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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Road Dust Correlated With Decreased Reproduction Of The Endangered Utah Shrub Hesperidanthus Suffrutescens, Matthew B. Lewis, Eugene W. Schupp, Thomas A. Monaco Dec 2017

Road Dust Correlated With Decreased Reproduction Of The Endangered Utah Shrub Hesperidanthus Suffrutescens, Matthew B. Lewis, Eugene W. Schupp, Thomas A. Monaco

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Roads associated with energy development have fragmented much of the Uinta Basin, the Colorado Plateau in general, and other areas of western North America. Beyond reducing available habitat, spreading exotic species, and creating barriers to dispersal, unpaved roads also increase dust loads on plants and pollinators, which may reduce plant growth and reproduction. We studied the effects of an unpaved road on reproduction of an endangered Utah endemic shrub. We measured the size and reproductive output of 156 plants and the dust deposition in plots at increasing distances from the road. We also hand outcrossed 240 flowers from 80 plants …


Phenology Largely Explains Taller Grass At Successful Nests In Greater Sage-Grouse, Joseph T. Smith, Jason D. Tack, Kevin Doherty, Brady W. Allred, Jeremy D. Maestas, Lorelle I. Berkeley, Seth J. Dettenmaier, Terry A. Messmer, David E. Naugle Nov 2017

Phenology Largely Explains Taller Grass At Successful Nests In Greater Sage-Grouse, Joseph T. Smith, Jason D. Tack, Kevin Doherty, Brady W. Allred, Jeremy D. Maestas, Lorelle I. Berkeley, Seth J. Dettenmaier, Terry A. Messmer, David E. Naugle

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Much interest lies in the identification of manageable habitat variables that affect key vital rates for species of concern. For ground-nesting birds, vegetation surrounding the nest may play an important role in mediating nest success by providing concealment from predators. Height of grasses surrounding the nest is thought to be a driver of nest survival in greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse), a species that has experienced widespread population declines throughout their range. However, a growing body of the literature has found that widely used field methods can produce misleading inference on the relationship between grass height and nest success. Specifically, …


Effects Of Livestock Grazing On Rangeland Biodiversity: A Meta-Analysis Of Grouse Populations, Seth J. Dettenmaier, Terry A. Messmer, Torre J. Hovick, David K. Dahlgren Oct 2017

Effects Of Livestock Grazing On Rangeland Biodiversity: A Meta-Analysis Of Grouse Populations, Seth J. Dettenmaier, Terry A. Messmer, Torre J. Hovick, David K. Dahlgren

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Livestock grazing affects over 60% of the world’s agricultural lands and can influence rangeland ecosystem services and the quantity and quality of wildlife habitat, resulting in changes in biodiversity. Concomitantly, livestock grazing has the potential to be detrimental to some wildlife species while benefiting other rangeland organisms. Many imperiled grouse species require rangeland landscapes that exhibit diverse vegetation structure and composition to complete their life cycle. However, because of declining populations and reduced distributions, grouse are increasingly becoming a worldwide conservation concern. Grouse, as a suite of upland gamebirds, are often considered an umbrella species for other wildlife and thus …


Reconciling Niches And Neutrality In A Subalpine Temperate Forest, Tucker J. Furniss, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz Jun 2017

Reconciling Niches And Neutrality In A Subalpine Temperate Forest, Tucker J. Furniss, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity has been put forth to explain species coexistence in forests worldwide, but its assumption of species equivalence has been met with much debate. Theoretical advancements have reconciled the opposing concepts of neutral and niche theories as two ends of a continuum, improving our understanding of global patterns in diversity and community assembly. However, the relative importance of niche and neutral processes remains understudied in temperate forests. To determine the balance of niche and neutral processes in climatically limited subalpine temperate forests, we established the Utah Forest Dynamics Plot, a 13.64-ha plot comprising 27,845 stems …


Psychobiology Of Ingestive Behavior Of Herbivores, Juan J. Villalba Apr 2017

Psychobiology Of Ingestive Behavior Of Herbivores, Juan J. Villalba

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

This article describes the process of food selection and consumption in herbivores based on smell, taste, and touch.


