Lesley DeFalco
Dr. Lesley DeFalco is a Plant Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Restoration of Aridlands
- Conservation biology
- Desert Community Ecology
- Ecological monitoring
- Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance
- Evaluation of management
- Fire ecology
- Global climate change
- Invasive species ecology
- Physiological plant ecology
- Plant ecology
- Species interactions
- Threatened and endangered species
EDUCATION
PhD, Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 2003
MS, Botany, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1995
BS, Biological Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 1989
COMMITTEES
- Botanical Society of America
- California Native Plant Society (Mojave Chapter)
- Ecological Society of America
- Nevada Native Plant Society
- Society for Ecological Restoration (Southwest Chapter)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 42
The role of salinity tolerance and competition in the distribution of an endangered desert salt marsh endemic
Rare plants are often associated with distinctive soil types, and understanding why endemic species occur in unique environments is fundamental for their management. At Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada, USA, we evaluated whether the limited distribution of endangered Amargosa niterwort (Nitrophila mohavensis) is explained by this species’ tolerance of saline soils...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Emily R. Beamguard
Landscape genetic approaches to guide native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
Restoring dryland ecosystems is a global challenge due to synergistic drivers of disturbance coupled with unpredictable environmental conditions. Dryland plant species have evolved complex life-history strategies to cope with fluctuating resources and climatic extremes. Although rarely quantified, local adaptation is likely widespread among these species and potentially influences...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Caroline A. Havrilla, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Nathan Custer, Troy E. Wood
Yucca brevifolia fruit production, predispersal seed predation, and fruit removal by rodents during two years of contrasting reproduction
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The distribution of Yucca brevifolia, a keystone species of the Mojave Desert, may contract with climate change, yet reproduction and dispersal are poorly understood. We tracked reproduction, seed predation, and fruit dispersal for two years and discuss whether Y. brevifolia is a masting species. METHODS: Fruit maturation, seed predation (larval yucca moths), and...
Authors
Mark I. Borchert, Lesley DeFalco
Deserts
The deserts of California (Lead photo, Fig. 1) occupy approximately 38% of California’s landscape (Table 1) and consist of three distinct deserts: the Great Basin Desert, Mojave Desert, and Colorado Desert, the latter of which is a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert (Brown and Lowe 1980). The wide range of climates and geology found within each of these deserts result in very different...
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Robert H. Webb, Todd Esque, Matthew L. Brooks, Lesley A. DeFalco, James A. MacMahon
Landscape genomics of Sphaeralcea ambigua in the Mojave Desert: a multivariate, spatially-explicit approach to guide ecological restoration
Local adaptation influences plant species’ responses to climate change and their performance in ecological restoration. Fine-scale physiological or phenological adaptations that direct demographic processes may drive intraspecific variability when baseline environmental conditions change. Landscape genomics characterize adaptive differentiation by identifying environmental drivers of...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Caroline A. Havrilla, Lesley DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Nathan Custer, Troy E. Wood
Desert tortoise use of burned habitat in the Eastern Mojave desert
Wildfires burned 24,254 ha of critical habitat designated for the recovery of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in southern Nevada during 2005. The proliferation of non-native annual grasses has increased wildfire frequency and extent in recent decades and continues to accelerate the conversion of tortoise habitat across the Mojave Desert. Immediate changes to...
Authors
K. Kristina Drake, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear, Lesley DeFalco, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Andrew T. Modlin, Philip A. Medica
Direct and indirect effects of environmental variability on growth and survivorship of pre-reproductive Joshua trees, Yucca brevifolia Engelm (Agavaceae)
• Premise of study: Accurate demographic information about long-lived plant species is important for understanding responses to large-scale disturbances, including climate change. It is challenging to obtain these data from desert perennial plants because seedling establishment is exceptionally rare, and estimates of survival are lacking for their vulnerable early stages. Desert...
Authors
Todd C. Esque, Phil A. Medica, Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. Defalco, Robert H. Webb, Richard B. Hunter
Life-history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem
The Mojave Desert of North America has become fire-prone in recent decades due to invasive annual grasses that fuel wildfires following years of high rainfall. Perennial species are poorly adapted to fire in this system, and post-fire shifts in species composition have been substantial but variable across community types. To generalize across a range of conditions, we investigated...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Contrasting long-term survival of two outplanted Mojave Desert perennials for post-fire revegetation
Post-fire recovery of arid shrublands is typically slow, and planting greenhouse-raised seedlings may be a means of jump-starting this process. Recovery can be further accelerated by understanding the factors controlling post-planting survival. In fall 2007 and 2009, we outplanted seedlings of two contrasting native evergreen shrubs—fast-growing Nevada jointfir and slow-growing...
Authors
Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands
No abstract available.
Authors
Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling
Predicting wildfires that affect broad landscapes is important for allocating suppression resources and guiding land management. Wildfire prediction in the south-western United States is of specific concern because of the increasing prevalence and severe effects of fire on desert shrublands and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools. We developed a fire risk model to predict...
