Dr. Kerry Griffis-Kyle

Research Interests

My research program addresses questions related to biodiversity and conservation. Much of my lab's work is focused on evaluating how anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, are affecting wetlands, wetland dependent species, and other sensitive natural resources and how we can modify our management strategies to mitigate for these issues. I use interdisciplinary approaches to address management driven research questions in arid and semi-arid regions. Work from my lab combines basic and theoretic approaches; integrating population ecology, landscape ecology, animal behavior, and conservation biology to address research questions on a variety of taxa ranging from invertebrates and amphibians to birds and mammals.

Current projects include:

1. Conservation planning including connectivity evaluations and vulnerability assessments
2. Desert wetlands and their importance in arid-land biodiversity
3. Water quality and effects on populations and connectivity of populations
4. Biodiversity hotspots of species at risk

Courses Taught

1. NRM 2307 Diversity of Life
2. NRM 3407 Vegetation and Wildlife Inventory and Analysis Techniques
3. NRM 4301 Tropical Avian Ecology
4. NRM 5307 Wetland Ecology

Recent Publications

Mejia, M.F., K.L. Griffis-Kyle. 2020. Diversity in the natural resource workforce. Texas Journal of Science 72(1): Article 8. https://doi.org/10.32011/txjsci_72_1_Article8

Griffis-Kyle, K.L., A.E. Parker, J. Goetting. 2019. Novel temporary aquatic habitats and desert invertebrate communities. Texas Journal of Science. 71: (1) Article 5. https://doi.org/10.32011/txjsci_71_1_Article5.

Gary, D., K. Mougey, N.E. McIntyre, K.L. Griffis-Kyle. 2019. Identification of hotspots of at-risk terrestrial vertebrate species in the south-central Great Plains of North America: A tool to inform and address regional-scale conservation. Journal for Nature Conservation 50: Article 125684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2019.01.002

Griffis-Kyle, K.L., K. Mougey, M. Vanlandeghem, S. Swain, J. Drake. 2018. Comparison of climate vulnerability among desert herpetofauna. Biological Conservation 255: 164-175. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.06.009

Kiesow, A.B., and K.L. Griffis-Kyle. 2017. Desert amphibian selection of arid land breeding habitat undermines reproductive effort. Oecologia 185: 619-627. doi: 10.1007/s00442-017-3969-2

Drake, J., K.L. Griffis-Kyle, N.E. McIntyre. 2017. Graph theory as an invasive species management tool: Case study in the Sonoran Desert. Landscape Ecology 32: 1739-1752. doi:10.1007/s10980-017-0539-2

Ramesh, R., G. Perry, M. Farmer, K.L. Griffis-Kyle. 2017. Limited data used to make valid inference about targeting sites for conservation: A case study in urban amphibian ecology. Herpetological Review 48:1-5.

Drake, J.C., K.L. Griffis-Kyle, N.E. McIntyre. 2017. Using nested connectivity models to resolve management conflicts of isolated water networks in the Sonoran Desert. Ecosphere 8(1), e01652. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1652

Griffis-Kyle, K.L. 2016. Physiology and ecology to inform climate adaptation strategies for desert amphibians. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 11: 563-582. http://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_11/Issue_3/Griffis-Kyle_2016.pdf

McIntyre, N.E, J.C. Drake, and K.L. Griffis-Kyle. 2016. A connectivity and wildlife management conflict in isolated desert waters. Journal of Wildlife Management 80:655-666. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.1059.

Drake, J.C., Jenness, J.S., Goetting, J., Griffis-Kyle, K.L. 2015. Testing a model for the prediction of isolated water sites in the Sonoran Desert. Journal of Arid Environments 118:1-8. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.02.018.

Griffis-Kyle, K.L., J. Kovatch, C. Bradatan. 2014. Water quality: a hidden danger in anthropogenic desert catchments. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38:148-151. doi: 10.1002/wsb.358.