USGS Professional Pages
Sasha ReedResearch EcologistContact InfoShort Biography
I am a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a member of the Southwest Biological Science Center. My research interests are centered within the fields of biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology. Currently, I study terrestrial ecosystems in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawai’i, Bolivia, and Costa Rica. While the study sites and methods I use are diverse, with each of my projects I strive to determine dynamic controls over fundamental ecosystem processes. I hope to provide information that will help us maintain the desirable features of our nation’s ecosystems in a world that is changing. Terrestrial ecosystems are critical to our existence. They hold up our houses, provide most of our food, and offer places that are meaningful to us and our history. My goal is to understand what makes these ecosystems work the way they do, and to make that understanding accessible so that decision makers and land managers have the information they need to best evaluate how to manage our landscapes.
Publications
18) Reed, SC, PM Vitousek & CC Cleveland (In press). Nutrient limitation in terrestrial ecosystems: are belowground patterns consistent with those aboveground? Biogeochemistry.
17) Reed, SC, AR Townsend, PG Taylor & CC Cleveland. (2011) Phosphorus Cycling in Tropical Forests Growing on Highly-Weathered Soils. In: (Buneman EK, A Oberson, E Frossard) Phosphorus In Action—Biological Processes in Soil Phosphorus Cycling. Springer Publishing Co. vol. 26, pp. 339-369.
16) Wickings K, Grandy AS, SC Reed & CC Cleveland (2011) Management intensity alters dcomposition via biological pathways. Biogeochemistry 104: 365-379.
15) Cleveland, CC, WR Wieder, SC Reed & AR Townsend (2010) Experimental drought in a wet tropical forest increases soil carbon dioxide losses to the atmosphere. Ecology 91: 2313-2323.
14) Reed, SC, AR Townsend, CC Cleveland & DR Nemergut (2010) Microbial community shifts influence patterns in tropical forest nitrogen fixation. Oecologia 164: 521-531
13) Cleveland, CC, BZ Houlton, C Neill, SC Reed, AR Townsend & YP Wang (2010) Using indirect methods to constrain symbiotic nitrogen fixation rates: A case study from an Amazonian rain forest. Biogeochemistry 99: 1-13.
12) Sattin SR, CC Cleveland, E Hood, SC Reed, AJ King, MS Robeson, NL Ascarrunz & DR Nemergut (2009) Functional shifts in perhumid, recently-deglaciated soils do not correlate with shifts in soil bacterial community composition. The Journal of Microbiology 47: 673-681.
11) Costello, EK, SRP Halloy, SC Reed, P Sowell & SK Schmidt (2009) Fumarole-supported islands of biodiversity within a hyper-arid, high-elevation landscape on Socompa Volcano, Puna de Atacama, Andes. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 75: 735-747.
10) Freeman, KR, MY Pescador, SC Reed, EK Costello, MS Robeson & SK Schmidt (2009) Soil CO2 flux and photoautotrophic community composition in high-elevation, ‘barren’ soil. Environmental Microbiology 11: 674-686.
9) Schmidt, SK, SC Reed, DR Nemergut, AS Grandy, CC Cleveland, MN Weintraub, AW Hill, EK Costello, AF Meyer, AM Martin & JC Neff (2008) The earliest stages of primary succession in high-elevation (5000 meters above sea-level), recently deglaciated soils. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275: 2793-2802.
8) Reed, SC, CC Cleveland & AR Townsend (2008) Tree species control rates of free-living nitrogen fixation in a tropical rain forest. Ecology 89: 2924-2934.
7) Reed, SC, CC Cleveland & AR Townsend (2007) Controls over leaf litter and soil nitrogen fixation in two lowland tropical rain forests. Biotropica 39: 585-592.
6) Schmidt, SK, EK Costello, DR Nemergut, CC Cleveland, SC Reed, MN Weintraub, AF Meyer & AM Martin (2007) Microbial turnover and seasonal succession drive biogeochemical cycles in the alpine. Ecology 88: 1379-1385.
5) Reed, SC, TR Seastedt, CM Mann, KN Suding & AR Townsend (2007) Phosphorus fertilization stimulates nitrogen fixation and increases inorganic nitrogen concentrations in a restored prairie. Applied Soil Ecology 36: 238-242.
