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Faculty Member

Dr. Tara Bishop

Biography

I am a dryland community and ecosystem ecologist asking questions about climate change (drought and precipitation changes), wildfire, and plant-soil feedbacks. Mostly from the plant perspective, how are interactions in the environment from trophic cascades, to changes in soil nutrient availability and disturbance regime shifts, altering our dryland plant communities. Most of my work centers in drylands of the western United States including the Mojave Desert, Great Basin, Sonoran and the Colorado Plateau. I utilize experimental studies, observational studies, in addition to remote sensing, modeling, and drone image analysis with GIS to answer my research questions.

I also enjoy integrating community based science and communication with natural resource managers to help bridge gaps and breakdown silos of information to better manage our landscapes based on ecological foundations. I work with multi-agency collaborative groups and value outreach workshops as a way to build relationships and help root my science with decision makers.

Education

PhD, Brigham Young University, 2019

Major: Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation

MS, Mississippi State University, 2012

Major: Biology

BS, Brigham Young University, 2008

Major: Biology Composite Teaching

Teaching

ENVT 3270

Environmental Microbiology, Spring 2026

ENVT 4950R

Special Projects in Environmental Management, Spring 2026

ENVT 4950R

Special Projects in Environmental Management, Spring 2026

ENVT 4950R

Special Projects in Environmental Management, Spring 2026

Presentations

Bishop, Tara , 17th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region, "Hoofprints in Time_ Seasonal Grazing Timing and Biocrust Cover in Drought-Stressed Rangelands", Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. (September 9, 2025)
Bishop, Tara , 17th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region, "State-and-Transition models and Ecological Site Groups for PJ fire and fuel management", Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. (September 9, 2025)
Bishop, Tara , Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, "Exploring Careers in Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs)", Ecological Society of America, Baltimore, MD. (August, 2025)
Olson, Aljexi (Presenter & Author), Bishop, Tara (Author Only), Lukacs, Hali (Co-Author), Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, "This Old Juniper_ Ages and Stages for Juniper Tree Communities", Ecological Society of America, Baltimore, MD. (August 14, 2025)
Lukacs, Hali (Presenter & Author), Bishop, Tara (Author Only), Fowles, Christine (Co-Author), St. Clair, Samuel (Co-Author), Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, "How fire and rodent activity impact water use efficiency on creosote (Larrea tridentata)", Ecological Society of America, Baltimore, MD. (August 13, 2025)
Fowles, Christine (Presenter & Author), Bishop, Tara (Author Only), Lukacs, Hali (Author Only), St. Clair, Samuel (Co-Author), Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, "The effects of fire and dryland rodent community interactions on the number and viability of creosote (Larrea tridentata) seed", Ecological Society of America, Baltimore, MD. (August 13, 2025)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Duniway, Michael C, Knight, Anna C, Bishop, Tara , Nauman, Travis W, Stegner, Mary Allison, Mann, Rebecca K, Zeller, Lauren A, Wilson, Savannah L, (2026) "State and Transition Classifications for Ecological Sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin" . US Geological Survey Data Release.
Bishop, Tara , Kelly, Anne , Cheng, Evelyn , Burch, Samuel , Mikenas, Jessica , Knight, Anna , Duniway, Michael C, "Vegetation change classifications and climate, topographic, and disturbance covariates for modeling repeat photography data across the Colorado Plateau, southern Utah and western Colorado" . US Geological Survey Data Release. https://doi.org/10.5066/P13VCTOE
Stegner, Mary Allison, Belnap, Jayne , Bishop, Tara B.B., Knight, Anna C., Nauman, Travis W., Duniway, Michael C., (2026) "Vulnerability of different Colorado Plateau land types to drivers of change" . Ecological Indicators. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.114654
Villarreal, Miguel , Bishop, Tara , Smith, William K, Sankey, Teki , "New resolutions for landscape ecology_ Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) remote sensing provides new insights into ecosystem patterns and processes" . Landscape Ecology.
Gray, Jess E, Slate, Mandy , Ennis, Array , Peterson, Courtney , Bradford, John , Noel, Adam , Duniway, Michael C, Bishop, Tara , Barret, Ian , Comschke, C , Humphries, Joel , Barger, Nichole , "Building resilience in dryland ecosystems_ A climate adaptation strategy menu for Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands" . Forest Ecology and Management.
Severson, John P., Bishop, Tara BB, Knight, Anna C., Nauman, Travis W, McNellis, Brandon E, Villareal, Miguel L, Reed, Sasha C, Young, Kristina E, Brunson, Mark , Duniway, Michael C., (2025) "Mapping ecological states in the upper Colorado River basin_ implications for fire management" . Landscape Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-664X/adf55f

Awards

Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Works

Office of Academic Affairs; Scholarship & Creative Works - October, 2024

I was nominated for recognition of my demonstrated excellence in scholarship and creative works during the 2023-24 Academic Year.