Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Filter Total Items: 1538
A need for speed in Bayesian population models: A practical guide to marginalizing and recovering discrete latent states A need for speed in Bayesian population models: A practical guide to marginalizing and recovering discrete latent states
Bayesian population models can be exceedingly slow due, in part, to the choice to simulate discrete latent states. Here, we discuss an alternative approach to discrete latent states, marginalization, that forms the basis of maximum likelihood population models and is much faster. Our manuscript has two goals: 1) to introduce readers unfamiliar with marginalization to the concept and...
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic, Michael J. Dodrill, Maria C. Dzul, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Janice A. Reid
Co-producing knowledge: The Integrated Ecosystem Model for resource management in Arctic Alaska Co-producing knowledge: The Integrated Ecosystem Model for resource management in Arctic Alaska
Assessments of climate-change effects on ecosystem processes and services in high-latitude regions are hindered by a lack of decision-support tools capable of forecasting possible future landscapes. We describe a collaborative effort to develop and apply the Integrated Ecosystem Model (IEM) for Alaska and northwestern Canada to explore how climate change influences interactions among...
Authors
Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Kristin Timm, Amy L. Breen, Stephen T. Gray, T. Scott Rupp, Philip Martin, Joel H. Reynolds, Amanda Sesser, Karen Murphy, Jeremy S. Littell, Alec Bennett, W. Robert Bolton, Tobey Carman, Helene Genet, Brad Griffith, Tom Kurkowski, Mark J. Lara, Sergei Marchenko, Dmitry Nicolsky, Panda Santosh, Vladimir Romanovsky, Ruth Rutter, Colin Tucker, A. David McGuire
Practices of biological soil crust rehabilitation in China: Experiences and challenges Practices of biological soil crust rehabilitation in China: Experiences and challenges
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a central component of dryland ecosystems. However, they are highly vulnerable to disturbance and natural recovery may be slow. Therefore, finding ways to enhance the reestablishment of biocrusts after disturbance has been of great interest to researchers. This article provides a review of the laboratory cultivation and field inoculations of...
Authors
Xiaobing Zhou, Yunge Zhao, Jayne Belnap, Bingchang Zhang, Chongfeng Bu, Yuanming Zhang
Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate‐informed seed transfer guidelines Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate‐informed seed transfer guidelines
Restoration guidelines increasingly recognize the importance of genetic attributes in translocating native plant materials (NPMs). However, when species‐specific genetic information is unavailable, seed transfer guidelines use climate‐informed seed transfer zones (CSTZs) as an approximation. While CSTZs may improve how NPMs are developed and/or matched to restoration sites, they overlook...
Authors
Robert Massatti, Robert K. Shriver, Daniel E. Winkler, Bryce A. Richardson, John B. Bradford
Bridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States Bridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States
The field of landscape ecology has grown and matured in recent decades, but incorporating landscape science into land management decisions remains challenging. Many lands in the western United States are federally owned and managed for multiple uses, including recreation, conservation, and energy development. We argue for stronger integration of landscape science into the management of...
Authors
Sarah K. Carter, David S. Pilliod, Travis S. Haby, Karen L. Prentice, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Zachary H. Bowen, John B. Bradford, Samuel A. Cushman, Joseph C. DeVivo, Michael C. Duniway, Ryan S. Hathaway, Lisa Nelson, Courtney A. Schultz, Rudy Schuster, E. Jamie Trammell, Jake Weltzin
What's in the hump of the humpback chub? What's in the hump of the humpback chub?
The function of the nuchal hump on adult humpback chub (Gila cypha) has been the subject of longtime conjecture. Hypotheses about the purpose of the hump range from it being a feature that confers hydrodynamic advantages in swift water to speculation about how the hump may have reduced predation vulnerability to Colorado pikeminnows (Ptychocheilus lucius). We used comparative histology...
