Research

Here are some of our current projects.

Community ecology in changing communities. Almost all of our research addresses two basic questions: 1) What determines the identity and relative abundance of species in biological communities? 2) How do communities shift in response to environmental change? To probe these questions, we investigate ecological patterns (biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, etc.) and processes (competition, facilitation, predation, dispersal, natural selection, etc.) along environmental gradients (temperature, precipitation, land use, edaphic conditions, etc.). Most of our work is germane to arid and semi-arid rangeland ecosystems, and we are often motivated by conservation issues tied to global change. Photo: Fabulous Fouquieria and Opuntia steal the scene in a native plant community near Needles, CA.

Facilitated invasion. Positive interactions among species ('facilitation') tend to increase biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but what happens when positive interactions benefit invasive species? In partnership with international collaborators, we are testing how facilitation of invasive plant species by native plant species affects invasion success and biodiversity along environmental gradients at regional and global scales. We are also investigating facilitation as a tool for managing plant invasions and restoring native assemblages in deserts. Photo: Native shrubs facilitate invasive Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens near Las Vegas, NV.

Cheatgrass ecology and management. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of western North America's most destructive invasive plant species. In order to explain, predict, and manage cheatgrass invasion, we are experimentally investigating how biotic and abiotic factors act independently and jointly to influence cheatgrass abundance, native biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in the native (Eurasia) vs. non-native (USA) ranges. Photo: A near-monoculture of cheatgrass near Dugway, UT. Bummer.

Ecological restoration in drylands. Global changes (e.g., land use change, invasive species, climate change, altered biogeochemical cycles, etc.) are rapidly degrading dryland ecosystems, creating an urgent need to restore biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, dryland restoration is very challenging due to infamously harsh and variable environmental conditions. In collaboration with conservationists from state, federal, and private sectors, we are researching ways to mitigate environmental factors that hamper restoration success, including temperature extremes, drought stress, soil salinity, consumer pressure, invasive species, and oil and gas activities. Photo: An experimental plot near Las Cruces, NM, used to determine the individual and joint effects of rodent foraging and shrub presence on seeding success.

Rangeland ecology and management. Rangelands support the pastoral livelihood and food security of millions of people globally while providing crucial ecosystem services, such as unique biodiversity, primary productivity, and carbon storage. However numerous anthropogenic factors (invasive species, woody encroachment, climate change, sub-optimal management practices) threaten the health, resilience, and sustainability of rangeland resources, with major economic and ecological implications. Using field-based and computational methodologies, we aim to quantify and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic factors that degrade rangeland systems and develop sustainable land management practices that balance economic and ecological viability. Photo: Beautiful native bunchgrasses at La Copita Demonstration Ranch and Research Area near Alice, TX -- one of our primary field sites.

Selected publications

2024. Humphries T, Faist AM, Callaway RM, Lucero JE. The hotter the better: Increasing temperature, not seed predation, hastens the decline of invasive Bromus tectorum across climax sage-steppe communities. Biological Invasions 00: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-024-03427-x

2024. Lortie CJ, Brown C, Filazzola A, Haas-Desmarais S, Callaway RM, Lucero JE, Braun J. Invasive brome reshapes native plant networks in open and in shrub facilitation communities. Scientific Reports 14: 8958. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59868-w

2024. Werdel TJ, Matarrita-Cascante D, Lucero JE. State of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the wildlife management profession. Journal of Wildlife Management 2024: e22579. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22579

2023. Braun J, Lucero JE, Lortie CJ, Fox N. Competitive effects of an invasive grass species on native annuals are species-specific and independent of water availability. Biological Invasions 25: 3353-3359. doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03127-y

2023. Hallett LM, Aoyama L, Barabás G, Gilbert B, Larios L, Shackleford N, Werner CM, Godoy O, Ladouceur ER, Lucero JE, Weiss-Lehman CP, Chase JM, Chu C, Harpole WS, Mayfield MM, Faist AM, Shoemaker LG. Restoration ecology through the lens of coexistence theory. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 00:1-12. doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.06.004

2023. Matarrita-Cascante D, Lucero JE, Veintimilla C, Treadwell M, Fox W, Tolleson D. Leveraging social science research to advance contemporary rangeland management: Understanding the ‘new faces’ of range managers. Rangelands 45: 1-11. doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.11.004

2022. Lasché SN, Schroeder RWR, McIntosh MM, Lucero JE, Spiegal SA, Funk MP, Beck RF, Holechek JL, Faist AM. Long-term growing season aridity and grazing seasonality effects on perennial grass productivity in a Chihuahuan Desert rangeland. Journal of Arid Environments 209: 104902. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104902.

