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Rhodes, Aaron

Aaron C Rhodes

Research Scientist - Grassland Ecologist
Department of Integrative Biology


My research is currently focused on invasion biology of African grasses; buffelgrass and Guinea grass.

aaronrhodes@utexas.edu


Office Location
PAT

Postal Address
2415 SPEEDWAY
AUSTIN, TX 78712

  I received my PhD from Brigham Young Univeristy in 2017 where I studied how deer, elk, and cattle differentially affect aspen forests through their herbivory of aspen suckers. I used camera traps to quantify their relative impact on aspen regeneration after fire. I also studied the ecophysiological mechanisms that underlie the ungulate-aspen herbivory interaction. I framed 3 major strategies of plant defense; resistence, tolerance, and escape in the context of ungulate aspen interactions across several successional gradients.

  I received my B.S. in Ecology, and B.A. in Spanish from San Francisco State University. As part of my studies at SFSU, I studied at Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile. There I studied the impacts of climate change on old growth temperate rain forests on Chiloe Island in Southern Chile.

 

 

Rhodes, A. C., R. M. Plowes, and L. E. Gilbert. In Review. Mitigating buffelgrass invasion through simulated targeted grazing, understanding restoration mechanisms in a variable precipitation regime.

Rhodes, A. C., R. M. Plowes, D.J. Martins, I. Ng’Iru and L. E. Gilbert. In Review. The invasiveness of Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus) is characterized by habitat and differing herbivore assemblages in its native and invaded range.

Morrison C. R., Rhodes, A. C., Bowman, E. A., Sedio, B. E., Plowes, R. M., and L. E. Gilbert. in review. Adding insult to injury: Light competition and novel weapons interact to facilitate Guinea grass invasion.

Rhodes, A. C., R. M. Plowes, J. R. Lawson, and L. E. Gilbert. 2022. Guinea grass establishment in South Texas is driven by disturbance history and savanna structure. Rangeland Ecology & Management 83:124-132.

Rhodes, A. C., R. M. Plowes, J. A. Goolsby, J. F. Gaskin, B. Musyoka, P.-A. Calatayud, M. Cristofaro, E. D. Grahmann, D. J. Martins, and L. E. Gilbert. 2021a. The dilemma of Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus): a valued pasture grass and a highly invasive species. Biological Invasions:1-17.

Rhodes, A. C., J. Rutledge, B. DuPont, R. M. Plowes, and L. E. Gilbert. 2021b. Targeted grazing of an invasive grass improves outcomes for native plant communities and wildlife habitat. Rangeland Ecology & Management 75:41-50.

Rhodes, A. C., C. Fitch, and S. B. S. Clair. 2019. Ungulate Herbivory Is Correlated with High Aspen Suckering Density but Reductions in Aspen Growth Rates and Recruitment. Rangeland Ecology & Management 72:454-460.

Maxwell, J. D., A. C. Rhodes, and S. B. S. Clair. 2019. Human altered disturbance patterns and forest succession: impacts of competition and ungulate herbivory. Oecologia 189:1061-1070.

Rhodes, A. C., R. T. Larsen, and S. B. S. Clair. 2018a. Differential effects of cattle, mule deer, and elk herbivory on aspen forest regeneration and recruitment. Forest Ecology and Management 422:273-280.

Rhodes, A. C., R. T. Larsen, J. D. Maxwell, and S. B. S. Clair. 2018b. Temporal patterns of ungulate herbivory and phenology of aspen regeneration and defense. Oecologia 188:707-719.

Rhodes, A. C., and S. B. St. Clair. 2018. Measures of browse damage and indexes of ungulate abundance to quantify their impacts on aspen forest regeneration. Ecological Indicators 89:648-655.

Gill, R. A., R. C. O’Connor, A. Rhodes, T. B. B. Bishop, D. C. Laughlin, and S. B. S. Clair. 2018. Niche opportunities for invasive annual plants in dryland ecosystems are controlled by disturbance, trophic interactions, and rainfall. Oecologia 187:755-765

Rhodes, A. C., V. Anderson, and S. B. St Clair. 2017a. Ungulate herbivory alters leaf functional traits and recruitment of regenerating aspen. Tree Physiology 37:402-413.

Rhodes, A. C., H. Y. Wan, and S. B. S. Clair. 2017b. Herbivory impacts of elk, deer and cattle on aspen forest recruitment along gradients of stand composition, topography and climate. Forest Ecology and Management 397:39-47.

