Publications

Featured Publications

30x30 for decision-makers

Dreiss, L.M. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Identifying key federal, state, and private lands strategies for achieving 30 × 30 in the United States. Conservation Letters. PDF

Habitat under the Endangered Species Act

Rylander, J., Evansen, M., Miller, J.R.B, and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Defining habitat under the Endangered Species Act.  Environmental Law Reporter. PDF

Endangered Species Act section 7

Malcom, J.W. and Li, Y.-W. (2015) Data contradict common perceptions about a controversial provision of the US Endangered Species Act. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112, 15844–15849 PDF

Climate change and endangered animals

Delach, A., Caldas, A., Edson, K., Krehbiel, R., Murray, S., Theoharides, K., Vorhees, L., Malcom, J.W., Salvo, M. and Miller, J.R.B. 2019. Agency plans are inadequate to conserve US endangered species under climate change.  Nature Climate Change. 9:999–1004. PDF

Peer-reviewed papers

Crowley, C, A Miller, R Richardson, and J Malcom. 2023. Increasing Damages from Wildfires Warrant Investment in Wildland Fire Management. Office of Policy Analysis Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27598.23361 

Dreiss, LM, LM Lacey, TC Weber, A Delach, TE Niederman, and JW Malcom. 2022. Targeting current species ranges and carbon stocks fails to conserve biodiversity in a changing climate: opportunities to support climate adaptation under 30 × 30. Environmental Research Letters 17:2 (February 1, 2022): 024033. https://doi.org/10/gpbh73 

Dreiss LD, Malcom JW. 2022. Identifying key federal, state, and private lands strategies for achieving 30 × 30 in the United States. Conservation Letters. Available from https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12849?af=R 

Malcom J, Evans MJ, Norriss J, Foster V, Moskwik M. 2022. Coproduce conservation technology with conservation decisionmakers and practitioners to increase its impact. Available from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2021.815854/ 

Evansen M, Harl H, Carter A, Malcom J. 2021. Status of the recovery mandate under section 7(a)(1) of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Frontiers in Conservation Science. http://bit.ly/FICS-7a1 

Evans MJ, Kay K, Proctor C, Thomas CJ, Malcom JW. 2021. Linking mountaintop removal mining to water quality for imperiled species using satellite data. PLOS ONE 16:e0239691. http://bit.ly/MTR-ESA 

Malcom, J., and Carter, A. 2021. Better representation is needed in U.S. Endangered Species Act implementation. Frontiers in Conservation Science 2. doi:10.3389/fcosc.2021.650543.

Evansen, M., Carter, A., and Malcom, J. 2021. A monitoring policy framework for the United States Endangered Species Act. Environmental Research Letters. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abe0ea.

Haines, A. M., Leu, M., Costante, D. M., Treakle, T. C., Parenti, C., Miller, J. R. B., and J.W. Malcom. 2021. Benchmark for the ESA: Having a Backbone Is Good for Recovery. Frontiers in Conservation Science 2. doi:10.3389/fcosc.2021.630490.

Evans, M.J. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Supporting habitat conservation with automated change detection in Google Earth Engine. Conservation Biology. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cobi.13680 

Rylander, J., Evansen, M., Miller, J.R.B, and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Defining habitat under the Endangered Species Act.  Environmental Law Reporter. https://defenders-cci.org/files/Rylander_etal_2020_habitat_definition.pdf 

Evansen, M., Li, Y.-W. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Same law, diverging practice: comparative analysis of Endangered Species Act consultations by two federal agencies. PLoS One 15(3): e0230477. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230477 

Eichenwald, A.J., Evans, M.J. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. US imperiled species are most vulnerable to habitat loss on private lands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2177 

Delach, A., Caldas, A., Edson, K., Krehbiel, R., Murray, S., Theoharides, K., Vorhees, L., Malcom, J.W., Salvo, M. and Miller, J.R.B. 2019. Agency plans are inadequate to conserve US endangered species under climate change.  Nature Climate Change. 9:999–1004. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0620-8 