4) Cleveland, CC, SC Reed & AR Townsend (2006) Nutrient regulation of organic matter decomposition in a tropical rain forest. Ecology 87: 492-503.
3) Bowker, MA, SC Reed, J Belnap & SL Phillips (2002) Temporal variation in community composition, pigmentation, and Fv/Fm in desert cyanobacterial soil crusts. Microbial Ecology 43: 13-25.
2) Reed, SC, GJ Capitosti, Z Zhu & DA Modarelli (2001) Photochemical generation and matrix-isolation detection of dimethylvinylidene. Journal of Organic Chemistry 66: 287-291.
1) Reed, SC & DA Modarelli (1996) Conformational effects on the excited state 1,2-hydrogen migration in alkyldiazomethanes. Tetrahedron Letters 37: 7209-7212.
Education
Ph.D. in Ecology (August 2002-May 2008)
University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR), Boulder, CO.
Co-advised by Alan R. Townsend and Steve K. Schmidt.
B.A. in Organic Chemistry (August 1993-May 1997)
Colgate University, Department of Chemistry, Hamilton, NY. Graduated magna cum laude.
Advised by David A. Modarelli.
Courses Outside My Universities:
Dr. Jim Ehleringer’s Isotope Course at The University of Utah, June 2005.
Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) Tropical Ecology Program, January-March 2003.
NSF Environmental Geology and Environmental Philosophy Internship, Southwest Earth Studies Group, Durango, CO, May1997-August 1997.
Honors and Fellowships
Awardee, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers. October 2011.
Recipient, Star Award, received for outstanding work with the Department of the Interior. October 2010.
Recipient, Graduate Student Research and Creative Works Award, University of Colorado at Boulder. One of two of the University’s graduating Ph.D. students whose dissertation was selected by faculty members from all disciplines as representing outstanding research and creative work. May 2008.
Fellow, USGS Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). Supported in creating a research project to model how soil gas fluxes in dryland ecosystems will vary under altered climate regimes. June-August of 2006 & 2007.
Recipient, Student Policy Award, Ecological Society of America (ESA). Graduate student chosen and funded by ESA to meet with members of Congress regarding national scientific funding. September 2006.
Selected Participant, AAAS Program for Excellence in Science. Nominated by the University of Colorado Vice Chancellor of Research to participate in a program rewarding praiseworthy graduate students working in the life sciences. August 2006.
Fellow, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Awarded April 2003; deferred until September 2005-May 2008.
Fellow, NSF IGERT Fellowship, Carbon Climate and Society Initiative (CCSI). August 2003-August 2005.
Selected Full Member, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, Fall 2003-Present.
Recipient, Star Award, received for outstanding work with the Department of the Interior. May 2000.
Fellow, Wolk Foundation, fellowship for promising student research. Summer 1996.
Recipient, Lawrence Award, awarded to one student annually for superior performance in organic chemistry. April 1996.
Selected Member, Phi Ea Sigma University Honor Society, chosen for academic excellence. April 1994-May 1997.
Selected Board Member, Phi Eta Sigma Aid Committee, elected for superior research to a board that selected student grant applications for funding. September 1995-May 1997.
Nominee, Barry Goldwater Award, nationally nominated by Colgate University foracademic distinction. November 1994.
Professional Experience
Research Ecologist, USGS, Moab, UT, May 2008-present.
Research Ecologist, USGS-SCEP Program, Moab, UT, 2005-2007 summers only.
My Science Topics
My USGS Science Strategy AreasUnderstanding Ecosystems & Predicting Ecosystems ChangeThe Role of Environment and Wildlife in Human Health Climate Variability & Change Energy & Minerals for America's Future | Some of My Current Research Interests
LinksSouthwest Biological Science Center: http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/ Canyonlands Research Station: http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/crs/ Canyonlands Research Center: http://www.canyonlandsresearchcenter.org USGS Climate Monitoring-American Drylands (includes Canyonlands): http://data.usgs.gov/climateMonitoring/region/show?region=americandrylands Contact Information2290 S. West Resource Blvd Moab, UT 84532 screed@usgs.gov 435-719-2334 435-719-2350 - Fax Back to top |