RMRS - Ecology: Science Resource Center

Science Application & Integration

Sub-fields
- Ecophysiology
- Landscape Ecology
Scientists

Ecology

The interdisciplinary scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with their environment (external abiotic and biotic factors) is known as ecology. The most prevalent research topics in Ecology here at the Rocky Mountain Research Station include: Bark Beetle research, invasive species, wildlife ecology and conservation, Lynx research, fire and avian ecology, restoration ecology, fire ecology, riparian environments and more.

Ecophysiology

Canada Lynx

The science of the interrelationships between the physiology of organisms and their environment is known as ecophysiology.

Plant ecophysiology deals with the impact of biotic and abiotic factors on plant functioning and physiological adaptation to the environment (springer.com).

Landscape Ecology

Aspen Grove

Landscape ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology, focusing on spatial relationships and the interactions between patterns and processes. It includes the biophysical and societal causes and consequences of landscape heterogeneity. The conceptual and theoretical core of landscape ecology links natural sciences with related human disciplines.

Ecologists

Scientist

Research Interests

Dale Bartos
Research Ecologist

See Also: Biology, Wildlife Biology

SW Forest Sciences Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Leading Ecology and Management of Invasive Species, biological control, invasive species ecology, and wildlife biology team
Integrating community and invasion ecology to advance fields of research and improve invasives management
Understanding processes of community assembly by removing individual system components and examining the outcome

Geographical Areas: Western Montana; Northern Rocky Mountains; Bitterroot National Forest.

Burton Pendleton
Research Ecologist

Albuquerque Forestry Sciences Lab

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Interests:

Creosote community expansion
Pollination
Gene flow
Prescribed fire
Climate change
Soils
Fire fuels
Reproductive biology and establishment ecology of the landscape-dominant shrub
Coleogyne ramosissima (blackbrush)
Effects of biological soil crusts and mycorrhizal fungi on seedling establishment
Pollination and gene flow at the shrubland/grassland ecotone and use of prescribed fire as a management tool to slow shrub expansion and maintain healthy grasslands
Developing inventory and monitoring protocols for upland vegetation and soils for the Mojave Network of the National Park Service
Monitoring strategies for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area in southern Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Geographical Areas: Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge; Mojave network; Spring Mountains National Recreation Area; Southern Nevada Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest; Rio Grande Bosque; SW New Mexico.

Rosemary Pendleton
Research Ecologist

See Also: Biology, Wildlife Biology

Missoula Wildlife Genetics Lab

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Interests:

Population demography
Behavioral ecology
Habitat use
Emphasis on research that provides practical answers to natural resource problems, population, conservation, and landscape genetics
Conservation Genetics, Genetic Monitoring, Landscape Genetics
Ecology of threatened and endangered species

Geographical Areas: Northern Idaho; Maine; Minnesota; New Brunswick; California; Western Montana.

Carolyn Sieg
Research Ecologist

See Also: Biology, Wildlife Biology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Distribution, territory occupancy, demography, dispersal, and habitats of northern goshawks on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona
Factors affecting nest locations and habitat quality of northern goshawks on the Kaibab National Forest
Post-fledgling movement, habitat use, survival, and dispersal of juvenile northern goshawks in Arizona
Factors affecting northern goshawk fecundity on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona
Genetic fingerprinting for identifying individual goshawks from molted feathers to supplement recapture histories
Ecology, territory occupancy, demography, dispersal, and habitat quality of flammulated owls in Colorado

Geographical Areas: Kaibab Plateau and Kaibab National Forest, Arizona; Colorado.

Len Ruggiero
Deputy Program Manager, Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program

See Also: Biology, Wildlife Biology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Wolverine Science Team Leader and Special Section of the Journal of Wildlife Management
Marten ecology in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Wyoming
Publishing on the interface between science and politics
Conservation Genetics, including the importance of population substructuring in conservation

Geographical Areas: Sierra Madre Mountains, Wyoming; California; Western Montana; Northern Rocky Mountains; North American Boreal Forests; Northern Mixed/Sub Alpine Forests.

Vicki Saab
Research Wildlife Biologist

See Also: Biology, Fire/Fuel, Wildlife Biology

Bozeman Forestry Sciences Lab

Interests:

Fire effects on populations and habitats of birds in ponderosa pine forests of the Interior West
Breeding habitat ecology of the black-backed woodpecker in burned forests
Population ecology of Lewis’s woodpecker in burned coniferous and riparian forests
Effects of livestock grazing and surrounding landscapes on habitat use by Neotropical migratory birds in riparian forests
Grazing effects on animal and plant communities
Ecology of cavity-nesting birds
Effects of fire management activities on animals and plants of western coniferous forests
Landscape ecology and conservation biology
Influences of spatial scale on bird distributions
Ecology of riparian birds in arid lands
Conducting applied research that contributes to wildlife conservation

Geographical Areas: Ponderosa Pine Forests of Interior West, including Arizona; Washington; Conifer Forests of Oregon; Southwestern Idaho; Rocky Mountains; Interior Columbia Basin.

Nancy Shaw
Research Botanist

See Also: Botany, Fire/Fuel

Boise Aquatic Sciences Lab

Interests:

Botany (Shrub)
Invasive species
Changing fire regimes
Sagebrush
Ecology
Population dynamics
Genetics
Skeletonweed
Fuels
Exotic weeds

Geographical Areas: Great Basin; Idaho Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area; Australia; Western United States.

Elaine Sutherland
Supervisory Research Biologist

See Also: Atmospheric Science, Biology and Fire/Fuel

Missoula Forestry Sciences Lab: Ecology and Management

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Interests:

Fire Ecology/Dendrochronology
Software tool development, and applied dendrochronology
Using tree-ring analysis and other research tools to understand disturbance processes (particularly fire)
Landscape pattern, and relationships to climate
Using tree-ring analysis to understand how disturbance processes affects tree biology
Synthesizing existing scientific information for scientists and managers
Relationship between disturbance and forest community dynamics
Application of prescribed burn