Life Sciences Commons^™

Climatic Drivers Of Verticillium Dahliae Occurrence In Mediterranean Olive-Growing Areas Of Southern Spain, Juan M. Requena-Mullor, Jose Manuel García-Garrido, Pedro Antonio García, Estefanía Rodríguez

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae, is one of the most harmful diseases in Mediterranean olive-growing areas. Although, the effects of both soil temperature and moisture on V. dahliae are well known, there is scant knowledge about what climatic drivers affect the occurrence of the pathogen on a large scale. Here, we investigate what climatic drivers determine V. dahliae occurrence in olive-growing areas in southern Spain. In order to bridge this gap in knowledge, a large-scale field survey was carried out to collect data on the occurrence of V. dahliae in 779 olive groves in Granada …

Control Of Blood Volume Following Hypovolemic Challenge In Vertebrates: Transcapillary Versus Lymphatic Mechanisms., Stanley S. Hillman, Robert C. Drewes, Michael S. Hedrick

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Anurans have an exceptional capacity for maintaining vascular volume compared with other groups of vertebrates. They can mobilize interstitial fluids via lymphatic return at rates that are ten-fold higher than mammals. This extraordinary capacity is the result of coordination of specialized skeletal muscles and pulmonary ventilation that vary volume and pressure of subcutaneous lymph sacs, thus moving lymph to dorsally located lymph hearts that return lymph to the vascular space. Variation in the capacity to mobilize lymph within anurans varies with the degree of terrestriality, development of skeletal muscles, lung volume and lung compliance, and lymph heart pressure development. This …

Fabrication Of Forcespinning® Nanofibers Incorporating Nopal Extract, Cristobal Rodriguez, Victoria Padilla, Karen Lozano, J. Andrew Mcdonald, Luis Materon, Alejandra Chapa, Fariha Ahmad, Carlos Trevino De Leon, Robert Gilkerson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study, nanofibers composed of Opuntia cochenillifera nopal mucilage (N) extract combined with chitosan (CH) and pullulan (PL) (N/CH/PL) were produced via Forcespinning®. The developed nonwoven composite membranes are comprised of long, continuous, and homogenous fibers with fiber average diameter varying between 251±77 nm and 406±127 nm depending on the concentration of N. After crosslinking, the developed membranes were highly stable in water. The water absorption capacity of the N/CH/PL composite nanofiber membranes was shown to be 65% higher when compared to the CH/PL nanofiber membranes. Nopal dipcoated membranes show inhibition of gram-negative Escherichia coli, indicating antibacterial properties. These …

Editor's Choice: Aldo Leopold Conservation Award, Luis A. Ruedas

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Every year since 2003, the American Society of Mammalogists confers during its annual meeting the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award on a highly deserving individual. A consequence of the award for the awardee is the responsibility to write a feature article in the pages of this journal. Aldo Leopold, the namesake of the award, is considered by an overwhelming majority of biologists to be the father of contemporary conservation biology. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Leopold graduated with a Master’s degree from the Yale Forest School, which had been endowed in 1902 by the Pinchot family and was one of the first …

Biodiversity And Ecology Of Lichens Of Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, Roger Rosentreter

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We inventoried lichens in Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska, USA We assembled the known information on occurrence and ecology of lichens in this park by combining field, herbarium, and literature studies. Our results provide baseline data on lichen occurrence that may be used in resource condition assessments, vulnerability assessments, long-term ecological monitoring, and resource management. We report a total of 616 taxa of lichenized fungi from the Park, plus an additional five subspecies and three varieties, all of which are new additions to the National Park Service database for this park unit. An additional five species of nonlichenized lichenicolous …

