Draft Literature Review

Using simple key-word searches, I found a few studies of desert wildlife and fire. A larger set of relevant keywords, including taxonomic groups and species names, would find more references. Here are a few draft comments for each desert. References are listed separately for each desert and then together alphabetically. There was some fairly good work (O’Connor 2014, Bowman 2015) going on at BYU. Haven’t tried to find out if it is continuing. I think Kim Franklin at the Desert Museum did her dissertation on invertebrates. She has been busy with desert fires lately and might know if there is any ongoing work with bugs and fire.

Chihuahuan Desert

Monasmith (1997) and Monasmith et al. (2010) studied the short-term effects of prescribed fire on small mammal populations and vegetation in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. They found that the effects of season and fire intensity varied across small mammals species, with Merriam’s kangaroo rats and silky pocket mice benefiting, while Chihuahuan Desert pocket mice responded negatively. Killgore et al. (2009) also studied the effects of fire on small mammal populations and suggested that changes in the physical structure of burned desert habitats could reduce the abundance of small mammals and shift species composition.

Sonoran Desert

Esque et al. (2013) found that species richness of birds fell after fire. Numbers of breeding birds were lower in burned areas of King Valley 3 years post fire, compared to numbers in nearby but unburned Alamo Wash. Simons (1991) found that Dipodomys merriami colonized the burned area after fire, but the abundance of Neotoma albigula, Perognathus amplus , and Chaetodipus baileyi declined. Neotoma albigula showed immediate and long-term changes to fire, whereas burrowing species showed mostly long-term changes. Esque et al. (2003) monitored portions of six wildfires to detect effects of desert wildfires on desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and other small vertebrates in the Mojave and northeastern Sonoran Desert. Gray and Dickson (2015) developed a new model of landscape-scale fire connectivity applied to resource and fire management. They characterized fire effects based on the degree to which future fire exposure is expected to harm imperiled species.

Mojave Desert

Vamstad and Rotenberry (2010) found that some rodent species are joined or replaced by species with different habitat affinities as post-fire succession proceeds.

Horn et al. (2012) studied fire effects on abundance and diversity of small mammals and posed the following predictions: 1) fire will reduce small mammal abundance and diversity, and 2) fire will alter small mammal community composition by favoring species tolerant of burned habitats. Esque et al. (2013) conducted a study on desert fires fueled by native annual forbs and their effects on communities of plants and birds in the lower Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.

Great Basin Desert

Sharp et al. (2017) conducted a study on the effects of fire on rodent abundance and diversity in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. Day (2019) studied invertebrate community response to fire and rodent activity in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. O’Connor (2014) and Bowman (2015) studied sites in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. O’Connor found small mammals create resistance to B. rubens regardless of the burn or precipitation treatments, and this pattern was observed in both intact and burned plant communities. Bowman found small mammals did not have higher rates of mortality because of a controlled burn. In the Great Basin, there were short-term reductions in abundance, richness, and diversity in burned plots. In the Mojave, species richness and diversity increased in burned plots shortly after fire and no abundance differences were detected. [Much more in O’Connor and Bowman’s theses.]

Categorized References

Multiple Deserts

Bowman, T. R.S. 2015. The Cascading Effects of Invasive Grasses in North American Deserts: The Interactions of Fire, Plants, and Small Mammals. Thesis, Biology Department, BYU.

Day, J.D., J. Birrell, T, J. Terry, A. Clark, P. Allen, S, B. St. Clair. 2019. Invertebrate community response to fire and rodent activity in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5189. [There is a great deal of information about invertebrates in this work and the works in its bibliography.]

Kennedy, P., J.B. Fontaine. 2009. Synthesis of knowledge on the effects of fire and fire surrogates on wildlife in U. S. dry forests. [Not deserts.]

O’Connor, R.C. 2014. Small Mammals Matter? Linking Plant Invasion, Biotic Resistance, and Climate Change in Post-Fire Plant Communities. Thesis, Biology Department, BYU. [Bowman (2015) and O’Connor did good work in the Great Basin and Mojave deserts.]

Bock, C.E., W.M. Block. 2005. Fire and birds in the southwestern United States. [Not much about deserts and the same is true for Bock & Bock 1978 (J. Range Mgt.) which concerned sacaton grasslands in SE AZ.]

Vogl, R.J., H. Wright & A.W. Bailey. 1982. Fire ecology: United States and southern Canada. [Focus is on land above the deserts.]

Chihuahuan Desert

Monasmith, T.J., Demarais, S., & Root, J.J. 2010. Short-term fire effects on small mammal populations and vegetation of the northern Chihuahuan desert. International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Killgore, A., Jackson, E., & Whitford, W.G. 2009. Fire in Chihuahuan Desert grassland: short-term effects on vegetation, small mammal populations, and faunal pedoturbation. Journal of Arid Environments.

