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Ecosystem function relies in part on aligned relationships between functional traits of animals and the environments in which they live. Studies of trait-environment relationships have largely focused on communities of native species, but domestic and non-native species also play a role in the functioning of modern ecosystems. We use ecometrics, or study of functional trait-environment relationships, to evaluate the impact of domestic and non-native species on community-level trait composition and its relationship with precipitation by comparing four community compositions: modern native, modern native plus domestic, modern native plus non-native, and late Pleistocene (0.126–0.0117 Ma). We integrate large and small herbivorous mammals into a single ecometric model of hypsodonty (i.e., tooth crown height) and annual precipitation (n=8439, r=-0.7, R2=0.4, p<0.001). We hypothesize: 1) ecometric models of modern native communities will differ from those for late Pleistocene communities, 2) inclusion of domestic species will align ecometric relationships with those from the late Pleistocene, 3) inclusion of non-native species will maintain ecometric relationships of modern native communities. We found modern communities of native species have lower hypsodonty values and higher precipitation estimates than late Pleistocene communities. Domestic species shift modern communities toward higher hypsodonty values and lower precipitation estimates like those in the late Pleistocene. Today’s domestics are mostly high-crowned grazing species representative of the fauna lost prior to the Holocene. Non-native species do not shift modern native trait composition or the associated precipitation estimates, illustrating the success of non-native species due to trait alignment with their new environments. Thus, conservation and restoration efforts should consider trait composition of whole communities because it provides unique information to measures of taxonomic composition. 

Peer writing groups serve an important role in providing a venue to improve written productivity, provide support, and brainstorm research ideas. Peer accountability assists with focusing attention on tasks at hand, which often receive less attention due to the demands on agent’s and researcher's time. Establishing dedicated meeting times to prioritize writing and editing improves time management, writing efficiency, research progression, and overall productivity. For extension agents and researchers, these components are essential for completing daily tasks and career advancement. Interdisciplinary writing groups also help broaden the scope of expertise, provide professional development experiences, and support the land grant mission. 

A paleontological deposit near San Clemente de Térapa represents one of the very few Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age sites within Sonora, Mexico. During that time, grasslands were common, and the climate included cooler and drier summers and wetter winters than currently experienced in northern Mexico. Here, we demonstrate restructuring in the mammalian community associated with environmental change over the past 40,000 years at Térapa. The fossil community has a similar number of carnivores and herbivores whereas the modern community consists mostly of carnivores. There was also a 97% decrease in mean body size (from 289 kg to 9 kg) because of the loss of megafauna. We further provide an updated review of ungulates and carnivores, recognizing two distinct morphotypes of Equus, including E. scotti and a slighter species; as well as Platygonus compressus; Camelops hesternus; Canis dirus; and Lynx rufus; and the first regional records of Palaeolama mirifica, Procyon lotor, and Smilodon cf. S. fatalis. The Térapa mammals presented here provide a more comprehensive understanding of the faunal community restructuring that occurred in northern Mexico from the late Pleistocene to present day, indicating further potential biodiversity loss with continued warming and drying of the region.