Chasing the Science

With the incredible biodiversity of the Research Ranch comes a dauntingly long list of conservation challenges. Sure, the ranch is home to a long list of priority grassland birds, uniquely intact habitats, and an array of threatened and endangered species, but it also faces the threats of invasive species, a changing climate, and the lingering impacts of past land uses. We’d love to just get out there and tackle it all, but it’s not that simple. 

It’s not that we don’t have the labor to pull it off – the Research Ranch team is always willing to work hard, and our volunteers and the broader conservation community are always willing to pitch in. It’s that for many of the conservation challenges affecting the Research Ranch and other southwestern grasslands, the data needed to solve the problems simply don’t exist. Fortunately, we have a program that helps us find the answer’s we’re looking for – our Appleton-Whittell Research Fellowship. 

Each year, we incentivize early career scientists to conduct priority research on or near the Research Ranch with a cash award to support their study, free overnight stays on the ranch to ease the burden of their fieldwork, and communications opportunities that let them relay the importance of their work and its results to the Audubon community. In return, the Research Ranch benefits from being at the center of novel, innovative science that is likely to inform conservation work here and throughout the region. 

This year, we’re excited to onboard three students, each focusing on questions that are critical to our conservation efforts. Read on to learn more about this latest batch of Appleton-Whittell Research Fellows! 

• Alexia Markoutsis – Northern Arizona University 
  Alexia Markoutsis is a master’s student in Northern Arizona University’s Lab of Conservation Ecology and a developing leader in fire ecology. This summer, she will be investigating the connections between fire management, Emory Oak (Quercus emoryi), and an invasive fungus that is affecting these trees across southeastern Arizona.  

  This fungus, called Biscogniauxia mediterranea (or “biscog” to those in the know), is a relatively new arrival from the Mediterranean. It lies dormant in healthy trees, but it proves fatal when combined with the stress of the ongoing drought. It has played a significant role in major die-off events in recent years, and management strategies are urgently needed. As a culturally valuable and ecologically critical keystone species, the loss of Emory Oak would have far reaching effects.  Indigenous communities, particularly the Apache who make use of Emory Oak acorns in cuisine, ceremonies, and more, it would mean an end to traditions that they have stewarded for countless generations. Priority birds emblematic of the Research Ranch that rely on acorns as a significant part of their diet would also be deeply affected by the loss of these trees, species like Montezuma Quail, Acorn Woodpecker, and Mexican Jay. 

Having visited the Research Ranch many times through her research and that of her fellow students, Alexia has developed a deep appreciation for our work of protecting habitat for birds and other wildlife, and she intends for her research to contribute to our mission and the broader ecology of southeastern Arizona. We’ll be excited to have her back on the ranch this summer, and we’re anxiously awaiting her results!  

• Cameron Tescher – University of Arizona 
   Cameron Tescher joins us this research season as master’s student from the University of Arizona and will be spending his summer studying the effects of mesquite (Neltuma spp.) removal on the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER), a university-run biological field station just twenty miles northwest of the Research Ranch.  

Mesquite trees are native to Arizona, but poor land management, a lack of fire, overgrazing, and a changing climate have in recent decades promoted their encroachment into once mostly treeless grasslands. As mesquite and other woody species move in, priority grassland birds like Baird’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, Horned Lark, and Chihuahuan Meadowlark move out. Removing mesquite may seem like an easy way to restore grassland health – it’s known to improve forage for livestock and increase water infiltration, but it’s unclear how secondary impacts like soil disturbance, erosion, increases in invasive grass cover, and lingering affects herbicide and machinery may affect bird populations after treatment. Taking advantage of a mesquite removal effort underway on the SRER, Cameron plans to get to the bottom of it. 

Cameron is as passionate about birds as he is about making birding and biology accessible, inclusive, and welcoming spaces. As part of his work, he’ll be working with the Sonoran Joint Venture, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Tucson Bird Alliance to recruit and train field technicians to help him with his surveys. We’re thrilled to be part of helping him foster this new batch of conservation leaders, and we can’t wait to introduce the crew to the Research Ranch! 

• Max Roberts – University of Arizona 
  Max Roberts is a first-year Ph.D. student out of the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. As an Appleton-Whittell Research Fellow, he will be working with the University of Arizona Frog Project to answer a deceivingly simple but poorly understood question: why do Chiricahua Leopard Frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) breed so prolifically at some reintroduction sites, but not at others?  

Facing threats including habitat loss, invasive species, and disease, Chiricahua Leopard Frogs were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2002. With so much of their historic habitat gone or degraded, the species now relies heavily on human-made, artificial ponds and wetlands. These sites, by supporting reproductive populations from which biologists can harvest eggs, are used for reintroductions elsewhere and play a critical role in this species’ recovery. However, while some of these sites take off and produce robust, productive populations, others fail to ever get off the ground. With a thriving metapopulation across at least seven locations on site and even more a short distance beyond our borders, the Research Ranch provides a perfect venue to investigate why. 

 Enthusiastic about ecological restoration and contributing to the recovery of imperiled species, Max is hopeful that his work will inform Chiricahua Leopard Frog conservation efforts across southeastern Arizona. We’re ecstatic to see our ponds and wetlands being put to good scientific use, and we’ll be ready to implement any suggested improvements that come from this work! 

Frank and Ariel Appleton’s founding mission of the Research Ranch was to leave the land better than they found it, and we carry that goal into our work today. Each year, our Appleton-Whittell Research Fellows help fill the gaps in knowledge that prevent us from having the biggest possible impact, and for that we’re grateful to this latest batch of Fellows and all those who came before them. Join us in celebrating these new recruits and stay tuned throughout the season for opportunities to learn more about their work!