Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Flexible characterization of animal movement pattern using net squared displacement and a latent state model Flexible characterization of animal movement pattern using net squared displacement and a latent state model
Background Characterizing the movement patterns of animals is an important step in understanding their ecology. Various methods have been developed for classifying animal movement at both coarse (e.g., migratory vs. sedentary behavior) and fine (e.g., resting vs. foraging) scales. A popular approach for classifying movements at coarse resolutions involves fitting time series of net...
Authors
Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Jonathan Potts, Charles B. Yackulic, Jacqueline L. Frair, Hance Ellington, Stephen Blake
Effects of turbidity on predation vulnerability of juvenile humpback chub to rainbow and brown trout Effects of turbidity on predation vulnerability of juvenile humpback chub to rainbow and brown trout
Predation on juvenile native fish by introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta is considered a significant threat to the persistence of endangered humpback chub Gila cypha in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Diet studies of rainbow and brown trout in Glen and Grand canyons indicate that these species eat native fish, but impacts are difficult to assess...
Authors
David L. Ward, Rylan Morton-Starner, Benjamin M. Vaage
The National Wind Erosion Research Network: Building a standardized long-term data resource for aeolian research, modeling and land management The National Wind Erosion Research Network: Building a standardized long-term data resource for aeolian research, modeling and land management
The National Wind Erosion Research Network was established in 2014 as a collaborative effort led by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, to address the need for a long-term research program to meet critical challenges in wind...
Authors
Nicholas P. Webb, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Justin W. Van Zee, Ericha M. Courtright, Ted M Hugenholtz, Ted M Zobeck, Gregory S. Okin, Thomas E Barchyn, Benjamin J Billings, Robert A. Boyd, Scott D Clingan, Brad F Cooper, Michael C. Duniway, Justin D. Derner, Fred A Fox, Kris M. Havstad, Philip Heilman, Valerie LaPlante, Noel A Ludwig, Loretta J Metz, Mark A Nearing, M Lee Norfleet, Frederick B Pierson, Matt A Sanderson, Brenton S Sharrat, Jean L Steiner, John Tatarko, Negussie H Tedela, David Todelo, Robert S Unnasch, R Scott Van Pelt, Larry Wagner
Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology) Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology)
Biocrusts exert a strong influence on hydrological processes in drylands by modifying numerous soil properties that affect water retention and movement in soils. Yet, their role in these processes is not clearly understood due to the large number of factors that act simultaneously and can mask the biocrust effect. The influence of biocrusts on soil hydrology depends on biocrust intrinsic
Authors
Sonia Chamizo, Jayne Belnap, David J Elridge, Oumarou M Issa
Carbon budgets of biological soil crusts at micro-, meso-, and global scales Carbon budgets of biological soil crusts at micro-, meso-, and global scales
The importance of biocrusts in the ecology of arid lands across all continents is widely recognized. In spite of this broad distribution, contributions of biocrusts to the global biogeochemical cycles have only recently been considered. While these studies opened a new view on the global role of biocrusts, they also clearly revealed the lack of data for many habitats and of overall...
Authors
Leopoldo G Sancho, Jayne Belnap, Claudia Colesie, Jose Raggio, Bettina Weber
Natural recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance Natural recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance
Natural recovery of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) is influenced by a number of different parameters, such as climate, soil conditions, the severity of disturbance, and the timing of disturbance relative to the climatic conditions. In recent studies, it has been shown that recovery is often not linear, but a highly dynamic process directly influenced by non-linear external parameters...
Authors
Bettina Weber, Matthew A. Bowker, Yuanming Zhang, Jayne Belnap
Synthesis on biological soil crust research Synthesis on biological soil crust research
In this closing chapter, we summarize the advances in biocrust research made during the last 1.5 decades. In the first part of the chapter, we discuss how in some research fields, such as the microbial diversity of fungi, bacteria, and microfauna; the interaction between biocrusts and vascular plants; and in the rehabilitation of biocrusts; particularly large achievements have been made...
Authors
Bettina Weber, Jayne Belnap, Burkhard Buedel
How biological soil crusts became recognized as a functional unit: a selective history How biological soil crusts became recognized as a functional unit: a selective history
It is surprising that despite the world-wide distribution and general importance of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), scientific recognition and functional analysis of these communities is a relatively young field of science. In this chapter, we sketch the historical lines that led to the recognition of biocrusts as a community with important ecosystem functions. The idea of biocrusts...
Authors
Otto L. Lange, Jayne Belnap
Patterns and controls on nitrogen cycling of biological soil crusts Patterns and controls on nitrogen cycling of biological soil crusts
Biocrusts play a significant role in the nitrogen [N ] cycle within arid and semi-arid ecosystems, as they contribute major N inputs via biological fixation and dust capture, harbor internal N transformation processes, and direct N losses via N dissolved, gaseous and erosional loss processes (Fig. 1). Because soil N availability in arid and semi-arid ecosystems is generally low and may...
Authors
Nichole N. Barger, Eli Zaady, Bettina Weber, Ferran Garcia-Pichel, Jayne Belnap
Controls on distribution patterns of biological soil crusts at micro- to global scales Controls on distribution patterns of biological soil crusts at micro- to global scales
Biocrusts are heterogeneously distributed in space. The drivers of their distribution patterns vary depending on the spatial scale of observation. Globally, there are about 1337 cyanobacteria, algae, bryophyte, and lichen species reported as components of biocrusts. At the broadest biogeographical scales, the degree and age of isolation of land masses may dictate distribution of these...
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Otto L. Lange, Matthew A. Bowker, Burkhard Buedel, Christophe Sannier, Nicole Pietrasiak, David Eldridge, Victor Rivera Aguilar
Biocrusts in the context of global change Biocrusts in the context of global change
A wide range of studies show global environmental change will profoundly affect the structure, function, and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. The research synthesized here underscores that biocrust communities are also likely to respond significantly to global change drivers, with a large potential for modification to their abundance, composition, and function. We examine how elevated
Authors
Sasha C. Reed, Fernando T. Maestre, Raul Ochoa-Hueso, Cheryl Kuske, Anthony N. Darrouzet-Nardi, Brian Darby, Bob Sinsabaugh, Mel Oliver, Leo Sancho, Jayne Belnap