Publications

Soil aggregate stability is widely recognized as a key indicator of soil quality and rangeland health. However, few standard methods exist for quantifying soil stability in the field. A stability kit is described which can be inexpensively and easily assembled with minimal tools. It permits up to 18 samples to be evaluated in less than 10 min and eliminates the need for transportation, minimizing

To determine the distribution and abundance of wintering plovers in the Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas, surveys were conducted in December 1997 and February 1998, along a 160 km stretch of barrier islands in Mexico and- 40 km of shoreline on South Padre Island, Texas. Altogether, 5,673 individuals, representing six plover species, were recorded during the surveys. Black-bellied Plovers Pluvi

Review of: Diseases of Wild Waterfowl. Gary A. Wobeser. 2nd Edition, illustrated. Springer, 1997. ISBN: 0306455900. 324 p.

In recent times, pinyon (Pinus spp.)-juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodlands have expanded into large portions of the Southwest historically occupied by grassland vegetation. From 1997-1998, we studied responses of breeding birds to one-seed juniper (J. monosperma) woodland expansion at 2 grassland study areas in northern Arizona. We sampled breeding birds in 3 successional stages along a grassland-woo

The bacterioplankton assemblage in Crater Lake, Oregon (U.S.A.), is different from communities found in other oxygenated lakes, as demonstrated by four small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA) gene clone libraries and oligonucleotide probe hybridization to RNA from lake water. Populations in the euphotic zone of this deep (589 m), oligotrophic caldera lake are dominated by two phylogene

Soil surfaces dominated by cyanobacteria and cyanolichens (such as Collema sp.) are widespread in deserts of the world. The influence of these biological soil crusts on the uptake of bioessential elements is reported for the first time for six seed plants of the deserts of Utah. This sample almost doubles the number of species for which the influence of biological soil crusts on mineral uptake of

Although the soil surface may look like dirt to you, it is full of living organisms that are a vital part of desert ecosystems. This veneer of life is called a biological soil crust. These crusts are found throughout the world, from hot deserts to polar regions. Crusts generally cover all soil spaces not occupied by green plants. In many areas, they comprise over 70% of the living ground cover a

No abstract available.

Appropriately enough, much of this book is devoted to discussing management challenges and techniques. However, the impetus for action—the desire to save whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) - necessarily arises from the extent to which we cherish it for its beauty and its connections with other things that we value. Whitebark pine is at the hub of a fascinating web of relationships. It is the stuff

An adult Southwestern Willow Flycatcher banded in summer 1998 at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, was recaptured the following winter in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, then relocated at Ash Meadows during the 1999 breeding season. Another Southwestern Willow Flycatcher banded in 1999 as a nestling at Roosevelt Lake, Arizona, was recaptured in January 2000 on its wintering grounds in Bolsen,

Bromus tectorum is an exotic annual grass that currently dominates many western U.S. semi-arid ecosystems, and the effects of this grass on ecosystems in general, and soil biota specifically, are unknown. Bromus recently invaded two ungrazed and unburned perennial bunchgrass communities in southeastern Utah. This study compared the soil food-web structure of the two native grassland associations (

Piute ground squirrels (Spermophilus mollis) are distributed continuously in habitat dominated by native shrubs and perennial grasses in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho, U.S.A. This habitat is being fragmented and replaced by exotic annual plants, changing it to a wildfire-dominated system that provides poor habitat for ground squirrels. To assess potential effect