Rhodes, A. C., T. Barney, and S. B. St. Clair. 2016. Stand composition, tree proximity and size have minimal effects on leaf function of coexisting aspen and subalpine fir. PloS one 11:e0154395.

Wan, H. Y., A. C. Rhodes, and S. B. St. Clair. 2014. Fire severity alters plant regeneration patterns and defense against herbivores in mixed aspen forests. Oikos 123:1479-1488.

 

 

[2022]                Society for Ecological Restoration                                 Austin, TX                                       

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Mitigating buffelgrass invasion through simulated targeted grazing, understanding restoration mechanisms in a variable precipitation regime

[2022]              Mpala Research Centre Laikipia, Kenya

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Buffelgrass release from natural enemies and the potential for biological control

[2021]                Osher Lifelong Learners Institute                                  Austin, TX

Invited Oral Presentation:

Invasive grasses in South Texas: a review and biological control

[2017]                Ecological Society of America                                             Portland, OR

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Ungulate herbivory alters leaf functional traits and recruitment of regenerating aspen

[2017]                Society for Range Management                                        St. George, UT

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Ungulate herbivory alters the morphology, primary metabolism, defense  chemistry expression and growth rates of regenerating aspen

[2016]                PWS Research Conclave, BYU                                             Provo, UT

Poster Presentation: Herbivory impacts of American elk, mule deer and cattle on aspen forest recruitment along gradients of stand composition, topography and climate. 1st place.

[2016]                10th International Rangeland Congress                      Saskatoon, Canada

Contributed Poster Presentation:

Herbivory impacts of American elk, mule deer, and cattle on aspen forest regeneration and recruitment along gradients of stand composition, topography and climate

[2016]                Resource Advisory Committee                                          Richfield, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Ecological Methodologies for Aspen Regeneration Monitoring

[2016]                Monroe Mountain Working Group                                   Richfield, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Monitoring Regeneration of Aspen on Monroe Mountain, UT. 3rd Annual Report

[2015]                Society for Range Management                                             Moab, UT

Invited Oral Presentation (Co-Author):

Ungulate Use and Aspen Restoration in Utah.

[2015]                Utah Forest Restoration Working Group                  Salt Lake City, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Seasonal Timing of Aspen Herbivory and Differential Impact of Tree Ungulate Species on Aspen

[2015]                Ecological Society of America 100th                               Baltimore, MD

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire.

[2015]                Monroe Mountain Working Group                                   Richfield, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Monitoring regeneration of aspen on Monroe Mountain, UT. 2nd Annual Report

[2015]                Society for Range Management 68th                             Sacramento, CA

Contributed Poster Presentation:

Characterizing Aspen Regeneration By Presence of Ungulates,Topography, and Tree Species Composition

Invited Booth Organizer: Ran the ESA Rangeland Ecology booth at the tradeshow

[2015]                Utah Forest Restoration Working Group                  Salt Lake City, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire.

[2014]                Utah Society for Range Mgmt.                                               Logan, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire.

[2014]                 PWS Research Conclave, BYU                                             Provo, UT

Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire. 1st place.

[2014]                IUFRO                                                                          Salt Lake City, UT

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Characterizing Aspen Regeneration By Presence of Ungulates, Topography, and Tree Species Composition

[2014]                WIFDWC 62nd                                                                   Cedar City, UT

Invited Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire.

[2014]                Ecological Society of America 99th                                Sacramento, CA

Contributed Oral Presentation:

Differential and Additive effects of Mule Deer, Elk, and Cattle on aspen regeneration after fire.

[2014]                Monroe Mountain Working Group                                    Richfield, UT

Invited Oral Presentation: Monitoring regeneration of aspen on Monroe Mountain, UT.

[2014]                Universidad de Chile                                                  Santiago, RM, Chile

Invited Oral Presentation: Defining Fire Regimes of Utah.

[2013]                PWS Research Conclave, BYU                                               Provo, UT

Oral Presentation: Defining Fire Regimes of Utah. 2nd place.

[2013]                Ecological Society of America 98th                              Minneapolis, MN

Organized Oral Presentation:

Herbivory by mule deer and cattle suppress aspen basal shoot height; threatening aspen stand resilience

[2013]                Utah Department of Natural Resources                            Salt Lake, UT

Invited Oral Proposal:

Investigating the impact of ungulate herbivory in intact aspen stands. Awarded -$44,000 in support.

[2013]                BYU Graduate Exposition                                                      Provo, UT

Research Poster Presentation: Aspen forest sustainability in a “land of many uses”. University wide exposition of graduate level research.

 

Ecology

Brackenridge Field Laboratory