Evans, M.J., Y.-W. Li, and Malcom, J.W. 2019. Novel data show expert wildlife agencies are important to endangered species protection. Nature Communications 10:3467. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11462-9  

Malcom, J.W. and Li, Y.-W. 2018. Missing, delayed, and old: The status of ESA recovery plans. Conservation Letters, 11, e12601. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12601  

Malcom, J.W., W. M. Webber, and Y.-W. Li. 2016. A simple, sufficient, and consistent method to score the status of threats and demography of imperiled species. PeerJ 4:e2230, doi: 10.7717/peerj.2230 https://peerj.com/articles/2230/ 

Malcom, J.W. and Y.-W. Li. 2015. Data contradict common perceptions of a controversial provision of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1516938112 https://www.pnas.org/content/112/52/15844  

Malcom, J.W., K. M. Hernandez, K. Likos*, T. Wayne, M. Leibold, and T. Juenger. 2014. Extensive cross-environment fitness variation lies along few axes of genetic variation in the model alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. New Phytologist, doi: 10.1111/nph.13063  *undergraduate author

Malcom, J.W., R.S. Kudra, and J.H. Malone. 2014. The sex chromosomes of frogs: variability and tolerance offer clues to genome evolution and function.  Journal of Genomics 2:68-76.

Malcom, J.W. 2011a. Smaller, Scale-Free Gene Networks Increase Quantitative Trait Heritability and Result in Faster Population Recovery. PLoS ONE 6(2):e14645. doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0014645

Malcom, J.W. 2011b. Smaller Gene Networks Permit Longer Persistence in Fast-Changing Environments. PLoS ONE 6(4):e14747. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014747.

Malcom, J.W. 2011c. Evolution of Competitive Ability: An Adaptation Speed Vs. Accuracy Tradeoff Rooted in Gene Network Size. PLoS ONE 6(4):e14799. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0014799.

Malcom, J.W. 2011d. Gene Networks and Metacommunities: Dispersal Differences Can Override Adaptive Advantage. PLoS ONE 6:e21541.

Radke, W. R. and Malcom, J.W. 2009. Habitat use by and ecological notes on the green ratsnake (Senticolis triaspis) in southeast Arizona.  Herp. Conserv. and Biology 4(1):9-13. 

Malcom, J.W. and W.R. Radke. 2008a. Effects of riparian and wetland restoration on an avian community.  The Open Conservation Biology Journal 2:30-36.

Malcom, J.W. and W.R. Radke. 2008b. Livestock trampling of Lilaeopsis schaffneriana var. recurva.  Madroño 55(1):81.

Malcom, J.W., W. R. Radke, and B. K. Lang. 2005. Habitat associations of the San Bernardino springsnail, Pyrgulopsis bernardina (Hydrobiidae).  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 20(1):71-77.

Vanderpool R, Malcom, J.W., and M.T. Hill. 2005. Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnake) predation. Herpetological Review 36: 191–192.

Book chapters

Malcom, J.W. 2021. The effects of resource constraints on implementing the Endangered Species Act. In Endangered Species Act: Law, Policy, and Perspectives Third Edition. American Bar Association, Chicago, IL. https://defenders-cci.org/publication/esa-resource-limitations/ 

Malcom, J.W. and J.H. Malone. 2014. Analysis of Deep Sequencing Data: Insights and Challenges.  In Fundamentals of Advanced Omics Technologies: From Genes to Metabolites, C. Simó, A. Cifuentes, and V. García-Cañas, eds. Elsevier, pp 325-352.

Letters and Congressional testimony

Malcom, J.W. 2020. Testimony to the U.S. House of Representative Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. 25 February 2020. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/publication/house-testimony-fy-2021/ 

Simberloff D., Barney J.N., Mack R.N., Carlton J.T., Reaser J.K., Stewart B.S., Tabor G., Lane E.M., Hyatt W., Malcom J.W., Buchanan L, Meyerson LA. 2020. U.S. action lowers barriers to invasive species. Science 367:636–636. DOI: 10.1126/science.aba7186.