Monasmith, T.J. 1997. Fire effects on small mammals and vegetation of the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Texas Tech University.

Sonoran Desert

Esque, T.C., Webb, R.H., Wallace, C.S.A., van Riper, C., McCreedy, C. & Smythe, L. 2013. Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The Southwestern Naturalist 58: 223-233. https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-58.2.223

Esque, T.C., Schwalbe, C.R., Defalco, L.A., & Tracy, C.R. 2003. Effects of desert wildfires on desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and other small vertebrates. The Southwestern Naturalist.

Gray, M.E., & Dickson, B.G. 2015. A new model of landscape-scale fire connectivity applied to resource and fire management in the Sonoran Desert, USA. Ecological Applications.

Shryock, D.F., T. Esque, & F.C. Chen. 2015. A 30-year chrono sequence of burned areas in Arizona: Effects of wildfires on vegetation in Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) habitats. Open File Report. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151060

Simons, L. 1991. Rodent dynamics in relation to fire in the Sonoran Desert. DOI: 10.2307/1382135

Mojave Desert

Vamstad, M.S., & Rotenberry, J.T. 2010. Effects of fire on vegetation and small mammal communities in a Mojave Desert Joshua tree woodland. Journal of Arid Environments.

Esque, T.C., Webb, R.H., Wallace, C.S.A., & van Riper, C. 2013. Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The Southwestern Naturalist.

Horn, K.J., McMillan, B.R., & St. Clair, S.B.S. 2012. Expansive fire in Mojave Desert shrubland reduces abundance and species diversity of small mammals. Journal of Arid Environments.

Great Basin Desert

Sharp, T.R., Bowman, T.J., McMillan, B.R., & St. Clair, S.B.S. 2017. A comparison of the effects of fire on rodent abundance and diversity in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. PLOS ONE.

Bock, C.E., & Bock, J.H. 1990. Effects of fire on wildlife in southwestern lowland habitats. In Effects of Fire Management of Southwestern Natural Resources (pp. 50-64). USDA Forest Service.

Alphabetical References

Bock, C.E., & Bock, J.H. 1990. Effects of fire on wildlife in southwestern lowland habitats. In Effects of Fire Management of Southwestern Natural Resources pp. 50-64. USDA Forest Service.

Bowman, T. R.S. 2015. The Cascading Effects of Invasive Grasses in North American Deserts: The Interactions of Fire, Plants, and Small Mammals. Thesis, Biology Department, BYU.

Day, J.D., J. Birrell, T, J. Terry, A. Clark, P. Allen, S, B. St. Clair 2019). Invertebrate community response to fire and rodent activity in the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5189. [There is a great deal of information about invertebrates in this work and the works in its bibliography.]

Esque, T.C., Schwalbe, C.R., Defalco, L.A., & Tracy, C.R. 2003. Effects of desert wildfires on desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and other small vertebrates. The Southwestern Naturalist.

Gray, M.E., & Dickson, B.G. 2015. A new model of landscape-scale fire connectivity applied to resource and fire management in the Sonoran Desert, USA. Ecological Applications.

Horn, K.J., McMillan, B.R., & St. Clair, S.B.S. 2012. Expansive fire in Mojave Desert shrubland reduces abundance and species diversity of small mammals. Journal of Arid Environments.

Kennedy, P., J.B. Fontaine. 2009. Synthesis of knowledge on the effects of fire and fire surrogates on wildlife in U. S. dry forests. [Not deserts.]

Monasmith, T.J. 1997. Fire effects on small mammals and vegetation of the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Texas Tech University.

Monasmith, T.J., Demarais, S., & Root, J.J. 2010. Short-term fire effects on small mammal populations and vegetation of the northern Chihuahuan desert. International Journal of Wildland Fire.

O’Connor, R.C. 2014. Small Mammals Matter? Linking Plant Invasion, Biotic Resistance, and Climate Change in Post-Fire Plant Communities. Thesis, Biology Department, BYU. [Bowman 2015 and O’Connor did excellent work in the Great Basin and Mojave deserts.]

Sharp, T.R., Bowman, T.J., McMillan, B.R., & St. Clair, S.B.S. 2017. A comparison of the effects of fire on rodent abundance and diversity in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. PLOS ONE.

Simons, L. 1991. Rodent dynamics in relation to fire in the Sonoran Desert. DOI: 10.2307/1382135

Vamstad, M.S., & Rotenberry, J.T. 2010. Effects of fire on vegetation and small mammal communities in a Mojave Desert Joshua tree woodland. Journal of Arid Environments.

Vogl, R.J., H. Wright & A.W. Bailey. 1982. Fire ecology: United States and southern Canada. [Focus is on land above the deserts.]