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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Contrasting Effects Of Different Mammalian Herbivores On Sagebrush Plant Communities, Kari E. Veblen
Contrasting Effects Of Different Mammalian Herbivores On Sagebrush Plant Communities, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Herbivory by both grazing and browsing ungulates shapes the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, and both types of herbivory have been implicated in major ecosystem state changes. Despite the ecological consequences of differences in diets and feeding habits among herbivores, studies that experimentally distinguish effects of grazing from spatially co-occurring, but temporally segregated browsing are extremely rare. Here we use a set of long-term exclosures in northern Utah, USA, to determine how domestic grazers vs. wild ungulate herbivores (including browsers and mixed feeders) affect sagebrush-dominated plant communities that historically covered ~62 million ha in North America. We sampled …
Native And Domestic Browsers And Grazers Reduce Fuels, Fire Temperatures, And Acacia-Ant Mortality In An African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Native And Domestic Browsers And Grazers Reduce Fuels, Fire Temperatures, And Acacia-Ant Mortality In An African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Despite the importance of fire and herbivory in structuring savanna systems, few replicated experiments have examined the interactive effects of herbivory and fire on plant dynamics. In addition, the effects of fire on associated ant-tree mutualisms have been largely unexplored. We carried out small controlled burns in each of 18 herbivore treatment plots of the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE), where experimentally excluding elephants has resulted in 42% greater tree densities. The KLEE design includes six different herbivore treatments that allowed us to examine how different combinations of megaherbivore wildlife, mesoherbivore wildlife, and cattle affect fire temperatures and subsequent loss …
Monitoring Of Livestock Grazing Effects On Bureau Of Land Management Land, Kari E. Veblen
Monitoring Of Livestock Grazing Effects On Bureau Of Land Management Land, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Public land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are charged with managing rangelands throughout the Western United States for multiple uses such as livestock grazing and conservation of sensitive species and their habitats. Monitoring of condition and trends of these rangelands, particularly with respect to effects of livestock grazing, provide critical information for effective management of these multi-use landscapes. We therefore investigated the availability of livestock grazing-related quantitative monitoring data and qualitative region-specific Land Health Standards (LHS) data across BLM grazing allotments in the Western United States. We then queried university and federal rangeland science experts …
Pathways For Positive Cattle-Wildlife Interactions In Semi-Arid Rangelands, Kari E. Veblen
Pathways For Positive Cattle-Wildlife Interactions In Semi-Arid Rangelands, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Livestock-wildlife interactions in rangelands are often viewed in terms of competition, but livestock and native ungulates can also benefit each other through long- term modifications of rangeland habitats. Here we synthesize research on rangelands in central Laikipia focusing on two types of cattle-wildlife interactions that have implications for their long-term coexistence. The first interaction occurs via redistribution of soil nutrients within the ecosystem, which is a consequence of the use of bomas (temporary corrals) to manage livestock. Our studies on two different soil types show that rotational boma management creates hectare-scale patches in the landscape that are enriched in soil …
Contrasting Effects Of Cattle And Wildlife On The Vegetation Development Of A Savanna Landscape Mosaic, Kari E. Veblen
Contrasting Effects Of Cattle And Wildlife On The Vegetation Development Of A Savanna Landscape Mosaic, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Through their effects on plant communities, herbivores can exert strong direct and indirect effects on savanna ecosystems and have the potential to create and maintain savanna landscape heterogeneity. Throughout much of sub‐Saharan Africa, periodic creation and abandonment of livestock corrals leads to landscape mosaics of long‐term ecosystem hotspots that attract both cattle and large ungulate wildlife. The development and maintenance of vegetation in these types of hotspots may be controlled in part by herbivory. Cattle and wildlife may have different, potentially contrasting effects on plant succession and plant–plant interactions. We ask how cattle and wild herbivores affect the maintenance and …
California Grasslands Alkali Specialist, Hemizonia Pungenspungens, Prefers Non-Alkali Soil, Kari E. Veblen
California Grasslands Alkali Specialist, Hemizonia Pungenspungens, Prefers Non-Alkali Soil, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Edaphically severe habitats commonly support edaphic endemics, specialized plant species that do not occur elsewhere. The endemism of native plant species in edaphically specialized habitats suggests either (a) that these native endemic species are uniquely specialized to survive and grow better under the conditions prevalent in these harsh areas, or (b) that these areas represent refuges from competition with other (often exotic) species.
Tackling Aquatic Invasions: Risks And Opportunities For The Aquarium Fish Industry, Kari E. Veblen
Tackling Aquatic Invasions: Risks And Opportunities For The Aquarium Fish Industry, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
The aquarium trade is an important and rapidly growing vector for introduced species in the United States. We examined this vector by surveying pet stores in the San Francisco Bay–Delta region to compile a list of aquarium fish species commonly stocked. We identified which of these species might be able to survive in the Bay–Delta, and investigated store representatives’ knowledge and attitudes about biological invasions. A restrictive analysis using conservative estimates of fish temperature tolerances and environmental conditions found that the local aquarium trade includes 5 fish species that can survive in a temperate system such as the Bay–Delta. Under …
Response Of One-Year-Old Planted Nativegrasses To Controlled Burns, Kari E. Veblen
Response Of One-Year-Old Planted Nativegrasses To Controlled Burns, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
No abstract provided.
Preventing Horticultural Introductions Of Invasive Plants: Potential Efficacy Of Voluntary Initiatives, Kari E. Veblen
Preventing Horticultural Introductions Of Invasive Plants: Potential Efficacy Of Voluntary Initiatives, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Although prevention is the most cost-effective way to avoid the enormous expenses associated with plant invasions, invasive plants continue to be imported as trade commodities for horticultural use. With very little government regulation of horticultural imports of invasive plants, efforts have turned toward fostering voluntary initiatives to encourage self-regulation by the horticulture trade. Our study takes the first step toward evaluating the potential success of these voluntary initiatives. We conducted a survey of nursery professionals to gauge their perceptions of invasive species, the role of the horticulture trade in invasive plant introductions, and their participation—potential and actual—in preventive measures outlined …