Seminar: Wildlife populations across ecological gradients: case studies in urbanization and fire ecology

Abstract:
Animal populations and communities vary across ecological gradients, which has important implications for the management and conservation of wildlife. We will discuss two important ecological gradients in the western United States: urbanization and fire severity. First, I will discuss several studies in my research lab that evaluate the effects of urbanization across the Phoenix Valley on terrestrial mammals and birds, bats, and scorpions. Second, we will review how fire severity from a large mixed-severity fire in the White Mountains of Arizona influences plant (aspen and Gambel oak), carnivore, and herbivore populations. Both studies will be presented in the framework of whether species increase, decrease, or peak at intermediate levels of disturbance.