Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Filter Total Items: 1521
Riparian bird density decline in response to biocontrol of Tamarix from riparian ecosystems along the Dolores River in SW Colorado, USA Riparian bird density decline in response to biocontrol of Tamarix from riparian ecosystems along the Dolores River in SW Colorado, USA
Biocontrol of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in the arid Southwest using the introduced tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda elongata) has been hypothesized to negatively affect some breeding bird species, but no studies to date have documented the effects of beetle-induced defoliation on riparian bird abundance. We assessed the effects of tamarisk defoliation by monitoring defoliation rates...
Authors
Abigail J. Darrah, Charles van Riper
Variation in annual clutch phenology of desert tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona Variation in annual clutch phenology of desert tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona
The phenology of egg production and oviposition in organisms affects survival and development of neonates and thus, both offspring and maternal fitness. In addition, in organisms with environmental sex determination, clutch phenology can affect hatchling sex ratios with attendant effects on population demography. The rapid rate of contemporary climate change might disrupt reproductive...
Authors
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Roy C. Averill-Murray, Mickey Agha, Joshua R. Ennen, Meaghan Austin
Biocrust ecology: Unifying micro- and macro-scales to confront global change Biocrust ecology: Unifying micro- and macro-scales to confront global change
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are communities of microbes, lichens and bryophytes living at the soil surface in drylands (Fig. 1; Belnap et al., 2016). Biocrusts occur on all continents and can comprise a majority of cover in some systems (Belnap et al., 2016). While species diversity and distributions have long been a research focus, interest in controls on community composition...
Authors
Scott Ferrenberg, Sasha C. Reed
Landscape-scale processes influence riparian plant composition along a regulated river Landscape-scale processes influence riparian plant composition along a regulated river
Hierarchical frameworks are useful constructs when exploring landscape- and local-scale factors affecting patterns of vegetation in riparian areas. In drylands, which have steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity, landscape-scale variables, such as climate, can change rapidly along a river's course, affecting the relative influence of environmental variables at...
Authors
Emily C. Palmquist, Barbara Ralston, David M. Merritt, Patrick B. Shafroth
A coupled metabolic-hydraulic model and calibration scheme for estimating of whole-river metabolism during dynamic flow conditions A coupled metabolic-hydraulic model and calibration scheme for estimating of whole-river metabolism during dynamic flow conditions
Conventional methods for estimating whole-stream metabolic rates from measured dissolved oxygen dynamics do not account for the variation in solute transport times created by dynamic flow conditions. Changes in flow at hourly time scales are common downstream of hydroelectric dams (i.e. hydropeaking), and hydrologic limitations of conventional metabolic models have resulted in a poor
Authors
Robert A. Payn, Robert O Hall, Theodore A. Kennedy, Geoff C Poole, Lucy A. Marshall
Building capacity in biodiversity monitoring at the global scale Building capacity in biodiversity monitoring at the global scale
Human-driven global change is causing ongoing declines in biodiversity worldwide. In order to address these declines, decision-makers need accurate assessments of the status of and pressures on biodiversity. However, these are heavily constrained by incomplete and uneven spatial, temporal and taxonomic coverage. For instance, data from regions such as Europe and North America are...
Authors
Dirk S. Schmeller, Monika Böhm, Christos Arvanitidis, Shannon Barber-Meyer, Neil Brummitt, Mark Chandler, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Mark John Costello, Hui Ding, Jaime Garcia-Moreno, Michael J. Gill, Peter Haase, Miranda Jones, Romain Juillard, William E. Magnusson, Corinne S. Martin, Melodie A. McGeoch, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub, Nathalie Pettorelli, Vânia Proença, Cui Peng, Eugenie Regan, Ute Schmiedel, John P. Simsika, Lauren Weatherdon, Carly Waterman, Haigen Xu, Jayne Belnap
Short-term and long-term evapotranspiration rates at ecological restoration sites along a large river receiving rare flow events Short-term and long-term evapotranspiration rates at ecological restoration sites along a large river receiving rare flow events
Many large rivers around the world no longer flow to their deltas, due to ever greater water withdrawals and diversions for human needs. However, the importance of riparian ecosystems is drawing increasing recognition, leading to the allocation of environmental flows to restore river processes. Accurate estimates of riparian plant evapotranspiration (ET) are needed to understand how the...
