Resco de Dios, V., J.F. Weltzin, W. Sun, T.E. Huxman and D.G. Williams. 2014. Transitions from grassland to savanna under drought via passive facilitation by grasses. Journal of Vegetation Science 25:937–946. DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12164
Jake F Weltzin
Jake joined the US Geological Survey in 2007 to design and implement the USA National Phenology Network. Since 2015 he has also served as the Program Manager for the Status & Trends Program in the Ecosystems Mission Area.
Biography
Jake’s interest in natural history developed as he grew up in Alaska and served as an exchange student in the Australian outback. His interests range broadly -- from natural resource management to ecological- and ecosystem-level research -- across a variety of systems ranging from deserts to grasslands, savannas to forests, and even to wetlands.
Career History and Highlights
Post-doctoral Fellowship at University of Notre Dame
Associate Professor, University of Tennessee
Program Director, National Science Foundation
Executive Director, USA National Phenology Network
Program Manager, Status & Trends Program, US Geological Survey
Education
B.S., Colorado State University
M.S., Texas A&M University
Ph.D., University of Arizona
Research Interests
Jake is interested in how the structure and function of plant and animal populations, communities and ecosystems respond to global environmental change, including atmospheric chemistry, climate change, and biological invasions.
Science and Products
May 24, 2016
Pollinators are crucial contributors to our environment and society by enhancing plant diversity in wild lands and providing food for humans in agricultural settings. Some three-fourths of all native plants in the world require pollination by an animal, most often an insect, and most often a native bee.
May 24, 2016
North American bats face unprecedented threats including habitat loss and fragmentation, white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and climate change. NABat is an international interagency program designed to monitor bat distributions and abundances on public and private lands, and provide trend data at the state, provincial, tribal, regional, and range-wide scales.
May 24, 2016
WLCI is a long-term, science-based program focused on assessing, conserving, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitats while facilitating responsible energy development through local collaboration and partnerships. We provide multidisciplinary scientific and technical information to WLCI partners and work to advance the overall scientific understanding of ecosystems in southwestern Wyoming.
May 24, 2016
The USA National Phenology Network is a national-scale science and monitoring initiative focused on phenology, which is the study of seasonal life-cycle events such as leafing, flowering, reproduction and migration, as a tool to understand how plants, animals and landscapes respond to environmental variation and change.
May 24, 2016
With 2015 marking its 50th anniversary, the BBS continues to provide critical science-based estimates of population change on more than 600 continental bird species annually to improve our understanding of how these federally entrusted species respond to environmental variation and ecosystem change.
Publications
![[title_1]](http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg)
Year Published: 2015
Investing in citizen science can improve natural resource management and environmental protection
Citizen science has made substantive contributions to science for hundreds of years. More recently, it has contributed to many articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has influenced natural resource management and environmental protection decisions and policies across the nation. Over the last 10 years, citizen science—participation by the public in a scientific project—has seen...
McKinley, Duncan C.; Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.; Ballard, Heidi L.; Bonney, Rick; Brown, Hutch; Evans, Daniel M.; French, Rebecca A.; Parrish, Julia K.; Phillips, Tina B.; Ryan, Sean F.; Shanley, Lea A.; Shirk, Jennifer L.; Stepenuck, Kristine F.; Weltzin, Jake; Wiggins, Andrea; Boyle, Owen D.; Briggs, Russell D.; Chapin, Stuart F.; Hewitt, David A.; Preuss, Peter W.; Soukup, Michael A.View Citation
McKinley, Duncan C., Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Heidi L. Ballard, Rick Bonney, Hutch Brown, Daniel M. Evans, Rebecca A. French, Julia K. Parrish, Tina B. Phillips, Sean F. Ryan, Lea A. Shanley, Jennifer L. Shirk, Kristine F. Stepenuck, Jake F. Weltzin, Andrea Wiggins, Owen D. Boyle, Russell D. Briggs, Stuart F. Chapin III, David A. Hewitt, Peter W. Preuss, and Michael A. Soukup. 2015. Investing in Citizen Science can improve natural resource management and environmental protection. Issues in Ecology No. 19, Fall 2015.
