Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Filter Total Items: 1512
Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) activity areas are little changed after wind turbine-induced fires in California Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) activity areas are little changed after wind turbine-induced fires in California
Wind turbine-induced fires at a wind energy facility in California, USA, provided an opportunity to study the before and after effects of fire on a population of protected Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert, a species and ecosystem poorly adapted to fire. We compared annual activity areas (AAs) of tortoises in 2011 and 2013, before and after two 2012...
Authors
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Mickey Agha, Joshua R. Ennen, Terence R. Arundel, Meaghan Austin
Using research networks to create the comprehensive datasets needed to assess nutrient availability as a key determinant of terrestrial carbon cycling Using research networks to create the comprehensive datasets needed to assess nutrient availability as a key determinant of terrestrial carbon cycling
A wide range of research shows that nutrient availability strongly influences terrestrial carbon (C) cycling and shapes ecosystem responses to environmental changes and hence terrestrial feedbacks to climate. Nonetheless, our understanding of nutrient controls remains far from complete and poorly quantified, at least partly due to a lack of informative, comparable, and accessible...
Authors
Sara Vicca, Benjamin Stocker, Sasha C. Reed, William R. Wieder, Michael Bahn, Philip A. Fay, Ivan Janssens, Hans Lambers, Josep Penuelas, Shilong Piao, Karin Rebel, Jordi Sardans, Bjarni D. Sigurdsson, Kevin Van Sundert, Ying-Ping Wang, Sonke Zaehle, Philippe Ciais
Chronic physical disturbance substantially alters the response of biological soil crusts to a wetting pulse, as characterized by metatranscriptomic sequencing Chronic physical disturbance substantially alters the response of biological soil crusts to a wetting pulse, as characterized by metatranscriptomic sequencing
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are microbial communities that are a feature of arid surface soils worldwide. In drylands where precipitation is pulsed and ephemeral, the ability of biocrust microbiota to rapidly initiate metabolic activity is critical to their survival. Community gene expression was compared after a short duration (1 hour) wetting pulse in both intact and soils...
Authors
Blaire Steven, Jayne Belnap, Cheryl R. Kuske
Are fungal networks key to dryland primary production? Are fungal networks key to dryland primary production?
In low-resource ecosystems, competition among primary producers can be reduced through the partitioning of limiting resources in space or time. Partitioning, coupled with species interactions, can be a source of ecosystem stability by retaining resources within a biotic “loop” and slowing losses due to physical processes, such as erosion, gaseous loss, or leaching. Such coupling occurs...
Authors
Jennifer A. Rudgers, Eva Dettweiler-Robinson, Jayne Belnap, Laura E. Green, Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Kristina E. Young, Catherine E. Cort, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi
Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands
Restoration and rehabilitation of native vegetation in dryland ecosystems, which encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems, is a common challenge that continues to grow as wildfire and biological invasions transform dryland plant communities. The difficulty in part stems from low and variable precipitation, combined with limited understanding about how weather conditions influence...
Authors
Robert K. Shriver, Caitlin M. Andrews, David S. Pilliod, Robert Arkle, Justin L. Welty, Matthew J. Germino, Michael C. Duniway, David A. Pyke, John B. Bradford
Probabilistic substrate classification with multispectral acoustic backscatter: A comparison of discriminative and generative models Probabilistic substrate classification with multispectral acoustic backscatter: A comparison of discriminative and generative models
We propose a probabilistic graphical model for discriminative substrate characterization, to support geological and biological habitat mapping in aquatic environments. The model, called a fully-connected conditional random field (CRF), is demonstrated using multispectral and monospectral acoustic backscatter from heterogeneous seafloors in Patricia Bay, British Columbia, and Bedford...
Authors
Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams
On the development of a magnetic susceptibility‐based tracer for aeolian sediment transport research On the development of a magnetic susceptibility‐based tracer for aeolian sediment transport research
Aeolian processes — the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by wind — play important geomorphological and ecological roles in drylands. These processes are known to impact the spatial patterns of soil, nutrients, plant‐available water, and vegetation in many dryland ecosystems. Tracers, such as rare earth elements and stable isotopes have been successfully used to quantify the...
Authors
Sujith Ravi, Howell B. Gonzales, Ilya V. Buynevich, Junran Li, Joel B. Sankey, David Dukes, Guan Wang
Distribution, habitat, and population size of Island Night Lizards on San Nicolas Island, California Distribution, habitat, and population size of Island Night Lizards on San Nicolas Island, California
The Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana) was removed from the federal list of threatened species in May 2014. This strongly differentiated species is endemic to 3 of the southern California Channel Islands—San Clemente, San Nicolas, and Santa Barbara. Suitable habitat for Island Night Lizards is extensive on San Clemente Island, and the species is abundant there. Habitat is limited...
Authors
Charles A. Drost, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas R. Murphey, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Ryan P. O'Donnell
Comparison of estimators for monitoring long-term population trends in deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, on the California Channel Islands Comparison of estimators for monitoring long-term population trends in deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, on the California Channel Islands
Capture-recapture methods are commonly used to estimate abundance and density of wild animal populations. Although a variety of sophisticated analytical techniques are available to evaluate capture-recapture data, vertebrate monitoring programs often lack the resources (e.g., time, personnel, and/or analytical expertise) to apply these methods. As an alternative, simple population...
Authors
Catherin A. Schwemm, Charles A. Drost, John L. Orrock, Timothy J. Coonan, Thomas R. Stanley
Are hatchery-reared Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout effective predators on juvenile native fish? Are hatchery-reared Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout effective predators on juvenile native fish?
Hatchery‐reared Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and Brown Trout Salmo trutta are typically fed exclusively on commercially prepared pelleted feeds and have no experience catching or consuming live fish at the time of stocking. Despite this lack of predation experience, it is commonly assumed that stocked Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout will adversely impact native fish populations by...
Authors
David L. Ward, Rylan Morton-Starner, Benjamin Vaage
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >500,000 time-series observations for 81...
Authors
David A.W. Miller, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Staci M. Amburgey, M. J. Adams, Maxwell B. Joseph, J. Hardin Waddle, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Maureen E. Ryan, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Daniel L. Calhoun, Courtney L. Davis, Robert N. Fisher, David M. Green, Blake R. Hossack, Tracy A.G. Rittenhouse, Susan C. Walls, Larissa L. Bailey, Sam S. Cruickshank, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Ward Hughson, David S. Pilliod, Steven J. Price, Andrew M. Ray, Walter Sadinski, Daniel Saenz, William J. Barichivich, Adrianne B. Brand, Cheryl S. Brehme, Rosi Dagit, Katy S. Delaney, Brad M. Glorioso, Lee B. Kats, Patrick M. Kleeman, Christopher Pearl, Carlton J. Rochester, Seth P. D. Riley, Mark F. Roth, Brent Sigafus
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Effectiveness of ultrasonic imaging for evaluating presence and maturity of eggs in fishes in remote field locations Effectiveness of ultrasonic imaging for evaluating presence and maturity of eggs in fishes in remote field locations
Ultrasonic imaging is an effective, nonlethal method used to determine sex and maturity in a variety of fishes. However, many previous studies of this technique have been performed in laboratory environments. Using Common Carp Cyprinus carpio, we developed a standardized method for ultrasonically scanning cyprinids, and we accurately sexed 78% (N = 58) of those individuals. We then...
Authors
Morgan E. Brizendine, David Ward, Scott A. Bonar