2022. Lucero JE, Filazzola A, Braun J, Callaway RM, Ghazian N, Haas S, Miguel F, Owen M, Seifan M, Zuliani M, Lortie CJ. Increasing global aridity destabilizes shrub facilitation of exotic but not native plant species. Global Ecology and Conservation 40: e02345. doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02345

2022. Callaway RM, Lucero JE, Hierro JL, Lortie CJ. The EICA is dead? Long live the EICA! Ecology Letters 25: 2289-2302. doi.org/10.1111/ele.14088

2022. Lucero JE, Faist AM, Lortie CJ, Callaway RM. Risk of facilitated invasion depends upon invader identity, not environmental severity, along an aridity gradient. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10: 886690. doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.886690

2021. Lucero JE, Callaway RM, Faist AM, Lortie CJ. An unfortunate alliance: native shrubs increase the abundance, performance, and apparent impacts of Bromus tectorum across a regional aridity gradient. Basic and Applied Ecology 57: 41-53. doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2021.09.001

2021. Lortie CJ, Filazzola A, Brown C, Lucero JE, Zuliani M, Ghazian N, Haas S, Owen M, Butterfield HS, Nix E, Westphal M. Facilitation enables plant invasions and indirect negative interactions. Oikos 130: 1056-1061. doi.org/10.1111/oik.08443

2021. Lortie CJ, Filazzola A, Owen M, Ghazian N, Zuliani M, Haas S, Seifan M, Braun J, Miguel F, Lucero JE. Too much of a good thing: shrub benefactors are less important in higher diversity arid ecosystems. Journal of Ecology 109: 2047-2053. doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13596

2020. Callaway RM, Lucero JE. Soil biota and non-native plant invasions. Ch. 3 (pp. 45-67) in eds. A Travaset, DM Richardson. Plant invasions: The role of biotic interactions. CABI International, Wallingford, UK. doi.org/10.1079/9781789242171.0003

2020. Pik D, Lucero JE, Braun J, Lortie CJ. Light intensity and seed density differentially affect the establishment, survival, and biomass of an exotic invader and three species of native competitors. Community Ecology 21: 259-272. doi.org/10.1007/s42974-020-00027-2

2020. Lucero JE, Arab NM, Meyer ST, Pal RW, Fletcher R, Nagy DU, Callaway RM, Weisser WW. Escape from natural enemies depends on the enemies, the invader, and competition. Ecology and Evolution 10: 10818-10828. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6737

2020. Lucero JE, Seifan M, Callaway RM, Lortie CJ. Positive associations with native shrubs are intense and important for an exotic invader but not the native annual community across an aridity gradient. Diversity and Distributions 26: 1177-1197. doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13111

2019. Lucero JE, Schaffner U, Asadi G, Bagheri A, Rajabov T, Callaway RM. Enemy release from the effects of generalist granivores can facilitate Bromus tectorum invasion in the Great Basin Desert. Ecology and Evolution 9: 8490-8499. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5314

2019. Lucero JE, Noble T, Haas S, Westphal M, Butterfield S, Lortie CJ. The dark side of facilitation: native shrubs facilitate exotic annuals more strongly than native annuals. NeoBiota 44: 75-93. doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.44.33771

2018. Lucero JE. Do seeds from invasive bromes experience less granivory than seeds from native congeners in the Great Basin Desert? Plant Ecology 219: 1053-1061. doi.org/10.1007/s11258-018-0858-7

2018. Lucero JE, Callaway RM. Native granivores reduce the establishment of native grasses but not invasive Bromus tectorum. Biological Invasions 20: 3491–3497. doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1789-x

2018. Lucero JE, Callaway RM. Granivory from native rodents and competition from an exotic invader strongly and equally limit the establishment of native grasses. Oecologia 186: 1043–1053. doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4085-7

2015. Lucero JE, McMillan BR, Allen PS. Increased primary production from an exotic invader does not subsidize native rodents. PLoS ONE 10: e0131564. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131564

2012. Lucero JE, Payne J, McMillan BR. The valve method of decanting seeds from a flotation solution. Seed Technology 34: 217-226. www.jstor.org/stable/23433400