Publications
Below are publications associated with the Southwest Biological Science Center's research.
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Biocrust mosses and cyanobacteria exhibit distinct carbon uptake responses to variations in precipitation amount and frequency Biocrust mosses and cyanobacteria exhibit distinct carbon uptake responses to variations in precipitation amount and frequency
Dryland organisms exhibit varied responses to changes in precipitation, including event size, frequency, and soil moisture duration, influencing carbon uptake and reserve management strategies. This principle, central to the pulse-reserve paradigm, has not been thoroughly evaluated in biological soil crusts (biocrusts), essential primary producers on dryland surfaces. We conducted two...
Authors
Kristina E. Young, Osvaldo E. Sala, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Colin L Tucker, Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, Megan Elyse Starbuck, Sasha C. Reed
Flexible phenology of a C4 grass linked to resiliency to seasonal and multiyear drought events in the American southwest Flexible phenology of a C4 grass linked to resiliency to seasonal and multiyear drought events in the American southwest
Rising temperatures are predicted to further limit dryland water availability as droughts become more intense and frequent and seasonal precipitation patterns shift. Vegetation drought stress may increase mortality and cause declines and delays in phenological events, thereby impacting species' capacity to persist and recover from extreme drought conditions. We compare phenological...
Authors
Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, David L. Hoover, Anna C. Knight, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, Michael C. Duniway
Global methane budget 2000-2020 Global methane budget 2000-2020
Understanding and quantifying the global methane (CH4) budget is important for assessing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. CH4 is the second most important human-influenced greenhouse gas in terms of climate forcing after carbon dioxide (CO2), and both emissions and atmospheric concentrations of CH4 have continued to increase since 2007 after a temporary pause. The relative...
Authors
Marielle Saunois, Adrien Martinez, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Peter A. Raymond, Pierre Regnier, Josep G. Canadell, Robert B. Jackson, Prabir K. Patra, Philippe Bousquet, Philippe Ciais, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Xin Lan, George H. Allen, David Bastviken, David J. Beerling, Dmitry Belikov, Donald R. Blake, Simona Castaldi, Monica Crippa, Bridget Deemer, Fraser Dennison, Giuseppe Etiope, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Meredith A. Holgerson, Peter O. Hopcroft, Gustaf Hugelius, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Rajesh Janardanan, Matthew S. Johnson, Thomas Kleinen, Paul B. Krummel, Ronny Lauerwald, Tingting Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle C. McDonald, Joe R. Melton, Jens Mühle, Jurek Müller, Fabiola Murguia-Flores, Yosuke Niwa, Sergio Noce, Shufen Pan, Robert J. Parker, Changhui Peng, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Gerard Rocher-Ros, Judith A. Rosentreter, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Steven J. Smith, Emily H. Stanley, Joël Thanwerdas, Hanqin Tian, Aki Tsuruta, Francesco N. Tubiello, Thomas S. Weber, Guido R. van der Werf, Douglas E. Worthy, Yi Xi, Yukio Yoshida, Wenxin Zhang, Bo Zheng, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, Qianlai Zhuang
Trade-offs in designing a participatory acoustic study of bats: Comparison of user engagement and data quality between two ultrasonic detectors Trade-offs in designing a participatory acoustic study of bats: Comparison of user engagement and data quality between two ultrasonic detectors
Technology for the acoustic detection of animals has advanced rapidly over the past few decades. Due to ease of use, consistency, and safety, acoustic methods are particularly useful for science applications that engage the public. In this study, we evaluated the technological and educational trade-offs between 2 acoustic bat detectors in a participatory science application along the...
Authors
Anya Metcalfe, Theodore J. Weller, Carol Fritzinger, Brandon P. Holton, Theodore Kennedy
Advancing broadscale spatial evapotranspiration modelling by incorporating sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements Advancing broadscale spatial evapotranspiration modelling by incorporating sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements
Evapotranspiration (ET) describes the sum of water transfer from the ground surface through soil evaporation and water loss from leaf stomata into the atmosphere − critical factors linking the global water and carbon cycles. Myriad ET models based on remote sensing data provide spatially continuous estimates of ET; however, leaf photosynthetic information is critical to ensure accurate...
Authors
Sicong Gao, Pamela L. Nagler, William Woodgate, Alfredo Huete, Tanya M. Doody
Satellite-based evidence of recent decline in global forest recovery rate from tree mortality events Satellite-based evidence of recent decline in global forest recovery rate from tree mortality events
Climate-driven forest mortality events have been extensively observed in recent decades, prompting the question of how quickly these affected forests can recover their functionality following such events. Here we assessed forest recovery in vegetation greenness (normalized difference vegetation index) and canopy water content (normalized difference infrared index) for 1,699 well...
