News

Posted: Dec 12, 2025 - 12:00pm

Here are some of the publications from August-December that are authored by UNM Biology's faculty, staff, and students:

Abdel-Baki AS, Mansour L, Al-Quraishy S, Duszynski DW. MEROGONY AND PHYLOGENY OF HEPATOZOON RAWASHI PARASITIZING HASSELQUIST’S FAN-FOOTED GECKO, PTYODACTYLUS HASSELQUISITI (SAURIA: PHYLODACTYLIDAE) IN EGYPT. The Journal of Parasitology. 2025;111(5):606–612. https://doi.org/10.1645/25-8

Abrego-Lopez, C., Spears, J.,et al. Saguaro Initiatives at Desert Botanical Garden: Generating Tools and Resources to Save Threatened Cactus Species. Cactus and Succulent J., 97(3):241-256 (2025). https://doi.org/10.2985/015.097.0303

Achatz TJ, Morton LB, Orlofske SA, Brant SV, Montes MM, Bondone F, Tkach VV (2025) Description of two new species of Psilochasmus Lühe, 1909 (Digenea, Psilostomidae), with remarks on the diversity of the genus and a key to its species. ZooKeys 1254: 149–170. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1254.162728

Afkhami, M.E., Classen, A.T., Dice, C.G., Hernandez, D.J., Li, V.W., Rawstern, A.H., Rudgers, J.A., Stinchcombe, J.R. and Crawford, K.M. (2026), Unraveling complexity in climate change effects on beneficial plant–microbe interactions: mechanisms, resilience, and future directions. New Phytol, 249: 93-113. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70644

Alfaro, Brian; Turner, Thomas F.; and Marshall, Diane L. (2025) "Evaluating Genetic Variation of Brassica tournefortii Gouan Collections Via Microsatellite Marker Analysis," Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany: Vol. 43: Iss. 1, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5642/aliso.JGIH7265

Burgin, C.J., Jelle S Zijlstra, Madeleine A Becker, Heru Handika, Jesse M Alston, Jane Widness, Schuyler Liphardt, David G Huckaby, Nathan S Upham, How many mammal species are there now? Updates and trends in taxonomic, nomenclatural, and geographic knowledge, Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 106, Issue 5, October 2025, Pages 1082–1117, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaf047

Busquets-Vass, G., Carroll, E.L., Lübcker, N., Newsome, S. et al. Tracing nutrient allocation in capital breeding baleen whales using amino acid stable isotope analysis: a novel method to infer protein balance and reproductive status. Oecologia 207, 186 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05817-x

Clements J, Stanek J, Conrad C, Celmer J, Mora H, Gadek, C. et al. (2025) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fish collected from the Rio Grande and reservoirs in northern New Mexico. PLOS ONE 20(11): e0336856. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336856

Collins, S.L. 2025. An uphill struggle for tropical forest trees, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (38) e2520436122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2520436122

Collins, Scott L., and Renée F. Brown. 2025. “ Small Rainfall Events Increase Belowground Production in Chihuahuan Desert Grassland.” Ecology 106(9): e70206. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70206

Collins, Scott L., Mariah T. Patton, and Renée F. Brown. 2025. “ Precipitation-Productivity Relationships in Desert Grassland: A Test of the Double Asymmetry Hypothesis.” Ecology 106(8): e70166. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70166

Colombano, D. D, Rudnick, J., Rowlands, N. A, Christman, M. A, Dahm, C. N, Thompson, J. K, & Windham-Myers, L. (2025). Five Perspectives to Advance Science-Informed Decision-Making in the Era of Climate Change and Extreme Events. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 23(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2025v23iss3art1

Côrte-Real, J.V., Pinheiro, A., Sampson, J.M., Morrisey, K.A., Miller, R., et al. Deciphering the origins of guanylate-binding proteins in mammals (Monotreme, Marsupials and Placentals). BMC Biol 23, 292 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02403-8

Dahm, C. N, Colombano, D. D, & Dahlgren, R. A. (2025). Recent Findings and Future Prospects for Water Quality Effects from Catastrophic Wildfires in California, USA. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 23(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2025v23iss3art2