Harvester Ants Reduce Seed Survivorship In Slickspot Peppergrass, A Rare Mustard Endemic To Idaho, Jennifer A. Brown, Ian C. Robertson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Seed predation can significantly reduce the reproductive success of individual plants and their populations. The consequences of seed predation often are most pronounced for rare plant species, in which loss of seeds can have a disproportionate effect on populations. The present study examined the effects of seed predation by Owyhee harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex salinus) on seed survivorship in slickspot peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum), a rare mustard endemic to sagebrush-steppe habitat in southwestern Idaho. Within sagebrush-steppe, L. papilliferum is restricted to microsites known as “slick spots”—shallow depressions of soil characterized by distinct clay layers and surface water retention …

Pathology Findings And Correlation With Body Condition Index In Stranded Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) In The Northeastern Pacific And Hawaii From 2004 To 2013, Stephen A. Raverty, Judy St. Leger, Dawn P. Noren, Kathy Burek Huntington, David S. Rotstein, Francis M.D. Gulland,, Deborah A. Duffield, Multiple Additional Authors

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding health and mortality in killer whales (Orcinus orca) is crucial for management and conservation actions. We reviewed pathology reports from 53 animals that stranded in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii between 2004 and 2013 and used data from 35 animals that stranded from 2001 to 2017 to assess association with morphometrics, blubber thickness, body condition and cause of death. Of the 53 cases, cause of death was determined for 22 (42%) and nine additional animals demonstrated findings of significant importance for population health. Causes of calf mortalities included infectious disease, nutritional, and congenital malformations. Mortalities in sub-adults were …

Poorly Vetted Conservation Ranks Can Be More Wrong Than Right: Lessons From Texas Land Snails, Kathryn E. Perez, Benjamin T. Hutchins, Jeffrey C. Nekola

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Setting priorities for scarce conservation dollars requires an accurate accounting of the most vulnerable species. For many invertebrates, lack of taxonomic expertise, low detectability, and funding limitations are impediments to this goal, with conservation ranks usually based on expert opinion, the published literature, and museum records. Because of biases and inaccuracies in these data, they may not provide an accurate basis for conservation ranks, especially when compared to de novo field surveys. We assessed this issue by comparative examination of these data sources in re-ranking the conservation status of all 254 land snail taxa reported from Texas, USA. We confirmed …

Notch Family Members Follow Stringent Requirements For Intracellular Domain Dimerization At Sequence-Paired Sites, Jacob J. Crow, Allan R. Albig

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Notch signaling is essential for multicellular life, regulating core functions such as cellular identity, differentiation, and fate. These processes require highly sensitive systems to avoid going awry, and one such regulatory mechanism is through Notch intracellular domain dimerization. Select Notch target genes contain sequence-paired sites (SPS); motifs in which two Notch transcriptional activation complexes can bind and interact through Notch’s ankyrin domain, resulting in enhanced transcriptional activation. This mechanism has been mostly studied through Notch1, and to date, the abilities of the other Notch family members have been left unexplored. Through the utilization of minimalized, SPS-driven luciferase assays, we were …

Novel Small Rnas Expressed By Bartonella Bacilliformis Under Multiple Conditions Reveal Potential Mechanisms For Persistence In The Sand Fly Vector And Human Host, Shaun Wachter, Linda D. Hicks, Rahul Raghavan, Michael F. Minnick

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bartonella bacilliformis, the etiological agent of Carrión’s disease, is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular alphaproteobacterium. Carrión’s disease is an emerging but neglected tropical illness endemic to Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. B. bacilliformis is spread between humans through the bite of female phlebotomine sand flies. As a result, the pathogen encounters significant and repeated environmental shifts during its life cycle, including changes in pH and temperature. In most bacteria, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) serve as effectors that may post-transcriptionally regulate the stress response to such changes. However, sRNAs have not been characterized in B. bacilliformis, to date. We …

Using The Rdna Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 To Identify The Invasive Pest Rhagoletis Cerasi (Diptera: Tephritidae) In North America, Norman B. Barr, Daniel Garza, Lisa A. Ledezma, David A. Salinas