Authors
Yuchao Yan, Songbai Hong, Anping Chen, Josep Peñuelas, Craig D. Allen, William M. Hammond, Seth Munson, Ranga B. Myneni, Shilong Piao
Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress
An ecological threshold is the point at which a comparatively small environmental change triggers an abrupt and disproportionately large ecological response. In the face of accelerating climate change, there is concern that abrupt ecosystem transformations will become more widespread as critical ecological thresholds are crossed. There has been ongoing debate, however, regarding the...
Authors
Michael Osland, John B. Bradford, Lauren Toth, Matthew J. Germino, James Grace, Judith Z. Drexler, Camille L. Stagg, Eric E. Grossman, Karen M. Thorne, Stephanie Romanach, Davina Passeri, Gregory E. Noe, Jessica R. Lacy, Ken Krauss, Kurt P. Kowalski, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Neil K. Ganju, Nicholas Enwright, Joel A. Carr, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin Buffington
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, California Water Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
River floods under wetter antecedent conditions deliver coarser sediment to the coast River floods under wetter antecedent conditions deliver coarser sediment to the coast
Increasing hydrologic volatility—more extreme rain, and larger variations between wet and dry years—has become apparent in some regions, but few data exist to determine how intensifying hydrologic extremes affect sedimentary systems. Using uniquely high-resolution records of fluvial suspended sediment and coastal morphology, we quantify sedimentary responses from a steep, 357-km2...
Authors
Amy E. East, Alexander G. Snyder, Andrew W. Stevens, Jonathan A. Warrick, David J. Topping, Matthew A. Thomas, Andrew C. Ritchie
Too much and not enough data: Challenges and solutions for generating information in freshwater research and monitoring Too much and not enough data: Challenges and solutions for generating information in freshwater research and monitoring
Evaluating progress toward achieving freshwater conservation and sustainability goals requires transforming diverse types of data into useful information for scientists, managers, and other interest groups. Despite substantial increases in the volume of freshwater data collected worldwide, many regions and ecosystems still lack sufficient data collection and/or data access. We illustrate...
Authors
Adrianne P. Smits, Ed K Hall, Bridget Deemer, Facundo Scordo, Carolina C. Barbosa, Stephanie M. Carlson, Kaelin M Cawley, Hans-Peter Grossart, Patrick T. Kelly, Stefano Mammola, Matthew R. Pintar, Caleb J. Robbins, Albert Ruhi Vidal, Mattia Sacco
Scaling from microsite to landscape to resolve litter decomposition dynamics in globally extensive drylands Scaling from microsite to landscape to resolve litter decomposition dynamics in globally extensive drylands
1. Decomposition controls the release of carbon and nutrients from decaying plant litter into soils or the atmosphere. In most biomes decomposition rates can be accurately predicted with simple mathematical models, but these models have long under-predicted decomposition in globally- extensive drylands. 2. We posit that the exposed surface conditions characteristic of drylands makes...
Authors
Heather L. Throop, Jiwei Li, Daryl L. Moorhead, Sasha C. Reed, Katherine Todd-Brown, Alexi Besser, Dellena Bloom, Thomas Ingalls, Alejandro Cueva
C4 photosynthesis, trait spectra, and the fast-efficient phenotype C4 photosynthesis, trait spectra, and the fast-efficient phenotype
It has been 60 years since the discovery of C4 photosynthesis, an event that rewrote our understanding of plant adaptation, ecosystem responses to global change, and global food security. Despite six decades of research, one aspect of C4 photosynthesis that remains poorly understood is how the pathway fits into the broader context of adaptive trait spectra, which form our modern view of...
Authors
Russell K. Monson, Shuai Li, Elizabeth A. Ainsworth, Yuzhen Fan, John G. Hodge, Alan K. Knapp, Andrew D.B. Leakey, Danica Lombardozzi, Sasha C. Reed, Rowan F. Sage, Melinda D. Smith, Nicholas G. Smith, Christopher J. Still, Danielle A. Way
The importance of sampling design for unbiased estimation of survival using joint live-recapture and live resight models The importance of sampling design for unbiased estimation of survival using joint live-recapture and live resight models
Survival is a key life history parameter that can inform management decisions and basic life history research. Because true survival is often confounded with emigration from the study area, many studies are forced to estimate apparent survival (i.e., probability of surviving and remaining inside the study area), which can be much lower than true survival for highly mobile species. One...
Authors
Maria C. Dzul, Charles Yackulic, William L. Kendall