Skip to main content

Thomas Valone, Ph.D.

Professor
Biology

Courses Taught

Conservation Biology, Biology of Birds, Biology of Mammals, Advanced Ecology

Education

Ph.D., University of Arizona

Research Interests

Valone's research can be  divided into two broad categories:

  • Arid ecosystem ecology and conservation
  • The behavioral ecology of information use

Much of Valone's work in arid ecosystems has examined desertification and factors that affect the biodiversity. He is particularly interested in livestock effects on soil chemical and physical processes that then affect plant and animal populations. Valone's examination of behavior is frequently centered on understanding how animals perceive their environment. Much of his behavioral work examines information use in social animals who differ from solitary individuals in that they can acquire public information to estimate the quality of resources by noting the activities of other individuals.

Publications and Media Placements

Nordell, S.E. and Valone, T.J. 2021. Animal Behavior: Concepts, Methods, Applications. Oxford University Press USA. 528 pages. 3rd edition.

Van Klink et al. 2021. InsectChange: a global database of temporal changes in insect and arachnid assemblages. Ecology 102: e03354

Valone, T.J., & Weyers, D.P. 2019. Invasion intensity influences scale-dependent effects of an exotic species on native plant diversity. Scientific Reports 9:18769.

Valone, T.J., & Balaban-Feld, J. 2019. An experimental investigation of top-down effects of consumer diversity on producer temporal stability. Journal of Ecology 107: 806-813.

Balaban-Feld, J. & T.J. Valone. 2018. Changes in courtship behavior following rejection: the influence of female phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster. Ethology 124: 149-154.

Dornelas, M. et al.. 2018. BioTIME: a database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene. Global Biology and Biogeography 27:760-786.

Valone, T.J. & Balaban-Feld, J. 2018. Impact of exotic invasion on the temporal stability of natural annual plant communities. Oikos 127:56-62.

Balaban-Feld, J.A. & T.J. Valone. 2017. Prior information and social experience influences male reproductive decisions. Behavioral Ecology. 28: 1376-1383.

Balaban-Feld, J.A. & T.J. Valone. 2017. Identifying individual male reproductive consistency in Drosophila melanogaster: the importance of controlling female behavior. Behavioral Processes 142: 84-90.

Chen, T.C., & Valone, T.J. 2017. Granivory strengthens relationships between seed size and plant abundance in a desert annual community. Journal of Vegetation Science 28: 808-814.

Valone, T.J., Barta, Z., Börner, J., Cardenas, J.C., Giraldeau, L.-A., Kokko, H., Oldekop, J. A., Pauly, D., Rustagi, D., & Sutherland, W.J. 2016. Governance of natural resources: insights from game theory. In: Benefitting from other agents' investments. Eds: Giraleau, L.-A, & Heeb, P. MIT press. In press

Ernest, S.K.M., G.M. Yenni, G. Allington, E.M. Christensen, K. Geluso, J.R. Goheen, M.R. Schutzenhofer, S.R. Supp, K.M. Thibault, J.H. Brown, & T.J. Valone. 2016. Long-term monitoring and experimental manipulation of a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem near Portal, Arizona, USA (1977-2013). Ecology 97:1082 (Data paper)

Allington, G.R.H. and T.J. Valone. 2014. Islands of fertility: a byproduct of grazing? Ecosystems 17: 127-141.

Nordell, S.E. and T.J. Valone. 2014. Animal Behavior: Concepts, Methods, Applications. Oxford University Press USA. 480 pages. 1st edition.

Allington, G.R.H., D. Koons, S.K.M. Ernest, M. Schutzenhofer, and T.J. Valone. 2013. Niche opportunities and invasion dynamics in a desert annual community. Ecology Letters 16: 158-166 [Featured in Science, Editor's Choice Dec 7, 2012] [Recommended as being of ‘Special Significance' by Faculty of 1000].

Allington, G.R.H. and T.J. Valone. 2011. Long-term livestock exclusion in an arid grassland: vegetation and soil changes. Rangeland Ecology & Management 64: 424-428.

Allington, G.R.H. and T.J. Valone. 2010. Reversal of desertification: the role of physical and chemical soil properties. Journal of Arid Environments. 74: 973-977.

Hromada, M., Antczak, M. Valone, T.J. and Tryjanowski, P. 2008. Settling decisions and heterospecific social information use in shrikes. PloS One vol 3:e3930.

Valone, T.J. and N.A. Barber. 2008. An empirical evaluation of the insurance hypothesis in diversity-stability models. Ecology 89:522-531.

Valone, T.J. 2007. From eavesdropping on performance to copying the behaviors of others: a review of public information use. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62:1-14.

Valone, T.J. and M.R.Schutzenhofer. 2007. Reduced rodent biodiversity destabilizes plant populations. Ecology 88:26-31.

Valone, T.J. 2006. Are animals capable of Bayesian updating? An empirical review. Oikos 112: 252-256.

Danchin, E., L.-A. Giraldeau, T.J. Valone, and R.H. Wagner. 2004. Public information: from Nosy neighbors to cultural evolution. Science 305: 487-491.