Photo of Robert Shriver, Extension

Robert Shriver

Assistant Professor

Summary

I'm a quantitative ecologist interested in understanding the mechanisms that drive plant population and ecosystem dynamics, from individual plots to landscapes. I use this understanding to anticipate and predict the impacts of environmental change in basic and applied settings. My work relies heavily on inference and statistics to synthesize data and models.

My current research topics include:

  • Demographic and environmental controls on landscape-scale resilience and restoration 
  • Demographic and population modeling methods
  • Impacts of environmental variability on population and community dynamics

Education

B.S. University of Wyoming, 2011
Ph.D. Duke University, 2017

News & Journal Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports...

Informational Publications
Ecology of Eriogonum tiehmii, a rare soil specialist: arthropod diversity, soil preferences, and demography J. McClinton, R. Shriver, E.A. Leger 2022, Ecosphere. 13 (2022)
Journals
Sources of seasonal water supply forecast uncertainty during snow drought in the Sierra Nevada
Uncertainty attribution in water supply forecasting is crucial to improve forecast skill and increase confidence in seasonal water management planning. We develop a framework to quantify fractional forecast uncertainty and partition it, and demonstrate the uncertainty framework with statistical runoff models.
 Elijah N. Boardman, Carl E. Renshaw, Robert K. Shriver, Reggie Walters, Bruce McGurk, Thomas H. Painter, Jeffrey S. Deems, Kat J. Bormann, Gabriel M. Lewis, Evan N. Dethier, and Adrian A. Harpold 2024, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Volume 60, Issue 5, October 2024, Pages 972-990
Resilience Is Not Enough: Toward a More Meaningful Rangeland Adaptation Science
Transdisciplinary science and management in rangelands requires more than just conceptual social-ecological frameworks. Additional methodological concepts need to include: 1) relationship building; 2) shared meaning making; and 3) a commitment to continual conversations and learning.
 Hailey Wilmer, Daniel B. Ferguson, Maude Dinan, Eric Thacker, Peter B. Adler, Kathryn Bills Walsh, John B. Bradford, Mark Brunson, Justin D. Derner, Emile Elias, Andrew Felton, Curtis A. Gray, Christina Greene, Mitchel P. McClaran, Robert K. Shriver, Mitch Stephenson, and Katharine Nash Suding 2024, Rangeland Ecology & Management, Volume 95 , July 2024, Pages 56-67
Macroscale controls determine the recovery of river ecosystem productivity following flood disturbances Lowman, H. E., Shriver, R. K., Hall, R. O., Harvey, J. W., Savoy, P., Yackulic, C. B., & Blaszczak, J. R 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(5), e2307065121
Solar Radiation Drives Potential Demographic Collapse in a Perennial Bunchgrass via Dramatically Reduced Seedling Establishment Parker, T. H., Gerber, A., Campbell, E., Simonson, M., Shriver, R. K., & Persico, L. 2024, Rangeland Ecology & Management, 92, 100-112
Models of underlying autotrophic biomass dynamics fit to daily river ecosystem productivity estimates improve understanding of ecosystem disturbance and resilience. Blaszczak, J. R., Yackulic, C. B., Shriver, R. K. & Hall Jr, Robert. 2023, Ecology Letters
Combining Field Observations and Remote Sensing to Forecast Fine Fuel Loads Ensley-Field, M., Shriver, R. K., Law, S., & Adler, P. B. 2023, Rangeland Ecology & Management, 90, 245-255
Where can managers effectively resist climate-driven ecological transformation in pinyon–juniper woodlands of the US Southwest? Noel, A. R., Shriver, R. K., Crausbay, S. D., & Bradford, J. B. 2023, Global Change Biology, 29(15), 4327-4341
Density-dependent dynamics help explain the simultaneous expansion and decline of woodlands in the western US. Forest Schultz, E. L., Filippelli, S. K., Vogeler, J. C., & Shriver, R. K. 2023, Ecology and Management, 546, 121359
Mines to forests? Analyzing long-term recovery trends for surface coal mines in Central Appalachia C.J. Thomas, R.K. Shriver, F. Nippgen, M. Hepler, M.R. Ross 2022, Restoration Ecology. (2022) e13827
Dry forest decline is driven by both declining recruitment and increasing mortality in response to warm, dry conditions R. Shriver, C. Yackulic, D. Bell, J. Bradford 2022, Global Ecology and Biogeography. 31 (2022)
Biotic versus abiotic controls on temporal sensitivity of primary production to precipitation across North American drylands. Felton, A. J., Shriver, R. K., Bradford, J. B., Suding, K. N., Allred, B. W., & Adler, P. B. 2021, New Phytologist Volume231, Issue6
The influence of life-history strategy on ecosystem sensitivity to resource fluctuations. Felton, A. J., Snyder, R. E., Shriver, R. K., Suding, K. N., & Adler, P. B. 2021, Journal of Ecology, 109(12), 4081–4091
Local landscape position impacts demographic rates in a widespread North American steppe bunchgrass. Shriver, R. K., Campbell, E., Dailey, C., Gaya, H., Hill, A., Kuzminski, S., … Parker, T. 2021, Ecosphere Volume12, Issue1
Quantifying the demographic vulnerabilities of dry woodlands to climate and competition using range-wide monitoring data. Shriver, R. K., Yackulic, C. B., Bell, D. M., & Bradford, J. B. 2021, Ecology, 102(8), e03425
Transient population dynamics impede restoration and may promote ecosystem transformation after disturbance. Shriver, R.K., C.A. Andrews, R.S. Arkle, D.M. Barnard, M.C. Duniway, M.J. Germino, D.S. Pilliod, D.A. Pyke, J.L. Welty, J.B. Bradford. 2019, Ecology Letters 22: 1357:1366
Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and inter-annual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands. Shriver, R.K., C.M. Andrews, D.S. Pilliod, R.S. Arkle, J.L. Welty, M.J. Germino, M.C. Duniway, D.A. Pyke, J.B. Bradford. 2018, Global Change Biology 24: 4972-4982
Rainfall variability and fine-scale life history tradeoffs help drive niche partitioning in a desert annual plant community. Shriver, R.K. 2017, Ecology Letters 20: 1231-1241
Quantifying how short-term environmental variation leads to long-term demographic responses to climate change. Shriver, R.K. 2016, Journal of Ecology
Late-Holocene response of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) forests to disturbance, in the Pine Forest Range, Nevada. Shriver, R.K., and T.A. Minckley. 2012, Quaternary Research 78: 465-473
Comparative demography of an epiphytic lichen: support for general life history patterns and solutions to common problems in demographic parameter estimation. Shriver, R.K., K. Cutler, D.F. Doak. 2012, Oecologia 170:137-146