Get reliable rangeland science

Many individual species are important conservation targets, but studied in a vacuum, without attention to other species with which they coexist and interact, little is done to ensure the long-term viability of their populations. Rarely is the true wealth of plants, birds, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals that inhabit a ranch demonstrated. At the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), we participate in various transdisciplinary field projects that link plants and animals, offering a more holistic view of the landscape to inform development, management and conservation. In these partnerships, BRIT serves in two different capacities: 1) as a botanical authority providing plant identification and habitat descriptions for wildlife studies (e.g., contributing habitat data to studies uncovering populations of previously presumed extinct small mammals; and 2) as part of the botanical team that learns from taxonomic experts in other fields about the suite of faunal species using the habitats that plants provide (e.g., identifying areas of highest fragility and concern using layered information from various disciplines following biodiversity inventories). Results of recent research collaborations will be presented from binational transdisciplinary expeditions to the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Collecting detailed biodiversity data for managed land is strongly recommended to assist in the identification of unique habitats that can be easy to overlook, and assessments of habitat quality. They also provide extensive baseline data from which change over time can be monitored in accordance with the interests of the land manager. During these transdisciplinary expeditions we learned that while some species are very sensitive to grazing (e.g., the Sierra San Pedro Mart�r vole); other very rare species seem to actively favor disturbed ranchland (e.g., subspecies of the round tailed ground squirrel). With this information, the land managers can make selective changes to improve wildlife conservation and rangeland health.