Can Carbon Fluxes Explain Differences In Soil Organic Carbon Storage Under Aspen And Conifer Forest Overstories?, Antra Boča, H. Van Miegroet Apr 2017

Can Carbon Fluxes Explain Differences In Soil Organic Carbon Storage Under Aspen And Conifer Forest Overstories?, Antra Boča, H. Van Miegroet

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Climate- and management-induced changes in tree species distributions are raising questions regarding tree species-specific effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and stability. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widespread tree species in North America, but fire exclusion often promotes the succession to conifer dominated forests. Aspen in the Western US have been found to store more SOC in the mineral soil than nearby conifers, but we do not yet fully understand the source of this differential SOC accumulation. We measured total SOC storage (0–50 cm), characterized stable and labile SOC pools, and quantified above- and belowground …


A Tree Species Effect On Soil That Is Consistent Across The Species’ Range: The Case Of Aspen And Soil Carbon In North America, Jerome Laganiere, Antra Boča, H. Van Miegroet, David Paré Apr 2017

A Tree Species Effect On Soil That Is Consistent Across The Species’ Range: The Case Of Aspen And Soil Carbon In North America, Jerome Laganiere, Antra Boča, H. Van Miegroet, David Paré

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Trembling aspen covers a large geographic range in North America, and previous studies reported that a better understanding of its singular influence on soil properties and processes is of high relevance for global change questions. Here we investigate the potential impact of a shift in aspen abundance on soil carbon sequestration and soil carbon stability at the continental scale by conducting a systematic literature review using 23 published studies. Our review shows that aspen’s effect on soil carbon is relatively consistent throughout the species range. Aspen stores less C in the forest floor but similar amounts in the mineral soil …


Patterns In Greater Sage-Grouse Population Dynamics Correspond With Public Grazing Records At Broad Scales, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge, Timothy J. Assal, Kari E. Veblen, David A. Pyke, Michael L. Casazza Mar 2017

Patterns In Greater Sage-Grouse Population Dynamics Correspond With Public Grazing Records At Broad Scales, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge, Timothy J. Assal, Kari E. Veblen, David A. Pyke, Michael L. Casazza

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Human land use, such as livestock grazing, can have profound yet varied effects on wildlife interacting within common ecosystems, yet our understanding of land-use effects is often generalized from short-term, local studies that may not correspond with trends at broader scales. Here we used public land records to characterize livestock grazing across Wyoming, USA, and we used Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) as a model organism to evaluate responses to livestock management. With annual counts of male Sage-grouse from 743 leks (breeding display sites) during 2004-2014, we modeled population trends in response to grazing level (represented by a relative grazing index) …


Herbivore Effects On Productivity Vary By Guild: Cattle Increase Mean Productivity While Wildlife Reduce Variability, Grace K. Charles, Lauren Mcgeoch Porensky, Corinna Riginos, Kari E. Veblen, Truman P. Young Jan 2017

Herbivore Effects On Productivity Vary By Guild: Cattle Increase Mean Productivity While Wildlife Reduce Variability, Grace K. Charles, Lauren Mcgeoch Porensky, Corinna Riginos, Kari E. Veblen, Truman P. Young

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Wild herbivores and livestock share the majority of rangelands worldwide, yet few controlled experiments have addressed their individual, additive, and interactive impacts on ecosystem function. While ungulate herbivores generally reduce standing biomass, their effects on aboveground net primary production (ANPP) can vary by spatial and temporal context, intensity of herbivory, and herbivore identity and species richness. Some evidence indicates that moderate levels of herbivory can stimulate aboveground productivity, but few studies have explicitly tested the relationships among herbivore identity, grazing intensity, and ANPP. We used a long- term exclosure experiment to examine the effects of three groups of wild and …