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The cherry-infesting fruit fly Rhagoletis cerasi Loew is a significant commercial pest in Europe that has recently invaded North America. To date, it has been trapped only in Canada and northwestern counties of New York. It has the potential to spread further and threaten production and movement of cherry commodities. Timely diagnosis of the pest will facilitate surveys and quick response to new detections. Adult morphology of the pest is distinct from other flies in North America. However, when flies are significantly damaged on traps or the immature life stages are found in fruits, molecular methods of identification are important …

Rivfishtime: A Global Database Of Fish Time-Series As A Currency For Global Change Ecology Research In Riverine Systems, Lise Comte, Juan Carvajal-Quintero, Pablo A. Tedesco, Ulrich Brose, Tibor Erős, Ana F. Filipe, Marie-Josée Fortin, Katie Irving, Claire Jacquet, Christopher M. Taylor

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Motivation

We compiled a global database of long-term riverine fish surveys from 46 regional and national monitoring programmes and from individual academic research efforts, with which numerous basic and applied questions in ecology and global change research can be explored. Such spatially and temporally extensive datasets have been lacking for freshwater systems in comparison to terrestrial ones.

Main types of variables contained

The database includes 11,386 time-series of riverine fish community catch data, including 646,270 species-specific abundance records, together with metadata related to the geographical location and sampling methodology of each time-series.

Spatial location and grain

The database contains 11,072 …

Tobacco Hornworm (Manduca Sexta) Oral Secretion Elicits Reactive Oxygen Species In Isolated Tomato Protoplasts, Akanksha Gandhi, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Cruz Chappa, Mandeep Tayal, Nirakar Sahoo

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Plants are under constant attack by a suite of insect herbivores. Over millions of years of coexistence, plants have evolved the ability to sense insect feeding via herbivore-associated elicitors in oral secretions, which can mobilize defense responses. However, herbivore-associated elicitors and the intrinsic downstream modulator of such interactions remain less understood. In this study, we show that tobacco hornworm caterpillar (Manduca sexta) oral secretion (OS) induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) protoplasts. By using a dye-based ROS imaging approach, our study shows that application of plant-fed (PF) M. sexta OS generates significantly higher ROS while artificial diet-fed …

Lrrc8 Family Proteins Within Lysosomes Regulate Cellular Osmoregulation And Enhance Cell Survival To Multiple Physiological Stresses, Ping Li, Meiqin Hu, Ce Wang, Xinghua Feng, Zhuangzhuang Zhao, Ying Yang, Nirakar Sahoo, Mingxue Gu, Yexin Yang, Shiyu Xiao

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

LRRC8 family proteins on the plasma membrane play a critical role in cellular osmoregulation by forming volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) necessary to prevent necrotic cell death.We demonstrate that intracellular LRRC8 proteins acting within lysosomes also play an essential role in cellular osmoregulation. LRRC8 proteins on lysosome membranes generate large lysosomal volume-regulated anion channel (Lyso-VRAC) currents in response to low cytoplasmic ionic strength conditions. When a double-leucine L706L707 motif at the C terminus of LRRC8A was mutated to alanines, normal plasma membrane VRAC currents were still observed, but Lyso-VRAC currents were absent. We used this targeting mutant, as well as pharmacological …

Direct Binding Of Tfeα Opens Dna Binding Cleft Of Rna Polymeras, Sung-Hoon Jun, Jaekyung Hyun, Hoyoung Kim, Michael S. Bartlett, Hyun-Soo Cho, Katsuhiko S. Murakami

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Opening of the DNA binding cleft of cellular RNA polymerase (RNAP) is necessary for transcription initiation but the underlying molecular mechanism is not known. Here, we report on the cryo-electron microscopy structures of the RNAP, RNAP-TFEα binary, and RNAPTFEα-promoter DNA ternary complexes from archaea, Thermococcus kodakarensis (Tko). The structures reveal that TFEα bridges the RNAP clamp and stalk domains to open the DNA binding cleft. Positioning of promoter DNA into the cleft closes it while maintaining the TFEα interactions with the RNAP mobile modules. The structures and photo-crosslinking results also suggest that the conserved aromatic residue in the extended winged-helix …