Darroch, S.A.F., Michelle M. Casey, Alison T. Cribb, Amanda E. Bates, Matthew E. Clapham, Dori L. Contreras, Matthew Craffey, Ivo A.P. Duijnstee, William Gearty, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Marcus J. Hamilton, Riley F. Hayes, Pincelli M. Hull, Daniel E. Ibarra, V.A. Korasidis, Jaemin Lee, Cindy V. Looy, Tyler R. Lyson, Benjamin Muddiman, Peter D. Roopnarine, Alex B. Shupinski, Felisa A. Smith, Alycia L. Stigall, Catalina P. Tomé, Katherine A. Turk, Amelia Villaseñor, Peter J. Wagner, Wang SC, S. Kathleen Lyons. ‘Earth system engineers’ and the cumulative impact of organisms in deep time. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 40, Issue 11, 2025. Pages 1066-1076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.08.005

Dehaudt B, Ruksan Bose, Jean Jacques Avoto, Stephanie Brittain, Tom Bruce, Emily K. Chen, Francis A. Forzi, Britta D. Hardesty, Kimberly M. Holbrook, Aaron M. Lamperti, V. Thomas Parker, John R. Poulsen, Nicholas J. Russo, Ernest Simpoh, Benjamin C. Wang, Kenneth D. Whitney, Thomas B. Smith, Matthew Scott Luskin. Thirty years of arboreal wildlife trends in an African rainforest under evolving threats and researchers' presence. Biological Conservation, Volume 312, 2025, 111475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111475

Denipah-Cook Q, Bryanna V. Saxton, Kristin B. Artinger, Lomeli C. Shull. PRDM paralogs are required for Meckel’s cartilage formation during mandibular bone development. Developmental Biology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.12.002

Díaz González, M.G., Danimar López-Hernández, Vasyl V. Tkach, Fabiana Drago, Fred D. Chibwana, Martina R. Laidemitt, Christopher A. Blanar, Verónica Núñez, Mariano Dueñas Díaz, Luis A. Gomez-Puerta, Sean A. Locke. Molecular and morphological support for the synonymy of Nephrostomum and Patagifer: discovery of new species and broad geographic connections. International Journal for Parasitology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.10.008

Driscoll, Katelyn P.; Martinez, Laurel F.; Turner, Thomas F. 2025. Vegetation cover and functional traits showing effect of stream restoration on plant communities in northern New Mexico. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2025-0057

Dubos N, Steven Calesse, Kathleen C. Webster, Chloé Bernet, Gregory Deso, Thomas W. Fieldsend, Saoudati Maoulida, Soulé Mounir, Xavier Porcel, Jean-Michel Probst, Hindatou Saidou, Jérémie Souchet, Mohamed Thani Ibouroi, Markus A. Roesch. Diverging effects of global change on future invasion risks of Agama picticauda between invaded regions: Same problem, different solutions. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 1008, 2025, 180957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180957

Dunnum, J., McLean, B., Dowler, R., Alvarez-Castañeda, S., Bradley, J., Bradley, R., Carraway, L., Carrera-E, J., Conroy, C., Coyner, B., Demboski, J., Dick, C., Doyle, K., Esselstyn, J., Gutiérrez, E., Hanson, J., Holahan, P., Holmes, T., Iudica, C., Leite, R., Lee, T., Lim, B., Malaney, J., McLaren, S., Moncrief, N., Olson, L., OrdóñezGarza, N., Phillips, C., Revelez, M., Rickart, E., Rogers, D., Thompson, C., & Upham, N. (2018). Mammal collections of the Western Hemisphere: A survey and directory of collections. Journal of Mammalogy, 99 (6), 1307-1322. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy151

Gyllenhaal, Ethan F., Lukas B Klicka, Lucas H DeCicco, Brian C Weeks, Robert G Moyle, Michael J Andersen, Gene flow complicates phylogenetic inference in an archipelago radiation, Systematic Biology, 2025, syaf081, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaf081

Jones, G., et al. Observation of plastic hairbrush bristles in the haypile of an american pika (Ochotona princeps) in Glacier National Park, Montana Northwestern Naturalist, 105(3):200-203 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN25-11

Kaphle A, Rodríguez Lina, Tunby Paige, Nichols Justin, Khandelwal Aashish, Joseph Eric, Aldred Jennifer, Van Horn David J., González-Pinzón Ricardo. Propagation of nutrients and metals after the 2022 Hermit's Peak-Calf Canyon gigafire. Frontiers in Water, Volume 7 – 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1636421

Kelliher, J.M., Mirzayi, C., Bordenstein, S.R. Miller, C.M.L., et al. STREAMS guidelines: standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies. Nat Microbiol 10, 3059–3068 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02186-2

