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Home » Research & Conservation » Research & Conservation Staff » Director of Research, Research Ecologist

Director of Research, Research Ecologist

Joseph R. McAuliffe, Ph.D.

Ph.D. University of Montana 1983

Email: jmcauliffe@dbg.org
Phone: 480 481.8105

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Plant community ecology
Population ecology of long-lived perennial plants of deserts
Plant-soil relationships and ecophysiology
Multidisciplinary collaborations involving geology, soil science, hydrology, and ecology
Paleoecology and paleoclimatology
Ecology and conservation of semi-arid grasslands

Personal Statement

During the last 20 years, the most challenging and interesting research problems on which I have worked have involved collaborations with scientists from other disciplines, including geology and soil science. Knowledge from these areas has greatly broadened my understanding of the natural history and ecology of arid environments. Indeed, I realize now that there are so many ecological questions that cannot be adequately addressed unless the context of geology, soils, and soil hydrology is considered and understood. This multidisciplinary perspective not only leads to a growth of basic knowledge of arid lands, it also is necessary for dealing with many pressing conservation problems.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

McAuliffe, J.R. 1994. Landscape evolution, soil formation, and ecological patterns and processes in Sonoran Desert bajadas. Ecological Monographs 64:111-148. (Awarded the William Skinner Cooper Award in 1995by the Ecological Society of America)

McAuliffe, J.R. and T.R. Van Devender. 1998. A 22,000-year record of vegetation change in the north-central Sonoran Desert. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 141:253-275.

McAuliffe, J.R. 1999. The Sonoran Desert: Landscape complexity and ecological diversity. Pp. 69-114 in R. Robichaux, ed. Ecology of Sonoran Desert Plants and Plant Communities. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

McAuliffe, J.R. 2003. The interface between precipitation and vegetation: The importance of soils in arid and semi-arid environments. Pp. 9-27 in: J.F. Weltzin and G.R. McPherson (eds.) Changing Precipitation Regimes in Terrestrial Ecosystems: A North American Perspective. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.

McAuliffe, J.R. and E.V. McDonald. 2006. Holocene environmental change and vegetation contraction in the Sonoran Desert. Quaternary Research 65:204-215.

McAuliffe, J.R., E.P. Hamerlynck, and M.C. Eppes. 2007. Landscape dynamics fostering the development and persistence of long-lived creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) clones in the Mojave Desert. Journal of Arid Environments 69:96-126.

J.R. McAuliffe and E.P. Hamerlynck. 2010. Perennial plant mortality in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in response to severe, multi-year drought. Journal of Arid Environments 74:885-896.