Mojave Science Newsletter

The Science Newsletter is produced and published by Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center and the Division of Science and Resource Stewardship Mojave National Preserve, National Park Service. Editors: Debra Hughson, Mojave National Preserve, Tasha La Doux and James André, Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center

December 2021

• Storm Clouds over Cima Dome -- Tracking Vegetation Change after the Fire. J. R. McAuliffe
• Impact of Schismus on Biodiversity in Mojave Desert Winter Annual Communities. T. Ohlert, A. Hallmark, G. Hamilton, J. Mclaughlin, M. Patton, S. Collins.
• The Polarizing Nature of Shrubs: Species-specific Associations of Annual Plants with Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata). S.M Haas-Desmarais, C.J. Lortie

December 2020

• Pre-Eurosettlement Wildfires in Mojave National Preserve. Joseph R. McAuliffe.
• Using Gravity to Map Faults and Basins in the Mojave Desert, California. Victoria E. Langenheim.
• A Suntan Effect in the Mojave Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis. Jenna T. B. Ekwealor.
• The Dome Fire. Drew Kaiser and Debra Hughson.

December 2020

• Using a Rock-Climbing Robot to Access Extreme Terrain Environments. K. Uckert and A. Parness.
• Mojave Climate Hidden in Lake Mud. Matthew E. Kirby, Stefanie A. Mayer, William T. Anderson, Brenna Hess, Corey Stout, Jennifer Palermo, Jenifer Leidelmeijer, Hogan Rangel, Gregory Weisberg, and Amanda Shellhorn.
• Video technologies aid in the study of foundation plants: A case example using a shrub annual. Jenna Braun.
• Scientific serendipity at Granite Mountain leads to description of novel ant hunting behaviors of spiders. Madison Sankovitz and Jessica Purcell.

September 2018

• Predator-prey interactions between rattlesnakes and kangaroo rats. Malachi D. Whitford, Grace A. Freymiller, and Rulon W. Clark.
• California's glandular plants; where sticky situations are an advantage. Eric LoPresti.
• Interspecific floral diversity in the California evening primrose, Oenothera californica subsp. avita. T. Jogesh, G. T. Broadhead, R. A. Raguso, and K. A. Skogen.
• Revisiting an old question in California botany: Why do many plant species have five-petaled flowers? James Mickley and Carl Schlichting.
• In memoriam - Robert Fulton

April 2017

• Grinnell resurveys document the colonization of the Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus) in Mojave National Preserve. Lori Hargrove, Philip Unitt, Lea Squires, and Troy Maikis.
• Desert salt flats as refugia for terrestrial arthropods. Sarah C. Crews and Lauren A. Esposito.
• Phenology mediates reproductive success in the desert annual Chylismia brevipes. Katharine L. Gerst and D. Lawrence Venable.

April 2016

• Updates on respiratory disease affecting desert bighorn sheep in and near Mojave National Preserve. Clinton W. Epps, Daniella Dekelaita, and Brian Dugovich.
• Habitat selection and head-starting of desert tortoises in Mojave National Preserve. A. Justin Nowakowski, and Brian D. Todd.
• Insolation-related mechanical weathering of desert pavement rocks in the Mojave Desert. Martha-Cary Eppes.
• Old dog, new tricks: advancing facilitation theory in the Mojave Desert. Alessandro Filazzola, Amanda Rae Liczner, and Ally Ruttan.

April 2015

• Prehistoric human settlement and lithic technology around Soda Lake. Edward J. Knell.
• What can Chorizanthe rigida propagule morphology tell us about rainfall variability and geomorphology in desert ecosystems? Alejandra Martínez-Berdeja and Exequiel Ezcurra.
• The natural history and behavior of the sand wasp Steniolia nigripes (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae). Gilene M. Young.
• Morphological and genetic diversity in reptiles at Mojave National Preserve. Eric J. Routman, Camille Clarkson Smith, Erica M. Rutherford, Michael T. J. Hague, and Steven Micheletti.
• Endolithic cyanobacteria in the Mojave Desert: a cold habitat in a hot desert? Henry J. Sun, James Nienow, Gaosen Zhang, Duane P. Moser, and Christopher P. McKay.

May 2014

• Genetic research reveals Pleistocene origin and low genetic diversity of the Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia). Andrew Gottscho.
• Past and present highlights of nematode research in the Mojave Desert. Paul De Lay.
• Three wasps, three plants, one ant: life history of desert Orasema. John Heraty.
• Watching plants move: tracking landscape effects on movement in the common desert shrub catclaw acacia [Acacia (Senegalia) greggii A Gray]. Keith Gaddis.
• New poppies from the Mojave. Shannon Still.

May 2013

• Fulton's desertsnail: A new species of Cahuillus from Mojave National Preserve. Lance Gilberston.
• Way to co-exist! Reciprocal predation mediates the co-existence of endangered Mohave tui chub with invasive western mosquitofish: A case study from Mojave National Preserve. Sujan M. Henkanaththegedara and Craig A. Stockwell.
• Use of Artificial Water Sources by Mule Deer in Mojave National Preserve. Kelley M. Stewart.

April 2012

• Blister beetle nest parasites cooperate to mimic the sex pheromone of the solitary bee Habropoda pallida (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Leslie Saul-Gershenz, Jocelyn G. Millar, and J. Steven McElfresh.
• Functional Ecology Measures: Evaluation of Springs in Mojave National Preserve, Mark E. Whalon and Alexander Johnson.
• Endemic Kelso Dunes Insects: a Hotspot of Biodiversity, Doug Yanega.

March 2011

• A history of Mojave Desert tortoise movement: a view through the window of population genetics, B.E. Hagerty and C.R. Tracy.
• Upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), mycoplasmosis, and antibody responses in the Mojave Desert tortoise, F.C. Sandmeier, C.R. Tracy, S. DuPré, H. Mohammadpour, and K. Hunter.
• Desert tortoise and highway traffic: a resource management concern, D. Hughson and N. Darby.

April 2010

• A Recent Sighting of a Banded Gila Monster, (Heloderma suspectum cinctum) in Mojave National Preserve, California, R.Ruppert.
• Coevolution of Joshua trees and their Pollinators: A Short Review, C.I. Smith.
• Demographic Studies of Joshua Trees in Mojave Desert National Parks: Demography With Emphasis on Germination and Recruitment, T.C. Esque, B. Reynolds, L.A. DeFalco, B.A. Waitman.

November 2009

• Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center: an Interview with Director Dr. Jim André, J. André, D. Hughson.
• Reptile Diversity Following the Hackberry Fire, K. Dutcher.
• Physiological Responses of Mojave Desert Shrubs to Simulated Summer Wash Flow: Preliminary Results, A. Newlander, D. Bedford, D. Miller, D. Sandquist.

April 2009

• Responses of Mule Deer to Experimental Manipulation of Water Sources: Preliminary Results from the First Year, N. Darby, J. Dungan, K. Stewart, V. Bleich, D. Hughson.
• Mohave Tui Chub Recovery: Hybridization and Invasion, D. Hughson, N. Darby, S. Parmenter, S. Henkanaththegedara, J. Seigel.
• Tortoise on Roads in Mojave Preserve, D. Hughson, N. Darby.
• Effects of small mammals on post-fire vegetation recovery in the Mojave Desert, P. Stapp.