Le, V.H., Collins, S.L. & Vargas, R. Long-term ecological studies must continue: insights from a dryland transition zone. Oecologia 207, 171 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05807-z

Lekired, A., Mudge, J., Laidemitt, M.R. et al. Whole-genome sequencing and genome-wide transcriptome profiling of the freshwater planorbid snail Bulinus ugandae (Mollusca: Gastropoda), a Nilotic bulinine refractory to Schistosoma haematobium. BMC Genomics 26, 1089 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-12320-3

Mani A, Narmin Musayeva, Irene Salinas. Neuroanatomical profiling of the rainbow trout brain parenchyma and meninges reveals specialized immune niches and region-specific hubs for bacterial immune surveillance, Developmental & Comparative Immunology, Volume 171, 2025, 105454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2025.105454

McCullough, J.M., Chad M Eliason, Shannon Hackett, Corinne E Myers, Michael J Andersen, Phylogenomics of a genus of ‘Great Speciators’ reveals rampant incomplete lineage sorting, gene flow, and mitochondrial discordance in island systems, Systematic Biology, 2025;, syaf075, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaf075

McLean, B.S., David Bloom, Edward B Davis, Robert P Guralnick, Sharlene E Santana, Julie M Allen, Heidi Amarilla-Stevens, Kayce C Bell, David C Blackburn, Jeffrey E Bradley, Robert D Bradley, Matthew D Carling, Alexandra Coconis, Jocelyn P Colella, Chris J Conroy, Joseph A Cook, Helena de Bastos Cruz Machado, John R Demboski, Katrina M Derieg, Andrew Doll, John P Dumbacher, William D Duncan, Jonathan L Dunnum, Chris Feldman, Adam W Ferguson, Kendall E Fitzgerald, Maureen E Flannery, Kelly Hood, Angela D Hornsby, Dianna Krejsa, Raphael LaFrance, Jessica E Light, Silvia E Pavan, Shalina Peterson, Adrienne Raniszewski, Eric A Rickart, Shannen Robson, Rebecca J Rowe, Dakota M Rowsey, Alyssa Semerdjian, Theodore Stankowich, Laura Steger, Richard Stevens, Katherine M Thibault, Cody W Thompson, Nathan S Upham, Alyson Wilkins, Elizabeth A Wommack, Extending mammal specimens with their essential phenotypic traits, Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 106, Issue 5, October 2025, Pages 1282–1291, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaf062

Meng, Bo, Alesia J. Hallmark, Timothy J. Ohlert, Pubin Hong, and Scott L. Collins. 2025. “ Species Reordering Increases Community Variability Driven by Chronic Nutrient Addition.” Ecology 106(10): e70227. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70227

Ohlert, T., Collins, S., et al. Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity. Science 390, 284-289 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads8144

Ohlert, T., Patton, M.,Hallmark, A., Hamilton, G. and Collins, S.L. (2025), Herbaceous plant communities respond more to seasonal precipitation than cumulative drought in the hot deserts of the United States. Plant Biol J. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.70083

Ohlert, Timothy J., Alesia Hallmark, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Debra P. C. Peters, and Scott L. Collins. 2025. “ The Role of Dominant Species in Community Organization and Aboveground Production in Semiarid Grasslands.” Ecology 106(8): e70164. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70164

Oliver Brown CC, Collier KA, Tan DJX, Mills K, Spaulding F, Glenn TC, Pruett C, Winker K. 2025. Evidence of positive selection and a novel phylogeny among five subspecies of song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in Alaska. PeerJ 13:e19986 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19986

Oonuma K, Zhang, SM, et al. CRISPR/Cas9-germline editing of Biomphalaria glabrata: A breakthrough in genetic modification of snails that transmit schistosomiasis. Sci. Adv. 11, eadx5889 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx5889

Poe, S., Kennedy, T.L. 2025. Sleeping behavior, sleep duration, and the sleep–wake transition in two species of Puerto Rican anoles. Salamandra. 61(3): 329–337. https://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/contents/2025-vol-61/2192-poe,-s-t-l-kennedy/file

Rick, T.C., Radde, H.D., Bentz, L., Braje, T.J., McKechnie, I. and Elliott Smith, E.A. (2025), Into the Deep: Origins and Evolution of Northeastern Pacific Ocean Tuna (Thunnus spp.) Fisheries. Fish Fish, 26: 1164-1179. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.70024