Authors
Margaret Shanafield, Hugo Gutierrez Jurado, Jesus Eliana Rodriguez Burgueno, Jorge Ramirez Hernandez, Christopher Jarchow, Pamela L. Nagler
The concurrent use of novel soil surface microclimate measurements to evaluate CO2 pulses in biocrusted interspaces in a cool desert ecosystem The concurrent use of novel soil surface microclimate measurements to evaluate CO2 pulses in biocrusted interspaces in a cool desert ecosystem
Carbon cycling associated with biological soil crusts, which occupy interspaces between vascular plants in drylands globally, may be an important part of the coupled climate-carbon cycle of the Earth system. A major challenge to understanding CO2 fluxes in these systems is that much of the biotic and biogeochemical activity occurs in the upper few mm of the soil surface layer (i.e., the...
Authors
Colin Tucker, Theresa A. McHugh, Armin J. Howell, Richard Gill, Bettina Weber, Jayne Belnap, Edmund E. Grote, Sasha C. Reed
Compositional signatures in acoustic backscatter over vegetated and unvegetated mixed sand-gravel riverbeds Compositional signatures in acoustic backscatter over vegetated and unvegetated mixed sand-gravel riverbeds
Multibeam acoustic backscatter has considerable utility for remote characterization of spatially heterogeneous bed sediment composition over vegetated and unvegetated riverbeds of mixed sand and gravel. However, the use of high-frequency, decimeter-resolution acoustic backscatter for sediment classification in shallow water is hampered by significant topographic contamination of the...
Authors
Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams, Matthew A. Kaplinski
Durable terrestrial bedrock predicts submarine canyon formation Durable terrestrial bedrock predicts submarine canyon formation
Though submarine canyons are first-order topographic features of Earth, the processes responsible for their occurrence remain poorly understood. Potentially analogous studies of terrestrial rivers show that the flux and caliber of transported bedload are significant controls on bedrock incision. Here we hypothesize that coarse sediment load could exert a similar role in the formation of...
Authors
Elliot Smith, Noah J. Finnegan, Erich R. Mueller, Rebecca J. Best
Taxonomic and compositional differences of ground-dwelling arthropods in riparian habitats in Glen Canyon, Arizona, USA Taxonomic and compositional differences of ground-dwelling arthropods in riparian habitats in Glen Canyon, Arizona, USA
The disturbance history, plant species composition, productivity, and structural complexity of a site can exert bottom-up controls on arthropod diversity, abundance, and trophic structure. Regulation alters the hydrology and disturbance regimes of rivers and affects riparian habitats by changing plant quality parameters. Fifty years of regulation along the Colorado River downstream of...
Authors
Barbara Ralston, Neil S. Cobb, Sandra L. Brantley, Jacob Higgins, Charles B. Yackulic
Maximizing establishment and survivorship of field-collected and greenhouse-cultivated biocrusts in a semi-cold desert Maximizing establishment and survivorship of field-collected and greenhouse-cultivated biocrusts in a semi-cold desert
Aims Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are soil-surface communities in drylands, dominated by cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens. They provide key ecosystem functions by increasing soil stability and influencing soil hydrologic, nutrient, and carbon cycles. Because of this, methods to reestablish biocrusts in damaged drylands are needed. Here we test the reintroduction of field...
Authors
Anita Antoninka, Matthew A. Bowker, Peter Chuckran, Nicole N. Barger, Sasha C. Reed, Jayne Belnap