Essential Mammal Traits and Global Change
Changes in life history parameters are common responses to global change. However, mammals are under-represented in these studies because a majority of species are small, secretive, or labor-intensive to monitor. We are assembling trait data contained in digitized museum specimens, historic field censuses, and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to build spatiotemporally explicit databases that document body size, shape, and reproduction in North American small mammals over the past century to more effectively track response to global changes.
Changes in life history parameters are common responses to global change. However, mammals are under-represented in these studies because a majority of species are small, secretive, or labor-intensive to monitor. We are assembling trait data contained in digitized museum specimens, historic field censuses, and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to build spatiotemporally explicit databases that document body size, shape, and reproduction in North American small mammals over the past century to more effectively track response to global changes.
Sex-specific breeding phenologies in the North American deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) across North America.
The map displays ecoregional boundaries used, and plots display breeding phenologies reconstructed for males and females within each ecoregion. Ecoregions are: A) Marine West Coast Forest, B) Mediterranean California, C) Northern Forested Mountains, D) Northern Great Plains, E) Northern Forests, F) Northern Deserts, G) Southern Forested Mountains, H) Eastern Temperate Forests, I) Southern Deserts, J) Temperate Sierras, K) Southern Great Plains. Upper and lower hashes in each plot denote the day of collection of all male and female records, respectively, in that ecoregion.
The map displays ecoregional boundaries used, and plots display breeding phenologies reconstructed for males and females within each ecoregion. Ecoregions are: A) Marine West Coast Forest, B) Mediterranean California, C) Northern Forested Mountains, D) Northern Great Plains, E) Northern Forests, F) Northern Deserts, G) Southern Forested Mountains, H) Eastern Temperate Forests, I) Southern Deserts, J) Temperate Sierras, K) Southern Great Plains. Upper and lower hashes in each plot denote the day of collection of all male and female records, respectively, in that ecoregion.
Steppe Parasite Networks (STEPP-NET)
Parasitism has evolved numerous times on the Tree of Life, yet our knowledge of species diversity, geographic distributions, host associations, and ecology of global parasite faunas remains highly fragmentary, especially in poorly monitored regions of the world. STEPP-NET is a collaborative, multinational effort to rapidly advance discovery and description of mammal-associated macroparasites (primarily fleas and cestodes) across the vast, iconic, and changing grasslands of Central Asia.
Parasitism has evolved numerous times on the Tree of Life, yet our knowledge of species diversity, geographic distributions, host associations, and ecology of global parasite faunas remains highly fragmentary, especially in poorly monitored regions of the world. STEPP-NET is a collaborative, multinational effort to rapidly advance discovery and description of mammal-associated macroparasites (primarily fleas and cestodes) across the vast, iconic, and changing grasslands of Central Asia.
Cold Desert Phylogeography
We are using genomic-scale datasets to understand landscape-level processes (gene flow, historical biogeography and demography) shaping the genomes of desert rodents in cold-winter deserts on two different continents (Great Basin Desert in North America, Gobi Desert in Asia). Compared to North America, impacts of past climate change on Central Asian mammals in particular are poorly understood. This cross-continental work involves specimen-based research approaches and ongoing field expeditions to better understand impacts of past and present climate changes on mammals in these climatically unique regions.
We are using genomic-scale datasets to understand landscape-level processes (gene flow, historical biogeography and demography) shaping the genomes of desert rodents in cold-winter deserts on two different continents (Great Basin Desert in North America, Gobi Desert in Asia). Compared to North America, impacts of past climate change on Central Asian mammals in particular are poorly understood. This cross-continental work involves specimen-based research approaches and ongoing field expeditions to better understand impacts of past and present climate changes on mammals in these climatically unique regions.