Rowland, E.N., Davorka Gulisija, Spatial storage effect facilitates evolutionary rescue in rapidly changing environments, Evolution, Volume 79, Issue 12, December 2025, Pages 2654–2666, https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpaf197

Rudgers, J.A., Catherine A. Gehring, D. Lee Taylor, M. Dylan Taylor, Y. Anny Chung. Integration of plant–soil feedbacks with resilience theory for climate change. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 40, Issue 8, 2025, Pages 749-759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.001

Russell, M., Alex Webster, Carl Abadam, Katelin Fisher, Stephanie Campbell, Carmen Atchley, Kana Radius, Paris Eisenman, Ashley Apodaca-Sparks, Astrid Gonzaga, Rui Liu, Patrick Hudson, Anjali Mulchandani. Influence of particulate matter air quality on water quality of atmospheric water harvesting. Water Research, Volume 286, 2025, 124213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124213

Sampson, J.M., Mikolajova, K.J., Gardner, M.G., Miller, R. et al. Immunoglobulin genetics of a model squamate reptile, Tiliqua rugosa. Immunogenetics 77, 30 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-025-01387-7

Sanders-DeMott, R., Hutyra, LR, Hurteau, MD, Keeton, WS, Fallon, KS, Anderegg, WRL, Hollinger, DY, Kuebbing, SE, Lucash, M., Ordway, EM, Vargas, R., Walker, WS. Dataset for Ground Truth: Can forest carbon protocols ensure high-quality credits?. Harvard Dataverse dataset, Jan 2025. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CDWMDU

Seheon ME, Parra AS, Johnston CA (2025) Molecular and evolutionary determinants for protein interaction within a class II aldolase/Adducin domain. PLOS ONE 20(11): e0316787. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316787

Seydi, S.T., Hurteau, M., et al. Increasing global human exposure to wildland fires despite declining burned area. Science 389, 826-829 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adu6408

Shi, Y., Muraina, T.O., Jimoh, S.O., Collins, S. et al. Fine root trait dynamics and their relationships with productivity across grasslands under extreme drought. Oecologia 207, 158 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05799-w

Shulman HB, Pyle JAM, Classen AT, Inouye DW, Simberloff R, Sorensen PO, Thomas W, Rudgers JA, Kivlin SN. Nutrient limitation shapes functional traits of mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus-cycling bacteria across an elevation gradient. mSystems: e00523-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00523-25

Summers, B.M., Hall, R.O., Jr., Reale, J.K., Joseph, E., Stone, M.C. and Van Horn, D.J. (2025), Broad-scale climate patterns combined with local flow and turbidity disturbances structure the seasonality of gross primary production in an aridland river. Limnol Oceanogr, 70: 3186-3201. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70173

Tunby, Paige, Van Horn, David J., González-Pinzón Ricardo. 2025. Drivers and impacts of changes in water quality behavior from the Hermit’s Peak—Calf Canyon wildfire. Frontiers in Water. Volume 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1676600

Turner, T.et al. 2025. Building A Tissue Archive To Support Conservation Genomics Of Colorado River Fishes. Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology, University Of Michigan, No. 209(6). https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/27311

van Galen, L.G., Smith, G.R., Margenot, A.J., Sinsabaugh, R., et al. A global database of soil microbial phospholipid fatty acids and enzyme activities. Sci Data 12, 1568 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05759-2

Weksler M, Joseph Cook, Jon Dunnum, et al. A comprehensive survey of mammal collections and genetic resources in South America: challenges and directions, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 146, Issue 1, September 2025, blaf069, https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf069

Zhao, Min, Gregory Thom, Brant C Faircloth, Michael J Andersen, F Keith Barker, Brett W Benz, Michael J Braun, Gustavo A Bravo, Robb T Brumfield, R Terry Chesser, Elizabeth P Derryberry, Travis C Glenn, Michael G Harvey, Peter A Hosner, Tyler S Imfeld, Leo Joseph, Joseph D Manthey, John E McCormack, Jenna M McCullough, Robert G Moyle, Carl H Oliveros, Noor D White Carreiro, Kevin Winker, Daniel J Field, Daniel T Ksepka, Edward L Braun, Rebecca T Kimball, Brian Tilston Smith. Efficient Inference of Macrophylogenies: Insights from the Avian Tree