Authors
David Ward, Michael B. Ward
Multiple elements of soil biodiversity drive ecosystem functions across biomes Multiple elements of soil biodiversity drive ecosystem functions across biomes
The role of soil biodiversity in regulating multiple ecosystem functions is poorly understood, limiting our ability to predict how soil biodiversity loss might affect human wellbeing and ecosystem sustainability. Here, combining a global observational study with an experimental microcosm study, we provide evidence that soil biodiversity (bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates) is
Authors
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Peter B. Reich, Mandar Trivedi, David J. Eldridge, Sebastian Abades, Fernando D. Alfaro, Felipe Bastida, Asmeret A. Berhe, Nick A. Cutler, Antonio Gallardo, Laura Garcia-Velazquez, Stephen C. Hart, Patrick E. Hayes, Ji-Zheng He, Zeng-Yei Hseu, Hang-Wei Hu, Martin Kirchmair, Sigrid Neuhauser, Cecilia A. Perez, Sasha C. Reed, Fernanda Santos, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Pankaj Trivedi, Jun-Tao Wang, Luis Weber-Grullon, Mark Williams, Brajesh K. Singh
Associations between riparian plant morphological guilds and fluvial sediment dynamics along the regulated Colorado River in Grand Canyon Associations between riparian plant morphological guilds and fluvial sediment dynamics along the regulated Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Effects of riparian vegetation on fluvial sediment dynamics depend on morphological traits of the constituent species. Determining the effects of different morphological guilds on sedimentation rates, as influenced by multiple aspects of dam operations, can help identify viable strategies for streamflow and vegetation management to achieve riparian resource goals. Plants of increasing...
Authors
Bradley J. Butterfield, Paul E. Grams, Laura E. Durning, Joseph Hazel, Emily C. Palmquist, Barbara Ralston, Joel B. Sankey
The historical context of contemporary climatic adaptation: A case study in the climatically dynamic and environmentally complex southwestern United States The historical context of contemporary climatic adaptation: A case study in the climatically dynamic and environmentally complex southwestern United States
The process of adaptation can be highly dependent upon historical and contemporary factors, especially in environmentally and topographically complex regions affected by Pleistocene glaciations. Here, we investigate Hilaria jamesii (Poaceae), a dryland C4 graminoid, to test how patterns of adaptive genetic variation are linked to its glacial and post‐glacial history. We show that the...
Authors
Robert Massatti, L. Lacey Knowles
Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference? Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference?
(Yackulic) 1. Ecologists routinely fit complex models with multiple parameters of interest, where hundreds or more competing models are plausible. To limit the number of fitted models, ecologists often define a model selection strategy composed of a series of stages in which certain features of a model are compared while other features are held constant. Defining these multi-stage...
Authors
Dana J. Morin, Charles B. Yackulic, James E. Diffendorfer, Damon B. Lesmeister, Clayton Nielsen, Janice Reid, Eric M. Schauber
Mercury and selenium concentrations in fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin, southwestern United States: A retrospective assessment Mercury and selenium concentrations in fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin, southwestern United States: A retrospective assessment
Mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) are contaminants of concern for fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). We explored Hg and Se in fish tissues (2,324 individuals) collected over 50 years (1962–2011) from the UCRB. Samples include native and non-native fish collected from lotic waterbodies spanning 7 major tributaries to the Colorado River. There was little variation of total mercury...
Authors
Natalie K. Day, Travis S. Schmidt, James J. Roberts, Barbara C. Osmundson, James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Calcite precipitation in Lake Powell reduces alkalinity and total salt loading to the Lower Colorado River Basin Calcite precipitation in Lake Powell reduces alkalinity and total salt loading to the Lower Colorado River Basin
Reservoirs can retain and transform carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica, but less is known about their effects on other biogeochemically relevant solutes. The salinization of freshwater ecosystems is a growing concern in many regions, and the role of reservoirs in salinity transport is an important research frontier. Here, we examine how a large desert southwest reservoir, Lake...
Authors
Bridget R. Deemer, Edward G. Stets, Charles B. Yackulic