Malcom, J.W., J. Rylander, M. Evansen, J.R.B. Miller, and A. Carter. 2019. A definition for habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Available at https://osf.io/bvjcd/

Malcom, J.W. At least $1.5 billion per year is needed to recover Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed species. Available at: http://bit.ly/ESA_recovery_needs

Malcom, J.W., Schwartz, M.W., Evansen, M., Ripple, W.J., Polasky, S., Gerber, L.R., Lovejoy, T.E., Talbot, L.M., Miller, J.R.B., and 1,931 scientist signatories. 2019. Solve the biodiversity crisis with funding. Science. Available at bit.ly/conservation-funding/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2019. Testimony to House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, 22 May 2019. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/talk/hnr-wow-2019/, including response to questions from Mr. Huffman.

In-review, preprints, and white papers

Malcom J, Evans MJ, Norriss J, Foster V, Moskwik M. 2021. Coproduce conservation technology with law and policy experts to increase its impact. OSF Preprints. Available from: https://osf.io/umwtp/ 

Carter, A., Malcom, J., and Harl, H. 2021. A Database of Habitat Conservation Plans and Related Documents Developed Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/xvahr .

Evansen, M., Harl, H., Carter, A., and Malcom, J. 2021. Status of the recovery mandate under section 7(a)(1) of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. OSF Preprints. doi:10.31219/osf.io/hmab9/.

Dreiss, L.M., Lacey, L.M., Weber, T.C., Delach, A., Niederman, T.E. & Malcom, J.W. 2021. Targeting current species ranges and carbon stocks fails to conserve biodiversity in a changing climate: opportunities to support climate adaptation under 30x30. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.31.458416v1 

Li, Y.-W. Molano-Flores, B., Davis, O., Allen, M., Davis, M., Mengelkoch, J.M., Parkos III, J.J., et al. (including Malcom, J.W.) 2021. Tracking Species Recovery Status to Improve Endangered Species Act Decisions. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/sznmq 

Dreiss, L. and Malcom, J.W. 2021. Identifying key federal, state, and private lands strategies for achieving 30x30 in the US. bioRxiv:10.1101/2021.03.26.437234. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.26.437234v2 

Dreiss, L. and Malcom, J. (2021). Degradation of visible autumn icons and conservation opportunities: trends in deciduous forest loss in the contiguous US. bioRxiv, 2021.03.29.437570. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.29.437570v1 

Evans, M.J. and Malcom, J.W. 2021. Lesser prairie-chicken habitat changes since court delisting: Satellite and government data show extensive habitat loss. Defenders of Wildlife, Washington, DC. https://osf.io/2qt64/ 

Malcom, J.W. and Carter A. 2020. Better representation is needed in Endangered Species Act implementation. OSF Preprints. Available from https://osf.io/m4t7f/ 

Rosa, L.D. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Getting to 30x30: Guidelines for decision-makers. Defenders of Wildlife. Available at: https://osf.io/2prdy/  

Rosa, L.D. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Finding Refuge: Imperiled Species and the National Wildlife Refuge System. Defenders of Wildlife. https://defenders-cci.org/publication/esa-nwrs-report/ 

Evans, M.J. and Malcom, J.W. 2020. Automated Change Detection Methods for Satellite Data that can Improve Conservation Implementation. bioRxiv:611459. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/611459v2  

Evans, M.J., Thomas C, Malcom, J.W. 2020. Mountaintop Removal Mining Threatens the Survival and Recovery of Imperiled Species. bioRxiv:2020.09.14.295907. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.14.295907v1  

Evansen M, Malcom J, Carter A. 2020. A Monitoring Policy Framework for the United States Endangered Species Act. preprint. Open Science Framework. Available from https://osf.io/gmr4u 

