New Mexico Project
Assessment of drought impacts on selected fish and wildlife species in the southwestern U.S.
August 2013 - August 2017
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- National Climate Change & Wildlife Science Center
We are studied the impacts of drought on desert bighorn sheep, American pronghorn, Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and scaled quail, including assessments of individual- (e.g., desert bighorn sheep) and population-level (e.g., pronghorn, cutthroat trout, scaled quail) responses to drought.
Our specific objectives for desert bighorn sheep were to investigate: 1) seasonal habitat selection patterns across widely differing climatic periods to determine if desert bighorn use certain habitat features and or behavioral mechanisms to cope with extreme drought; 2) changes in diet selection across climatic periods to determine which forage species are used as buffer resources to maintain populations during droughts; and 3) nutritional intake resulting from dietary shifts across climatic periods.
Our objectives for American pronghorn were to: 1) determine how widespread the decline in American pronghorn is in the Southwest; 2) identify causal, climatic factors which best explain these declines; 3) forecast the trend and geographical extent of these causal, climatic factors over the next century based on current climate change models for the region, including downscaled climate models developed at the SW CSC; and 4) relate these climatic forecasts to pronghorn population trends over future decades.
Our objectives for Rio Grande cutthroat trout were to monitor stream flow to identify periods of stream intermittency associated with drought conditions and model the relationship between habitat availability with landscape data to predict the relationship between stream flow and habitat availability.
The objectives for scaled quail were to study climate effects (temperature, humidity, and precipitation) preceding, during and following the nesting season with a primary focus on how these climate variables affect nest success.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, G. Harris, and T.T. Turnbull. 2015. Effects of climate change on long-term population growth of pronghorn in an arid environment. Ecosphere 6: art 189. | Download | October 2015 |
| Technical Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Cain III, J.W., C.A. Caldwell, and S. Carleton. 2013. Assessment of Drought Impacts on Selected Fish and Wildlife Species in the Southwestern U.S. 2013 Annual Progress Report to USGS Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. | November 2013 |
| Cain III, J.W., C.A. Caldwell, and S.A. Carleton. 2014. Assessment of Drought Impacts on Selected Fish and Wildlife Species in the Southwestern U.S. 2014 Annual Progress Report to USGS Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. | November 2014 |
| Cain III, J.W., C.A. Caldwell, and S.A. Carleton. 2015. Assessment of drought impacts on selected fish and wildlife species in the southwestern U.S. 2014 Annual Progress Report to USGS Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center | November 2015 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Cain, J.W. III, J.V Gedir, P.R. Krausman, J.D. Allen, and G.C. Duff. 2014. Forage nutritional content and diet selection by desert bighorn sheep across widely varying climatic conditions. 21st Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Pittsburg, PA. | October 2014 |
| Cain, J.W., III and J.V. Gedir. 2018. Foraging decisions and populations dynamics: ungulates under a warmer climate. Webinar - National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and National Conservation Training Center. | February 2018 |
| Cain, J.W., III, J. V. Gedir, P.R. Krausman, J.D. Allen, and G.C. Duff. 2014. Extreme precipitation variability, forage quality and large herbivore diet selection in arid environments. 5th International Wildlife Management Congress, Sapporo, Japan. | July 2015 |
| Gedir, J.V., *J.W. Cain III, P.R. Krausman, J.D. Allen, G.C. Duff, and J.R. Morgart. 2017. Potential foraging decisions by desert bighorn sheep to balance water and nutrient intake. 2017 Biennial Meeting of the Desert Bighorn Council, St. George, Utah, USA. | April 2017 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, G. Harris, and T.T Turnbull. 2015. Predicting long-term population dynamics of an ungulate in an arid environment in response to climate change. 5th International Wildlife Management Congress, Sapporo, Japan. | July 2015 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, G. Harris, and T.T Turnbull. 2015. Predicting long-term pronghorn population dynamics in the southwest U.S.A. in response to climate change. 48th Joint Annual Meeting of the Arizona/New Mexico Chapters of The Wildlife Society, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. | February 2015 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, G. Harris, and T.T. Turnbull. 2016. Predicting long-term pronghorn population dynamics in the Southwest in response to climate change. Pronghorn Workshop, Anaconda, Montana, USA. | August 2016 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, P.R. Krausman, J.D. Allen, G.C. Duff, and J.R. Morgart. 2016. Potential foraging decisions by desert bighorn sheep to balance water and nutrient intake in a water-stressed environment. 23rd Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA | October 2016 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, T.L. Swetnam, P.R. Krausman, and J.R. Morgart 2019. Extreme drought and adaptive habitat selection by desert bighorn sheep. 55th Meeting of the Desert Bighorn Council. Mesquite, Nevada, USA | April 2019 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, T.L. Swetnam, P.R. Krausman, and J.R. Morgart 2019. Extreme drought and adaptive habitat selection by desert bighorn sheep. 7th World Mountain Ungulate Conference. Bozeman, Montana, USA | September 2019 |
| Gedir, J.V., J.W. Cain III, T.L. Swetnam, P.R. Krausman, and J.R. Morgart 2019. Extreme drought and adaptive resource selection by a desert ungulate. 99th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Washington DC, USA | June 2019 |