Year Published: 2015
Developing a workflow to identify inconsistencies in volunteered geographic information: a phenological case study
Recent improvements in online information communication and mobile location-aware technologies have led to the production of large volumes of volunteered geographic information. Widespread, large-scale efforts by volunteers to collect data can inform and drive scientific advances in diverse fields, including ecology and climatology. Traditional workflows to check the quality of such volunteered...
Mehdipoor, Hamed; Zurita-Milla, Raul; Rosemartin, Alyssa; Gerst, Katharine L.; Weltzin, Jake F.View Citation
Mehdipoor H, Zurita-Milla R, Rosemartin A, Gerst KL, Weltzin JF (2015) Developing a Workflow to Identify Inconsistencies in Volunteered Geographic Information: A Phenological Case Study. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0140811. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140811
Year Published: 2015
Lilac and honeysuckle phenology data 1956–2014
The dataset is comprised of leafing and flowering data collected across the continental United States from 1956 to 2014 for purple common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), a cloned lilac cultivar (S. x chinensis ‘Red Rothomagensis’) and two cloned honeysuckle cultivars (Lonicera tatarica ‘Arnold Red’ and L. korolkowii ‘Zabeli’). Applications of this observational dataset range from detecting regional...
Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Denny, Ellen G.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Marsh, R. Lee; Wilson, Bruce E.; Mehdipoor, Hamed; Zurita-Milla, Raul; Schwartz, Mark D.View Citation
Rosemartin, A. H., E. G. Denny, J. F. Weltzin, R. L. Marsh, B. E. Wilson, H. Mehdipoor, R. Zurita-Milla and M. D. Schwartz. 2015. Lilac and honeysuckle phenology data 1956–2014. Sci. Data 2:150038 doi: 10.1038/sdata.2015.38 (2015).
Year Published: 2014
Organization of marine phenology data in support of planning and conservation in ocean and coastal ecosystems
Among the many effects of climate change is its influence on the phenology of biota. In marine and coastal ecosystems, phenological shifts have been documented for multiple life forms; however, biological data related to marine species' phenology remain difficult to access and is under-used. We conducted an assessment of potential sources of biological data for marine species and their...
Thomas, Kathryn A.; Fornwall, Mark D.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Griffis, R.B.View Citation
Organization of marine phenology data in support of planning and conservation in ocean and coastal ecosystems; 2014; Article; Journal; Ecological Informatics; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Fornwall, Mark D.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Griffis, R. B.
![[title_1]](https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg)
Year Published: 2014
Focused campaign increases activity among participants in Nature's Notebook, a citizen science project
Citizen science projects, which engage non-professional scientists in one or more stages of scientific research, have been gaining popularity; yet maintaining participants’ activity level over time remains a challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for a short-term, focused campaign to increase participant activity in a national-scale citizen science program. The...
Crimmins, Theresa M.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Surina, Echo M.; Marsh, Lee; Denny, Ellen G.View Citation
Focused campaign increases activity among participants in <i>Nature's Notebook</i>, a citizen science project; 2014; Article; Journal; Natural Sciences Education; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Surina, Echo M.; Marsh, Lee; Denny, Ellen G.
Year Published: 2014
Organizing phenological data resources to inform natural resource conservation
Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Kellermann, Jherime L.; Posthumus, Erin E.; Denny, Ellen G.; Guertin, Patricia; Marsh, Lee; Weltzin, Jake F.View Citation
Organizing phenological data resources to inform natural resource conservation; 2014; Article; Journal; Biological Conservation; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Enquist, Carolyn A. F.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Kellermann, Jherime L.; Posthumus, Erin E.; Denny, Ellen G.; Guertin, Patricia; Marsh, Lee; Weltzin, Jake F.
Year Published: 2014
Standardized phenology monitoring methods to track plant and animal activity for science and resource management applications
Denny, Ellen G.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.; Tierney, Geraldine L.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Guertin, Patricia; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Schwartz, Mark D.; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Weltzin, Jake F.View Citation
Standardized phenology monitoring methods to track plant and animal activity for science and resource management applications; 2014; Article; Journal; International Journal of Biometeorology; Denny, Ellen G.; Gerst, Katharine L.; Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.; Tierney, Geraldine L.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Enquist, Carolyn A. F.; Guertin, Patricia; Rosemartin, Alyssa H.; Schwartz, Mark D.; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Weltzin, Jake F.