Evans, M.J., Malcom, J.W. & Li, Y.-W. 2020. Recovery units under the Endangered Species Act could be used more widely. bioRxiv, 2020.03.15.991174. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.15.991174v2  

Li, Y.-W., Malcom, J.W., Che-Castaldo, J.P. & Neel, M.C. 2020. Recovery plans need better science to support decisions that allow species to decline in abundance but be recovered. bioRxiv, 2020.02.27.966101. Available at: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.27.966101v1 

National Parks Conservation Association and Defenders of Wildlife. 2019. Win-Win: The Endangered Species Act and Our National Parks. Available at: https://www.npca.org/resources/3291-win-win-the-endangered-species-act-and-our-national-parks (coauthor)

Malcom, J.W. and M. Moskwik. 2019. The Texas Conservation Plan has not slowed oil and gas well development in dunes sagebrush lizard habitat.  F1000 Research 7:824. Available at: https://f1000research.com/articles/7-824 

Evans, M.J. and Malcom, J.W.  2019. Automated Habitat Change Detection Methods using Satellite Data to Improve Conservation Law Implementation. bioRxiv, 611459. In review at Conservation Biology. Available at: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/611459v1 

Malcom, J.W., Juenger, T. & Leibold, M. 2018. Loci, genes, and gene networks associated with life history variation in a model ecological organism, Daphnia pulex (complex). bioRxiv https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/10/06/436733   

Denton, R.D., Kudra, R.S., Malcom, J.W., Du Preez, L. & Malone, J.H. 2018. The African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) genome unites the two ancestral ingredients for making vertebrate sex chromosomes. bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/11/20/329847  

Malcom, J.W., Kim, T., and Y.-W. Li. 2017. Possibilities and limitations of using aerial and satellite images for Endangered Species Act compliance. Available at: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/10/17/204750 

Li, Y.-W., J. Rappaport Clark, R. Dreher, N. Gloman, M. Senator, and Malcom, J.W. 2017. Section 4(d) rules: The perils and the promise. Defenders of Wildlife White Paper. Available at: http://bit.ly/3qsz6Ci 

Malcom, J.W., A.C. Malcom, and W.R. Radke. 2017. Water (or the lack thereof), management, and conservation of an endangered desert wetland obligate, Lilaeopsis schaffneriana var. recurva. Available at: https://peerj.com/preprints/2699/ 

Pericak, A., Malcom, J.W., and Y.-W. Li. 2016. Prioritizing counties for imperiled species conservation in the Southeastern United States. Defenders of Wildlife White Paper. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3180913.v1 

Working papers, comments, and analyses

Evansen, M., and Malcom, J. W. 2021. Update to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program FY 2022 request. Available at: https://bit.ly/3dC4OJ9 

Malcom J.W., Evans MJ, Carter A. 2020. ESA 4(b)(2) exclusions. OSF. Available from https://osf.io/hqtz6/  

Malcom, J.W. and Rylander, J. 2019. Comments on EPA’s proposed risk assessment process for pesticides. Available at https://bit.ly/DOW-EPA-pesticide 

Malcom, J.W. and Steingard, S. 2019. PACT 2019: Summary. Available at: http://bit.ly/PACT-summary  

Malcom, J.W. and Evansen, M.E. 2019. Funding needs for the US Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species program, FY 2020. Available at https://defenders-cci.org/files/ESA_funding_needs_final.pdf 

Li, Y.-W., M. Moskwik, M. Evans, and Malcom, J.W. 2017. Sand Mines Destroying Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Habitat. Available at https://defenders-cci.org/analysis/DSL_sand_mines/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2017. ESA Compliance Monitoring and the Langboard HCP. Available at https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/Langboard_HCP/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2017. ESA section 7 take data from FWS. Available at https://defenders-cci.org/analysis/section7_take/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2016. Consultation coordinates: Can we predict which consultations have geographic coordinates? Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/coordinates.html  

