofaer, Steve Thur, Gordon Toevs, Francisco Werner, C. LeAnn White, Timothy White, Mark T. Wiltermuth
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