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Organized Oral Session
Organized Oral Session

OOS 54 - Ecological Islands of the Southwest: Exploring How Theoretical Islands Connect Mountains, Cities, Restoration Strategies and Biogeochemical Cycling in America's Southwest

Thursday, August 10, 2023
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PDT
Location: 254

    Organizer(s)

  • RF

    Rebecca Finger-Higgens

    Ecologist
    USGS-Southwest Biological Research Station
    MOAB, Utah, United States

    • Co-Organizer(s)

  • SF

    Savannah Fuqua

    PhD Student
    University of Arizona
    Tucson, Arizona, United States

  • JH

    Jeffrey Haight, M.S.

    PhD Candidate
    Arizona State University
    Tempe, Arizona, United States

  • LO

    Lia Ossanna

    University of Arizona
    Tucson, Arizona, United States

  • Brianne Cook

    Undergraduate Researcher; RISE Fellow
    Northern Arizona University
    Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

The southwest is a patchy landscape comprising numerous “islands” that support ecological diversity across the region. Some of these islands are small, representing fertile patches underneath shrubs and other vegetation in otherwise harsh and inhospitable environments. Other islands are large, as mountain peaks reach towards the sky in the southern Rocky Mountains along the USA/Mexico border. And other islands are constructed by humans, with urban centers impacting regional temperatures, wildlife corridors, and biogeochemical cycling. In this session, we will explore how “islands” are used in ecological thinking, especially as it relates to the southwest region of the USA.

For this session, speakers will discuss how the theme of “islands” guides their research through case studies and discussion. Islands of interest include: islands of fertility in rangelands, sky islands in the Madrean Archipelago, an urban island represented by the Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER, and islands of data sovereignty. By bringing these ecologists together, we hope to draw parallels between different systems and build bridges. Additionally, this session will showcase the immense diversity present in the Southwest, both with regards to ecological research topics and ecological researchers themselves.

Presentations:

  • 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM PDT
    Drought and land-use change alter fertile island effects on soil biogeochemistry across North American deserts

    Presenting Author: Brooke Osborne – Utah State University

    Co-author: Sasha C. Reed, PhD – U.S. Geological Survey

    Co-author: William K. Smith, Ph.D. – University of Arizona

    Co-author: Osvaldo Sala – Arizona State University

    Co-author: Samuel E. Jordan – University of Arizona

    Co-author: Steven Lee – New Mexico State University

    Co-author: Tyson J. Terry – Utah State University

    Co-author: Matthew P. Dannenberg, n/a – University of Iowa

    Co-author: Scott Ferrenberg – University of Montana

  • 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM PDT
    Restoration islands: Seeding biocrust in a sea of disturbance

    Presenting Author: Lydia Bailey – Northern Arizona University

    Co-author: Matthew A. Bowker – Northern Arizona University

    Co-author: Anita J. Antoninka, PhD – Northern Arizona University

  • 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM PDT
    Wildlife at the border: Species composition and activity patterns along the US-Mexico border

    Presenting Author: Eamon Harrity – Sky Island Alliance

    Co-author: Emily Burns, PhD – Sky Island Alliance

    Co-author: Meagan Bethel – Sky Island Alliance

    Co-author: Miguel Francisco Enriquez Galaz – Sky Island Alliance

  • 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM PDT
    Wildfire, climate, and biogeography influences on avian diversity across the US-Mexico sky islands

    Presenting Author: Jamie Sanderlin – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

    Co-author: Sandra L. Haire – Haire Lab

    Co-author: Citlali Cortés-Montaño – Independent Researcher

    Co-author: Aaron D. Flesch – School of Natural Resources and the Environment and Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, University of Arizona

    Co-author: Jose M. Iniguez – USDA Forest Service-Rocky Mountain Research Station

    Co-author: Ana Miller-ter Kuile – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station & Northern Arizona University

    Co-author: Jose Raul Romo-Leon – Departamento de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Universidad de Sonora

    Co-author: Miguel L. Villarreal, Ph.D – U.S. Geological Survey, Moffett Field, CA, United States

  • 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM PDT
    50 years in the US Southwest: changing landscapes and changing climate

    Presenting Author: Nancy B. Grimm – Arizona State University

    Co-author: Daniel L. Childers – Arizona State University

  • 11:15 AM – 11:30 AM PDT
    Oil and gas well pads: transforming a developed landscape into islands of opportunity

    Presenting Author: Rebecca Mann – USGS-Southwest Biological Research Station

    Co-author: David Baird – BLM

    Co-author: Rita Reisor – USFWS

    Co-author: Rebecca Finger-Higgens – USGS-Southwest Biological Research Station

    Co-author: Daniel E. Winkler – U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center

    Co-author: John B. Bradford – USGS Southwest Biological Science Center

    Co-author: Seth M. Munson, Ph.D – US Geological Survey

    Co-author: Sasha C. Reed, PhD – U.S. Geological Survey

    Co-author: Miguel L. Villarreal, Ph.D – U.S. Geological Survey, Moffett Field, CA, United States

    Co-author: Mike C. Duniway – US Geological Survey