Landscape Genetics Of Plants: Challenges And Opportunities, Mitchell Cruzan, Elizabeth C. Hendrickson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dispersal is one of the most important but least understood processes in plant ecology and evolutionary biology. Dispersal of seeds maintains and establishes populations, and pollen and seed dispersal are responsible for gene flow within and among populations. Traditional views of dispersal and gene flow assume models that are governed solely by geographic distance and do not account for variation in dispersal vector behavior in response to heterogenous landscapes. Landscape genetics integrates population genetics with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to evaluate the effects of landscape features on gene flow patterns (effective dispersal). Surprisingly, relatively few landscape genetic studies have been …

Endothelial Cell Contributions To Covid-19, Alexandra E. Oxford, Fabio Halla, Evan B. Robertson, Brad E. Morrison

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding of the clinical, histological and molecular features of the novel coronavirus 2019 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has remained elusive. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by this virus has unusual clinical presentation with regard to other related coronaviruses. Recent reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2, unlike other related viruses, infects and replicates within endothelial cells, which may explain a significant portion of the observed clinical pathology. Likewise, mounting evidence associates vascular and endothelial cell dysfunction with increased mortality. This review focuses on understanding how endothelial cell pathology is caused by SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular and cellular levels and how …

Gaba Metabolism Is Crucial For Long-Term Survival Of Anoxia In Annual Killifish Embryos, Daniel E. Zajic, Jason Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In most vertebrates, a lack of oxygen quickly leads to irreparable damages to vital organs, such as the brain and heart. However, there are some vertebrates that have evolved mechanisms to survive periods of no oxygen (anoxia). The annual killifish (Austrofundulus limnaeus) survives in ephemeral ponds in the coastal deserts of Venezuela and their embryos have the remarkable ability to tolerate anoxia for months. When exposed to anoxia, embryos of A. limnaeus respond by producing significant amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This study aims to understand the role of GABA in supporting the metabolic response to anoxia. To explore this, …

Signaling And Other Functions Of Lipids In Autophagy: A Review, Alejandro Soto-Avellaneda, Brad E. Morrison

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The process of autophagy is integral to cellular function. In this process, proteins, organelles, and metabolites are engulfed in a lipid vesicle and trafficked to a lysosome for degradation. Its central role in protein and organelle homeostasis has piqued interest for autophagy dysfunction as a driver of pathology for a number of diseases including cancer, muscular disorders, neurological disorders, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. For much of its history, the study of autophagy has centered around proteins, however, due to advances in mass spectrometry and refined methodologies, the role of lipids in this essential cellular process has become more apparent. …

A Rapid Caspase-11 Response Induced By Ifng Priming Is Independent Of Guanylate Binding Proteins, Sky W. Brubaker, Susan M. Brewer, Liliana M. Massis, Brooke A. Napier, Denise M. Monack

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In mammalian cells, inflammatory caspases detect Gram-negative bacterial invasion by binding lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Murine caspase-11 binds cytosolic LPS, stimulates pyroptotic cell death, and drives sepsis pathogenesis. Extracellular priming factors enhance caspase-11-dependent pyroptosis. Herein we compare priming agents and demonstrate that IFNγ priming elicits the most rapid and amplified macrophage response to cytosolic LPS. Previous studies indicate that IFN-induced expression of caspase-11 and guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) are causal events explaining the effects of priming on cytosolic LPS sensing. We demonstrate that these events cannot fully account for the increased response triggered by IFNγ treatment. Indeed, IFNγ priming …

Evolutionary Origins Of Three Rare Alpine-Endemic Species Of Lomatium (Apiaceae) In The Wallowa And Elkhorn Mountains Of Northeastern Oregon, Michael V. Ottenlips, Mary Ann E. Feist, Donald H. Mansfield, Gregory M. Plunkett, Sven Buerki, James F. Smith