Year Published: 2013
North America: Chapter 5
Schwartz, Mark D.; Beaubien, Elisabeth G.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Weltzin, Jake F.View Citation
North America: Chapter 5; 2013; Book chapter; Book; Phenology: an integrative environmental science; Schwartz, Mark D.; Beaubien, Elisabeth G.; Crimmins, Theresa M.; Weltzin, Jake F.
Year Published: 2013
Phenology monitoring protocol: Northeast Temperate Network
Tierney, Geri; Mitchell, Brian; Miller-Rushing, Abe; Katz, Jonathan; Denny, Ellen; Brauer, Corinne; Donovan, Therese; Richardson, Andrew D.; Toomey, Michael; Kozlowski, Adam; Weltzin, Jake F.; Gerst, Kathy; Sharron, Ed; Sonnentag, Oliver; Dieffenbach, FredView Citation
Phenology monitoring protocol: Northeast Temperate Network; 2013; Other Government Series; NPS/NETN/NRR—2013/681; Tierney, Geri; Mitchell, Brian; Miller-Rushing, Abe; Katz, Jonathan; Denny, Ellen; Brauer, Corinne; Donovan, Therese; Richardson, Andrew D.; Toomey, Michael; Kozlowski, Adam; Weltzin, Jake; Gerst, Kathy; Sharron, Ed; Sonnentag, Oliver; Dieffenbach, Fred
Year Published: 2013
Nature's Notebook 2012: State of the data
In 2012, 2,045 observers contributed 1,592 sites to the NPDb, encompassing all 50 states, the U.S.
Kellermann, Jherime; Crimmins, T.M.; Denny, E.G.; Enquist, C.A.F.; Gerst, K.L.; Rosemartin, A.H.; Weltzin, Jake F.View Citation
Nature's Notebook 2012: state of the data; 2013; Federal Government Series; T 2013-001; Kellermann, Jherime; Crimmins, T.M.; Denny, E.G.; Enquist, C.A.F.; Gerst, K.L.; Rosemartin, A.H.; Weltzin, Jake F.
Year Published: 2013
Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Great Plains Regional Information Sheet.
This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information...
Leicht-Young, Stacey A.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Weltzin, Jake F.
Year Published: 2013
Observed changes in phenology across the USA: A regional review for the 2013 National Climate Assessment, Pacific Northwest Regional Information Sheet
This is one in a series of eight, geographic region-focused information sheets that summarizes documented changes in plant and animal phenology over the past century across the United States. This summary is based on long-term studies (10 years or more) published in the primary scientific literature since 2001. A forthcoming manuscript synthesizes the findings of the eight regional information...
Leicht-Young, Stacey A.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Weltzin, Jake F.Pre-USGS Publications
Resco de Dios, V., J.F. Weltzin, W. Sun, T.E. Huxman, and D.G. Williams. 2012. Windows of opportunity for Prosopis velutina seedling establishment and encroachment in a semiarid grassland. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 14:275-282. DOI: 10.1016/j.ppees.2012.03.002
Souza, L. J.F. Weltzin, and N.J. Sanders. 2011. Differential effects of two dominant plant species on community structure and invasibility in an old-field ecosystem. Journal of Plant Ecology 4:123-131. DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtq027
Souza, L., W.A. Bunn, J.F. Weltzin, and N.J. Sanders. 2011. Similar biotic factors affect early establishment and abundance of an invasive plant species across spatial scales. Biological Invasions 13:255-267. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-010-9805-9
Kardol, P., C.E. Campany, L. Souza, R.J. Norby, J.F. Weltzin and A.T. Classen. 2010. Climate change effects on plant biomass alter dominance patterns and community evenness in an experimental old-field ecosystem. Global Change Biology 16:2676–2687. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02162.x
Souza, L., R.T. Belote, P. Kardol, J.F. Weltzin and R.J. Norby. 2010. CO2 enrichment accelerates successional development of an understory plant community. Journal of Plant Ecology 3:33-39. DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtp032
Classen, A.T., R.J. Norby, C.E. Campany, K.E. Sides, and J.F. Weltzin. 2010. Climate change alters seedling emergence and establishment in an old-field ecosystem. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13476. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013476
Engel, E.C., J.F. Weltzin, R.J. Norby, and A.T. Classen. 2009. Responses of an old-field plant community to interacting factors of elevated [CO2], warming, and soil moisture. Journal of Plant Ecology 2:1-11. DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtn026
Bridgham, S.D., J. Pastor, B. Dewey, J.F. Weltzin, and K. Updegraff. 2008. Rapid carbon response of peatlands to climate change. Ecology 89:3041-3048. DOI: 10.1890/08-0279.1
Cable, J.M., K. Ogle, D.G. Williams, J.F. Weltzin and T.E. Huxman. 2008. Soil texture drives responses of soil respiration to precipitation pulses in the Sonoran desert: implications for climate change. Ecosystems 11:961-979. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-008-9172-x
White, J. R., R. D. Shannon, S.D. Bridgham, J. F. Weltzin, and J. Pastor. 2008. Effects of soil warming and drying on methane cycling in a northern peatland mesocosm study. Journal of Geophysical Research 113: G00A06. DOI: 10.1029/2007JG000609
Chen, J.Q., S.D. Bridgham, J. Pastor, A. Noormets, J. Keller, and J.F. Weltzin. 2008. Temperature responses to infrared-loading and water table manipulations in peatland mesocosms. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 50:1484-1496. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2008.00757.x
McPherson, G.R. and J.F. Weltzin. 2008. Implications of peak oil for industrialized societies. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 28:187-191. DOI: 10.1177/0270467608316098
Dermody, O, J.F. Weltzin, E.C. Engel, P. Allen, and R.J. Norby. 2008. How do elevated [CO2], warming, and reduced precipitation interact to affect soil moisture and LAI in an old field ecosystem? Plant and Soil 295:217- 227. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-007-9443-x
Resco de Dios, V., D.D. Ignace, W. Sun, T.E. Huxman, J.F. Weltzin and D.G. Williams. 2008. Chlorophyll fluorescence, predawn water potential and photosynthesis in precipitation pulse-driven ecosystems – implications for ecological studies. Functional Ecology 22:479-483. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01396.x
Engel, E.C. and J.F. Weltzin. 2008. Can community composition be predicted from pairwise species interactions? Plant Ecology 195:77-85. DOI: 10.1007/s11258-007-9300-2
Wan, S., R.J. Norby, J. Ledford, and J.F. Weltzin. 2007. Responses of soil respiration to elevated CO2, air warming, and soil water availability in a model old-field grassland. Global Change Biology 13:2411–2424. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01433.x
Perkins, T.A., W.R. Holmes, and J.F. Weltzin. 2007. Multi-species interactions in competitive hierarchies: New methods and empirical test. Journal of Vegetation Science 18:685-692. Runner-up, 2007 Editors’ Award; J. Veg. Sci. (2008) 19:1-2. DOI: 10.3170/2008-8-18468
Sanders, N.J., J.F. Weltzin, G.M. Crutsinger, M.C. Fitzpatrick, M.A. Nuñez, C.M. Oswalt, and K.E. Lane. 2007. Insects mediate the effects of propagule supply and resource availability on a plant invasion. Ecology 88:2383-2391. DOI: 10.1890/06-1449.1
Fortner, A.M. and J.F. Weltzin. 2007. Competitive hierarchy for four common old-field plant species depends on resource identity and availability. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 134:166-176. DOI: 10.3159/1095-5674(2007)134[166:CHFFCO]2.0.CO;2
Ignace, D.D., T.E. Huxman, J.F. Weltzin and D.G. Williams. 2007. Leaf gas exchange and water status responses of a native and non-native grass to precipitation across contrasting soil surfaces in the Sonoran Desert. Oecologia. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0670-x
Fitzpatrick, M.C., J.F. Weltzin, N.J. Sanders, and R.R. Dunn. 2007. The biogeography of prediction error: Why does the introduced range of the fire ant over predict its native range? Global Ecology and Biogeography 16:24-33. DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-822x.2006.00258.x
Belote, R.T. and J.F. Weltzin. 2006. Interactions between two co-dominant, invasive plants in the understory of a temperate deciduous forest. Biological Invasions 8:1629-1641. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-005-3932-8
Potts, D.L., T.E. Huxman, J.M. Cable, N.B. English, D.D. Ignace, J.A. Eilts, M.J. Mason, J.F. Weltzin and D.G. Williams. 2006. Antecedent moisture and seasonal precipitation influence response of canopy scale carbon and water exchange to rainfall pulses in semi arid grassland. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01732.x
Weltzin, J.F., R. T. Belote, L.T. Williams, J.K. Keller, and E.C. Engel. 2006. Authorship in ecology: attribution, accountability, and responsibility. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4:435-441. DOI: 10.1890/1540-9295(2006)4[435:AIEAAA]2.0.CO;2 [Reply to comments: Weltzin, J.F., R. T. Belote, L.T. Williams, J.K. Keller, and E.C. Engel. 2007. Ensuring that “authors” write - the authors reply. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5:11].
