Robert S Arkle
I am a Supervisory Ecologist at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center. My research focuses on population ecology, community ecology, and restoration in forests and shrublands of the Intermountain West.
My research focuses on how stochastic and anthropogenic disturbances influence species, communities, and habitats. I am interested in how these interactions can affect the outcome of management actions such as habitat restoration or exotic species removal efforts. My experience is in modeling species-habitat relationships, interspecific interactions, habitat connectivity, climate suitability, and in using multivariate approaches to assess community structure and composition. Much of my work has focused on the effects of landscape-scale disturbance or restoration on patch-scale community structure and composition in forest and sagebrush ecosystems. I have worked in several biomes and community types of western North America including studies in alpine lakes and meadows, coniferous forests, riparian forests, mountain streams, sagebrush shrublands, and grasslands. In these systems, I have studied communities of plants, biotic soil crusts, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, salmonids, birds, small mammals, and ungulate mammals.
Professional Experience
2011 - Present: Supervisory Ecologist, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID
2007 - 2011: Ecologist, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID
2004 - 2007: Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA
Education and Certifications
M.S., Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (2007)
B.S., Biological Sciences (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), University of California, Irvine, CA (2002)
Science and Products
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Lidar aboveground vegetation biomass estimates in shrublands: Prediction, uncertainties and application to coarser scales
Estimating vegetation biomass and cover across large plots in shrub and grass dominated drylands using terrestrial lidar and machine learning
Refining the cheatgrass–fire cycle in the Great Basin: Precipitation timing and fine fuel composition predict wildfire trends
Transition of vegetation states positively affects harvester ants in the Great Basin, United States
Landsat 8 and ICESat-2: Performance and potential synergies for quantifying dryland ecosystem vegetation cover and biomass
Ecosystem engineering of harvester ants: Effects on vegetation in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem
Bioaccumulation trends of arsenic and antimony in a freshwater ecosystem affected by mine drainage
Challenges of establishing big sgebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in rangeland restoration: effects of herbicide, mowing, whole-community seeding, and sagebrush seed sources
Persistence at distributional edges: Columbia spotted frog habitat in the arid Great Basin, USA
Effects of changing climate on aquatic habitat and connectivity for remnant populations of a wide-ranging frog species in an arid landscape
Sampling animal sign in heterogeneous environments: how much is enough?
Quantifying and predicting fuels and the effects of reduction treatments along successional and invasion gradients in sagebrush habitats
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Science and Products
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Lidar aboveground vegetation biomass estimates in shrublands: Prediction, uncertainties and application to coarser scales
Estimating vegetation biomass and cover across large plots in shrub and grass dominated drylands using terrestrial lidar and machine learning
Refining the cheatgrass–fire cycle in the Great Basin: Precipitation timing and fine fuel composition predict wildfire trends
Transition of vegetation states positively affects harvester ants in the Great Basin, United States
Landsat 8 and ICESat-2: Performance and potential synergies for quantifying dryland ecosystem vegetation cover and biomass
Ecosystem engineering of harvester ants: Effects on vegetation in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem
Bioaccumulation trends of arsenic and antimony in a freshwater ecosystem affected by mine drainage
Challenges of establishing big sgebrush (Artemisia tridentata) in rangeland restoration: effects of herbicide, mowing, whole-community seeding, and sagebrush seed sources
Persistence at distributional edges: Columbia spotted frog habitat in the arid Great Basin, USA
Effects of changing climate on aquatic habitat and connectivity for remnant populations of a wide-ranging frog species in an arid landscape
Sampling animal sign in heterogeneous environments: how much is enough?
Quantifying and predicting fuels and the effects of reduction treatments along successional and invasion gradients in sagebrush habitats
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.