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Premise of research. Shared ancestry and convergent/parallel evolution are the two primary causes of morphologically similar species occurring in similar climatic niches. Alpine habitats harbor a unique biodiversity that is often characterized by many convergences in life-forms, such as cushion and rosulate habits. Three species of Lomatium (L. greenmanii, L. erythrocarpum, and L. oreganum) are high-alpine specialists endemic to the Wallowa and Elkhorn Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Earlier studies suggested that two of these species might be sister taxa, but because of the prevalence of convergence in alpine habitats and recent studies that have highlighted …

Long‐Distance Natal Dispersal Is Relatively Frequent And Correlated With Environmental Factors In A Widespread Raptor, Hanna M. Mccaslin, T. Trevor Caughlin, Julie A. Heath

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

1. Dispersal is a critical process influencing population dynamics and responses to global change. Long‐distance dispersal (LDD) can be especially important for gene flow and adaptability, although little is known about the factors influencing LDD because studying large‐scale movements is challenging and LDD tends to be observed less frequently than shorter‐distance dispersal (SDD).
2. We sought to understand patterns of natal dispersal at a large scale, specifically aiming to understand the relative frequency of LDD compared to SDD and correlates of dispersal distances.
3. We used bird banding and encounter data for American kestrels (Falco sparverius) to investigate the effects of …

Best Practices For Successfully Writing And Publishing A Genome Announcement In Microbiology Resource Announcements, Julie C. Dunning Hotopp, David A. Baltrus, Vincent M. Bruno, John J. Dennehy, Steven R. Gill, Julia A. Maresca, Jelle Matthijnssens, Irene L. J. Newton, Catherine Putonti, David A. Rasko, Antonis Rokas, Simon Roux, Jason E. Stajich, Kenneth M. Stedman, Frank J. Stewart, J. Cameron Thrash

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbiology Resource Announcements (MRA) provides peer-reviewed announcements of scientific resources for the microbial research community. We describe the best practices for writing an announcement that ensures that these publications are truly useful resources. Adhering to these best practices can lead to successful publication without the need for extensive revisions.

From Theory To Practice: Gathering Evidence For The Validity Of Data Collected With The Interdisciplinary Science Rubric (Idsr)., Brie Tripp, Erin E. Shortlidge

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a world of burgeoning societal issues, future scientists must be equipped to work inter-disciplinarily to address real-world problems. To train undergraduate students toward this end, practitioners must also have quality assessment tools to measure students' ability to think within an interdisciplinary system. There is, however, a dearth of instruments that accurately measure this competency. Using a theoretically and empirically based model, we developed an instrument, the Interdisciplinary Science Rubric (IDSR), to measure undergraduate students' interdisciplinary science thinking. An essay assignment was administered to 102 students across five courses at three different institutions. Students' work was scored with the newly …

Host Plant Defense Produces Species-Specific Alterations To Flight Muscle Protein Structure And Flight-Related Fitness Traits Of Two Armyworms, Scott L. Portman, Gary W. Felton, Rupesh R. Kariyat, James H. Marden

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Insects manifest phenotypic plasticity in their development and behavior in response to plant defenses, via molecular mechanisms that produce tissue-specific changes. Phenotypic changes might vary between species that differ in their preferred hosts and these effects could extend beyond larval stages. To test this,we manipulated the diet of southern armyworm(SAW; Spodoptera eridania) and fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) using a tomato mutant for jasmonic acid plant defense pathway (def1), and wild-type plants, and then quantified gene expression of Troponin t (Tnt) and flightmusclemetabolismof the adult insects. Differences in Tnt spliceform ratios in insect flight muscles correlate with changes to flight …

