Southwest Biological Science Center
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The Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) conducts quality, objective research on the lands and aquatic systems of the Southwest. This research can assist those who manage, conserve, and rehabilitate the arid regions of the nation. Click on SCIENCE in the sidebar to the left to explore SBSC science in more detail.
Terrestrial Dryland Ecology Branch
The Terrestrial Dryland Ecology (TDE) Branch of the SBSC studies the biology, ecology,and processes of semi-arid and arid lands (known as drylands). TDE researchers study plant-soil-water relationships and the wildlife found in drylands.
TDE ScienceRiver Ecosystem Science Branch & GCMRC
The River Ecosystem Science (RES) Branch of the SBSC, which includes the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), studies the biology, ecology, and processes of rivers in the western United States, with an emphasis on the Southwest.
GCMRC & RES ScienceSBSC Quick Links
Learn more about what we do by using the links below.
Grand Canyon Monitoring & Research Center (GCMRC)
Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS)
SBSC Outreach & Education Products
A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands (PDF)
SBSC ScienceNews
Friday's Findings - December 4 2020
The Smart Energy Webtool: Providing Relevant and Accessible Information to Support Energy Development and Management
Date: December 4, 2020 from 2-2:30 p.m. eastern time
Speaker: Mike Duniway, Research Ecologist/Soil Scientist, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center
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New Outstanding in the Field Podcast
The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area brings you Outstanding in the Field, an original podcast series that tells stories about our science, our adventures, and our efforts to better understand fish and wildlife and the ecosystems that support them. In this episode we are talking about beaches in a place that most...
Unfamiliar Territory: Emerging Themes for Ecological Drought Research and Management
Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts.
Publications
Muted responses to chronic experimental nitrogen deposition on the Colorado Plateau
Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is significantly altering both community structure and ecosystem processes in terrestrial ecosystems across the globe. However, our understanding of the consequences of N deposition in dryland systems remains relatively poor, despite evidence that drylands may be particularly vulnerable to increasing N inputs...
Phillips, Michala Lee; Winkler, Daniel E.; Reibold, Robin H.; Osborne, Brooke Bossert; Reed, Sasha Testing which axes of species differentiation underlie covariance of phylogeographic similarity among montane sedge species
Co‐distributed species may exhibit similar phylogeographic patterns due to shared environmental factors or discordant patterns attributed to the influence of species‐specific traits. Although either concordant or discordant patterns could occur due to chance, stark differences in key traits (e.g., dispersal ability) may readily explain differences...
Hodel, Richard G.J.; Massatti, Robert; Bishop, Sasha G.D.; Knowles, L. Lacey Movement ecology
(Yackulic) At first glance, the decision to study movement in Galapagos tortoises seems curious. Given the slow speed of tortoises and tendency to forage and rest as they move, it seems implausible that tortoises would string their slow bursts of activity together to accomplish large-scale movements. Nonetheless, as early as 1815 (Porter 1815),...
Blake, Stephen; Yackulic, Charles B.; Cabrera, Freddy; Deem, Sharon L.; Ellis-Soto, Diego; Gibbs, James P.; Kummeth, Franz; Wikelski, Martin; Bastille-Rousseau, Guillaume