Jessica Nicole Welch

Oak Ridge National Laboratory | ORNL · Environmental Sciences Division

Conservation biology aims to identify species most at risk of extinction and to understand factors that forecast species vulnerability. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is a leading source for extinction risk data of species globally, however, many potentially at risk species are not assessed by the IUCN owing to i...

Biological invasions are a major driver of biodiversity loss, but no study has described the scope of threats to bats (Chiroptera) by invasive species. We reviewed the literature for negative effects of invasive species to bats and summarised threats according to four categories: predation, disease, competition, and indirect interactions. We identi...

Although many indirect consequences of biological invasions are plausible, few studies test hypotheses for management of threatened taxa. A case study of the endangered Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata rotensis) illustrates the importance of investigating indirect effects of invasion on species of conservation concern. We hypothes...

Plant species influence belowground communities in a variety of ways, ultimately impacting nutrient cycling. Functional plant traits provide a means whereby species identity can influence belowground community interactions, but little work has examined whether species identity influences belowground community processes when correcting for evolution...

Geographic patterns in body size are often associated with latitude, elevation, or environmental and climatic variables. This study investigated patterns of body size and cell size of the green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis, and potential associations with geography or climatic variables. Lizards were sampled from 19 populations across the nati...

Research can be more transparent and collaborative by using Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles to publish Earth and environmental science data. Reporting formats—instructions, templates, and tools for consistently formatting data within a discipline—can help make data more accessible and reusable. However, the immen...

Data standardization combined with descriptive metadata facilitate data reuse, which is the ultimate goal of the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles. Community data or metadata standards are increasingly created through an approach that emphasizes collaboration between various stakeholders. Such an approach requires...

Across different landscapes, plant abundance and richness change. Bee distributions may vary spatially or temporally in accordance with differences in floral diversity. I used a habitat-based approach to investigate the hypothesis that the abundance of bees in assemblages varied among three distinct meadow types: dry meadow, wet meadow-Veratrum, an...