Malcom, J.W. 2016. Recovery actions: An analysis of ESA recovery action implementation patterns. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/recovery_actions_take_1.html  

Malcom, J.W. 2016. Section 7 “take”: An analysis of authorized ESA take from FWS. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/section7_take.html  

Malcom, J.W. 2016. Section 10 agreements overview: An analysis of the patterns of cooperative conservation agreements under the ESA. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/agreements_overview.html 

Covington, R., J.W. Malcom, and Y.-W. Li. 2016. Habitat changes in designated critical habitat, 2001-2011. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/app/CH_changes_overview_v0-1/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2016. Missing, delayed, and old: A status review of ESA recovery plans. Available at: https://defenders-cci.org/working_papers/recovery_plan_analysis.html 

Regulatory publications

Defenders of Wildlife and Center for Biological Diversity. 2018. Petition to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) under the Endangered Species Act. Petition to the Secretary of the Interior, 65pp. https://defenders-cci.org/publication/dsl-listing-petition/ 

Malcom, J.W. 2008c. Beautiful shiner (Cyprinella formosa), 5-year review: Summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson, AZ.

Malcom, J.W. 2008d. Yaqui chub (Gila purpurea), 5-year review: Summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson, AZ.

Malcom, J.W. 2008e. Yaqui catfish (Ictalurus pricei), 5-year review: Summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson, AZ.

Malcom, J.W. 2008f. Yaqui topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis sonoriensis), 5-year review: Summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson, AZ.

Malcom, J.W. and USFWS. 2007. Environmental Assessment for Safe Harbor Agreement for the Bar Boot and 99-Bar Ranches.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson, AZ.

Blog posts

Malcom, J.W. 2021. 180 in 100 Days: Bringing Biodiversity to the Forefront. Available at: https://bit.ly/3jXb2EQ 

Malcom, J.W. 2020. International Day for Biological Diversity: Our Solutions are in Nature. Available from https://bit.ly/3n6Hdmw 

Malcom, J.W. 2020. Get Out and Get Counting in This Year’s “City Nature Challenge.” Available from https://bit.ly/3n7zxjZ  

Malcom, J.W. 2020. If There Ever Were a Time to Pay Attention to Science, It Would Be Now. Available at: https://bit.ly/33R5hQY  (curated by Medium)

Malcom, J.W. 2020. First Water From Air, Now Power From Air?! Available at: http://bit.ly/2TNpy5x   

Malcom, J.W. 2020. Funding a Future for Wildlife. Available at: http://bit.ly/3cFmL6U  

Malcom, J.W. 2019. Working the World Over for Species Protections. Available at: http://bit.ly/3axIj3s  

Malcom, J.W. 2019. Soft (Artificial) Muscles for Conservation. Available at: http://bit.ly/3cGdiwf  

Malcom, J.W. 2019. It’s Summer and Our Thoughts Turn to…a Polydimethyl…What? Available at: http://bit.ly/2YZUMvy 

Malcom, J.W. 2018. Tracking Emerging Innovations: Aerial Vehicles with Force. Available at: http://bit.ly/2NdvPpj  

Malcom, J.W. 2018. Introducing the CCI Seminar Series: Kicking off with emerging science on threats to wildlife. Available at: http://bit.ly/2Z0tdCf  

Malcom, J.W. 2018. The Cost of Underfunding: ESA Recovery Plans Edition. Available at: http://bit.ly/2YZfDPr  

Malcom, J.W. 2018. Water from Desert Air: Tracking Emerging Innovations. Available at: http://bit.ly/2Nd1qY9 

Malcom, J.W. 2017. Intrastate species and the Endangered Species Act. Available at: http://bit.ly/2YZYup4  

Malcom, J.W. 2015. Analysis using publicly available data identifies counties with most at-risk species across the Southeast. Available at: http://bit.ly/2NjROLv