Authors
Peter F. Van Linn, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Richard D. Inman, Scott R. Abella
Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The future of long-lived stand-forming desert plants such as Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) has come into question in light of climate variation and landscape-scale disturbances such as wildfire. Understanding plant establishment dynamics is important for mitigating the impacts of disturbances and promoting revegetation. • METHODS: We placed Y. brevifolia seeds in...
Authors
M. Bryant, J. Reynolds, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 42
The role of salinity tolerance and competition in the distribution of an endangered desert salt marsh endemic
Rare plants are often associated with distinctive soil types, and understanding why endemic species occur in unique environments is fundamental for their management. At Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada, USA, we evaluated whether the limited distribution of endangered Amargosa niterwort (Nitrophila mohavensis) is explained by this species’ tolerance of saline soils...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Emily R. Beamguard
Landscape genetic approaches to guide native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
Restoring dryland ecosystems is a global challenge due to synergistic drivers of disturbance coupled with unpredictable environmental conditions. Dryland plant species have evolved complex life-history strategies to cope with fluctuating resources and climatic extremes. Although rarely quantified, local adaptation is likely widespread among these species and potentially influences...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Caroline A. Havrilla, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Nathan Custer, Troy E. Wood
Yucca brevifolia fruit production, predispersal seed predation, and fruit removal by rodents during two years of contrasting reproduction
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The distribution of Yucca brevifolia, a keystone species of the Mojave Desert, may contract with climate change, yet reproduction and dispersal are poorly understood. We tracked reproduction, seed predation, and fruit dispersal for two years and discuss whether Y. brevifolia is a masting species. METHODS: Fruit maturation, seed predation (larval yucca moths), and...
Authors
Mark I. Borchert, Lesley DeFalco
Deserts
The deserts of California (Lead photo, Fig. 1) occupy approximately 38% of California’s landscape (Table 1) and consist of three distinct deserts: the Great Basin Desert, Mojave Desert, and Colorado Desert, the latter of which is a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert (Brown and Lowe 1980). The wide range of climates and geology found within each of these deserts result in very different...
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Robert H. Webb, Todd Esque, Matthew L. Brooks, Lesley A. DeFalco, James A. MacMahon
Landscape genomics of Sphaeralcea ambigua in the Mojave Desert: a multivariate, spatially-explicit approach to guide ecological restoration
Local adaptation influences plant species’ responses to climate change and their performance in ecological restoration. Fine-scale physiological or phenological adaptations that direct demographic processes may drive intraspecific variability when baseline environmental conditions change. Landscape genomics characterize adaptive differentiation by identifying environmental drivers of...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Caroline A. Havrilla, Lesley DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Nathan Custer, Troy E. Wood
Desert tortoise use of burned habitat in the Eastern Mojave desert
Wildfires burned 24,254 ha of critical habitat designated for the recovery of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in southern Nevada during 2005. The proliferation of non-native annual grasses has increased wildfire frequency and extent in recent decades and continues to accelerate the conversion of tortoise habitat across the Mojave Desert. Immediate changes to...
Authors
K. Kristina Drake, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear, Lesley DeFalco, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Andrew T. Modlin, Philip A. Medica
Direct and indirect effects of environmental variability on growth and survivorship of pre-reproductive Joshua trees, Yucca brevifolia Engelm (Agavaceae)
• Premise of study: Accurate demographic information about long-lived plant species is important for understanding responses to large-scale disturbances, including climate change. It is challenging to obtain these data from desert perennial plants because seedling establishment is exceptionally rare, and estimates of survival are lacking for their vulnerable early stages. Desert...
Authors
Todd C. Esque, Phil A. Medica, Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. Defalco, Robert H. Webb, Richard B. Hunter
Life-history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem
The Mojave Desert of North America has become fire-prone in recent decades due to invasive annual grasses that fuel wildfires following years of high rainfall. Perennial species are poorly adapted to fire in this system, and post-fire shifts in species composition have been substantial but variable across community types. To generalize across a range of conditions, we investigated...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Contrasting long-term survival of two outplanted Mojave Desert perennials for post-fire revegetation
Post-fire recovery of arid shrublands is typically slow, and planting greenhouse-raised seedlings may be a means of jump-starting this process. Recovery can be further accelerated by understanding the factors controlling post-planting survival. In fall 2007 and 2009, we outplanted seedlings of two contrasting native evergreen shrubs—fast-growing Nevada jointfir and slow-growing...
Authors
Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Soil seed banks: preserving native biodiversity and repairing damaged desert shrublands
No abstract available.
Authors
Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling
Predicting wildfires that affect broad landscapes is important for allocating suppression resources and guiding land management. Wildfire prediction in the south-western United States is of specific concern because of the increasing prevalence and severe effects of fire on desert shrublands and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools. We developed a fire risk model to predict...
Authors
Peter F. Van Linn, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Richard D. Inman, Scott R. Abella
Short seed longevity, variable germination conditions, and infrequent establishment events provide a narrow window for Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) recruitment
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The future of long-lived stand-forming desert plants such as Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) has come into question in light of climate variation and landscape-scale disturbances such as wildfire. Understanding plant establishment dynamics is important for mitigating the impacts of disturbances and promoting revegetation. • METHODS: We placed Y. brevifolia seeds in...
Authors
M. Bryant, J. Reynolds, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque