Rob Massatti, Ph.D.
Dr. Rob Massatti is a research ecologist and plant geneticist with the Southwest Biological Science Center.
Dr. Massatti is interested in how species and their genetic variation are distributed across western North America, and investigates the historical and contemporary factors influencing these patterns using genetic, environmental, and distributional data. This research framework allows him to place findings in the context of restoration and native plant materials development.
Science and Products
Informing the use of native plant materials in restoration and rehabilitation with the Native Plant Seed Mapping Toolkit
Restoring ecosystems using native plant materials is a critical pursuit of federal land management agencies following natural disasters and disturbances. The Native Plant Seed Mapping Toolkit provides practitioners with quantitative data to support successful restoration outcomes.
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation (GWRC)
Research using genetic principles, methods, and data provides critical information for restoration and conservation science. Genetic research may rely only upon genomic sequencing techniques, which generate abundant, genome-wide DNA sequences that can provide a glimpse into a species’ evolutionary history and adaptations. Genetic research may also look at an organism’s physical traits to...
Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
In the western United States (U.S.), there are many regionally restricted, rare species resulting from complex demographic and ecological processes through time. In addition to the inherent risks associated with being rare (i.e., having few individuals spread over a limited area that could be disproportionately affected by chance events), anthropogenic disturbances are increasing in magnitude...
Science and Products
Informing the use of native plant materials in restoration and rehabilitation with the Native Plant Seed Mapping Toolkit
Restoring ecosystems using native plant materials is a critical pursuit of federal land management agencies following natural disasters and disturbances. The Native Plant Seed Mapping Toolkit provides practitioners with quantitative data to support successful restoration outcomes.
Informing seed transfer guidelines and native plant materials development
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public land...
Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation (GWRC)
Research using genetic principles, methods, and data provides critical information for restoration and conservation science. Genetic research may rely only upon genomic sequencing techniques, which generate abundant, genome-wide DNA sequences that can provide a glimpse into a species’ evolutionary history and adaptations. Genetic research may also look at an organism’s physical traits to...
Genomic Research Supporting Western Conservation
In the western United States (U.S.), there are many regionally restricted, rare species resulting from complex demographic and ecological processes through time. In addition to the inherent risks associated with being rare (i.e., having few individuals spread over a limited area that could be disproportionately affected by chance events), anthropogenic disturbances are increasing in magnitude...