Aspen forests provide wildlife, watershed, and aesthetic value, and the potential for reduced fire occurrence, behavior, and severity. There is interest in planting aspen to achieve various management objectives. However, few studies have investigated the optimal conditions for aspen seedlings in the western US. We conducted two experiments to address this knowledge gap. First, we tested the effects of shading structures (i.e....

Accurate species delimitation is critical to identifying the conservation status of species. Molecular species delimitation methods have revealed previously unrecognized cryptic species across the taxonomic spectrum. However, studies vary in the molecular markers selected, analytical approaches used, and taxon sampling, which sometimes results in conflicting conclusions. One example of such a conflict is seen in the species de...

Rapid urbanization in many countries of the Global South has led to intensification of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) whose effects on the soils’ physical, chemical, and microbial properties have been hardly studied. We therefore investigated the effects of different intensity levels, exemplified by three rates of mineral nitrogen (N) addition and irrigation on CO 2 emissions in typical crops during the wet ( Kharif )...

Kelp are main iodine accumulators in the ocean, and their growth and photosynthesis are likely to benefit from elevated seawater CO 2 levels due to ocean acidification. However, there are currently no data on the effects of ocean acidification on iodine metabolism in kelp. As key primary producers in coastal ecosystems worldwide, any change in their iodine metabolism caused by climate change will potentially have important con...

Population decline in the federally endangered June sucker ( Chasmistes liorus ), a lakesucker unique to Utah Lake, Utah, has been attributed in part to hybridization with the more widespread Utah sucker ( Catostomus ardens ). As a group, suckers in Utah Lake exhibit considerable external morphological variation. Meristic and morphological ambiguities, presumably the result of hybridization, create a continuum of intermediate...

Genetic differences within and among naturally occurring populations of wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo ) were characterized across five subspecies’ historical ranges using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, microsatellite loci and mitochondrial control region sequencing. Current subspecific designations based on morphological traits were generally supported by these analyses, with the exception of the...

The objective biomization method developed by Prentice et al . (1996) for Europe was extended using modern pollen samples from Beringia and then applied to fossil pollen data to reconstruct palaeovegetation patterns at 6000 and 18,000 14 C yr bp . The predicted modern distribution of tundra, taiga and cool conifer forests in Alaska and north‐western Canada generally corresponds well to actual vegetation patterns, although site...