Heisler, J.L. and J.F. Weltzin. 2006. Variability matters: towards a perspective on the influence of precipitation on terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytologist 172:189-192. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01876.x
Potts, D.L., T.E. Huxman, B.J. Enquist, J.F. Weltzin, and D.G. Williams. 2006. Resilience and resistance of ecosystem functional response to a precipitation pulse in a semi arid grassland. Journal of Ecology 94:23-30. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365 2745.2005.01060.x.
Yepez, E.A., T.E. Huxman, D.D. Ignace, N.B. English, J.F. Weltzin, A.E. Castellanos, and D.G. Williams. 2005. Dynamics of transpiration and evaporation following a moisture pulse in semiarid grassland: a chamber based isotope method for partitioning flux components. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 132:359-376. DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2005.09.006
English, N.B., J.F. Weltzin, A. Fravolini, L.M. Thomas and D.G. Williams. 2005. The influence of soil texture and vegetation on soil moisture under rainout shelters in a semi-desert grassland. Journal of Arid Environments 63:324-343. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.03.013
Weltzin1, J.F., J.K. Keller1, S.D. Bridgham, J. Pastor, P.B. Allen, and J. Chen. 2005. Litter as a control on fen plant community composition and production. Oikos 110:537-546. 1Authors contributed equally.
Fitzpatrick, M.C. and J.F. Weltzin. 2005. Ecological niche models and the geography of biological invasions: a review and a novel application. Pages 45-60 in Inderjit, editor. Ecological and Agricultural Aspects of Invasive Plants. Birkhauser Verlag/Switzerland.
Cole, P.G. and J.F. Weltzin. 2005. Light limitation creates patchy distribution of a non-native grass in eastern deciduous forests. Biological Invasions 7:477-488.
Sanders, N.J., R.T. Belote and J.F. Weltzin. 2004. Multi trophic effects of elevated CO2 on understory plant and arthropod communities. Environmental Entomology 33:1609-1616.
Noormets, A., J. Chen, S.D. Bridgham, J. Pastor, J.F. Weltzin, B. Dewey, and J. LeMoine. 2004. The effects of infrared loading and water table on soil energy fluxes in northern peatlands. Ecosystems 7:573-582.
Cole, P.G. and J.F. Weltzin. 2004. Environmental correlates of the distribution and abundance of Microstegium vimineum in East Tennessee, USA. Southeastern Naturalist 3:545-562.
Chesson, P., R.L.E. Gebauer, S. Schwinning, N. Huntly, K. Wiegand, M.S.K. Ernest, A. Sher, A. Novoplansky, and J.F. Weltzin. 2004. Resource pulses, species interactions, and diversity maintenance in arid and semi arid environments. Oecologia 141:236-253.
Huxman1, T.E., M.D. Smith1, P.A. Fay, A.K. Knapp, M.R. Shaw, M.E. Loik, S.D. Smith, D.T. Tissue, J.C. Zak, J.F. Weltzin, W.T. Pockman, O.E. Sala, B. Haddad, J. Harte, G.W. Koch, S. Schwinning, E.E. Small, and D.G. Williams. 1Authors contributed equally. 2004. Convergence across biomes to a common rain-use efficiency. Nature 429:651-654.
Belote, R.T., J.F. Weltzin, and R.J. Norby. 2004. Response of an understory plant community to elevated [CO2] depends on differential responses of dominant invasive species and is mediated by soil water availability. New Phytologist 161:827-835.