Metabolomics Analysis Of Annual Killifish (Austrofundulus Limnaeus) Embryos During Aerial Dehydration Stress, Daniel Zajic, Jason Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus, survives in ephemeral ponds in the coastal deserts of Venezuela. Persistence through the dry season is dependent on drought-resistant eggs embedded in the pond sediments during the rainy season. The ability of these embryos to enter drastic metabolic dormancy (diapause) during normal development enables A. limnaeus to survive conditions lethal to most other aquatic vertebrates; critical to the survival of the species is the ability of embryos to survive months and perhaps years without access to liquid water. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms that aid in survival of the dry season. This study …

No Water, No Problem: Stage-Specific Metabolic Responses To Dehydration Stress In Annual Killifish Embryos, Daniel E. Zajic, Jonathon P. Nicholson, Jason Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Annual killifish survive in temporary ponds by producing drought-tolerant embryos that can enter metabolic dormancy (diapause). Survival of dehydration stress is achieved through severe reduction of evaporative water loss. We assessed dehydration stress tolerance in diapausing and developing embryos. We measured oxygen consumption rates under aquatic and aerial conditions to test the hypothesis that there is a trade-off between water retention and oxygen permeability. Diapausing embryos survive dehydrating conditions for over 1.5 years, and post-diapause stages can survive over 100 days. Diapausing embryos respond to dehydration stress by increasing oxygen consumption rates while post-diapause embryos exhibit the same or reduced …

Enhanced Hyaluronan Signaling And Autophagy Dysfunction By Vps35 D620n, Abir A. Rahman, Alejandro Soto-Avellaneda, Iva Stojkovska, Nathan K. Lai, Joshua E. Albright, Abby R. Webb, Emily Oe, Jacob P. Valarde, Alexandra E. Oxford, Paige E. Urquhart, Brandon Wager, Connor Brown, Isabella Amado, Peyton Vasquez, Nicholas Lehning, Xinzhu Pu, Brad E. Morrison

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The motor features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) result from the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra with autophagy dysfunction being closely linked to this disease. A PD-causing familial mutation in VPS35 (D620N) has been reported to inhibit autophagy. In order to identify signaling pathways responsible for this autophagy defect, we performed an unbiased screen using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of wild-type or VPS35 D620N-expressing retinoic acid-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. We report that VPS35 D620N-expressing cells exhibit transcriptome changes indicative of alterations in extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction as well as PI3K-AKT signaling, a pathway known to regulate autophagy. Hyaluronan (HA) …

Investigation Of An Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial And Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting Nepenthes Phytotelmata, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Leonora S. Bittleston, Mark Arcebal K. Naive, Anthony E. Kiszewski, Perry Archival C. Buenavente, David J. Lohman, Naomi E. Pierce

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Elevation is an important determinant of ecological community composition. It integrates several abiotic features and leads to strong, repeatable patterns of community structure, including changes in the abundance and richness of numerous taxa. However, the influence of elevational gradients on microbes is understudied relative to plants and animals. To compare the influence of elevation on multiple taxa simultaneously, we sampled phytotelm communities within a tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes mindanaoensis) along a gradient from 400 to 1200 m a.s.l. We use a combination of metabarcoding and physical counts to assess diversity and richness of bacteria, micro-eukaryotes, and arthropods, and …

Passive Restoration Of Vegetation And Biological Soil Crusts Following 80 Years Of Exclusion From Grazing Across The Great Basin, Lea A. Condon, Nicole Pietrasiak, Roger Rosentreter, David A. Pyke

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Restoration targets for biological soil crusts are largely unknown. We surveyed seven 80‐year‐old grazing exclosures across northern Nevada for biocrusts to quantify reference conditions at relatively undisturbed sites. Exclosures were associated with the following plant communities: Wyoming big sagebrush, black sagebrush, and areas co‐dominated by winterfat and Wyoming big sagebrush. Cover of biocrusts and shrubs were generally higher than other plant groups at these sites, regardless of being inside or outside of the exclosures, suggesting these groups make up most of the native flora across the region. Important in forming soil structure, cyanobacteria of the order Oscillatoriales were less abundant …