Treesearch

The Apache Highlands ecoregion incorporates the entire Madrean Archipelago/Sky Island region. We analyzed the current distribution of 223 target species and 26 terrestrial ecological systems there, and compared them with constraints on ecosystem integrity (e.g., road density) to determine the most efficient set of areas needed to maintain current biodiversity. The resulting portfolio of 90 areas includes 12.5 million acres (5 million ha) that should be priorities for protection. Conservation strategies include protection and restoration of grasslands, restoration or maintenance of natural...

This project characterized Mexican spotted owl (MSO) home territories on the Fort Huachuca Military Reservation (FHMR) in the Huachuca Mountains using existing data on owl occupancy, fire history, and site characteristics. Although many nest sites were found in canyon environments with riparian, mixed conifer, and oak tree components, MSO territory composition was variable depending on topographic position. Data analysis suggests MSOs are not mixed conifer dependent and that oak and riparian tree species were important components in each territory. There is potential for adverse wildfire...

The Madrean Archipelago, or Sky Island, region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico is recognized for its great biological diversity and natural beauty. This conference brought together scientists, managers, and other interested parties to share their knowledge about the region and to identify needs and possible solutions for existing and emerging problems. It provided a forum to update the state-of-knowledge acquired since the first conference in 1994. The proceedings contains over 100 articles and additional abstracts from the plenary sessions and from concurrent...

Ecological responses to climate variability in time and space: a Southwestern synopsis Julio L. Betancourt The dance between science, decision making, and public education for natural resource management D.C. Goodrich Insects as agents of change in the Sky Islands Ann M. Lynch Biocultural diversity and its conservation in the Mother Mountains Gary Nabhan

Effective NGO-government-community alliances are the key to overcoming the complex socio-political obstacles to conservation in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Over 80 percent of the territory in the Sierra Madre Occidental is communally owned. Agrarian and other socio-economic conditions present both opportunities and obstacles to conservation. Conservation, environmental justice, and community development are inseparable components of effective conservation in the communal lands of the Sierra. Case studies from the Sierra Tarahumara and Madera regions reveal the effectiveness of interdiscipl...

We studied black bears to determine habitat use, food habits, and abundance between April 2002 and November 2003 in the Sierra San Luis, Sonora. We utilized transects to determine spoor presence, camera traps for abundance, and scat analysis. During 2002, bears fed principally on plant material, and for 2003 on animal matter, namely livestock. Habitat use differed between years and seasons. In general terms, we recorded black bears more frequently during 2002 than 2003, attributing this change to a lack of resources, fruits, and water in our study area.

In the Southwestern United States, the grassland avifauna is collectively composed of a mixture of species found primarily in desert grasslands, shortgrass steppe, wet meadows, and alpine tundra (as used here, desert grasslands incorporate both arid grasslands and desert shrub grasslands). Of these habitats, desert grasslands and shortgrass steppe are the most extensive and support the greatest number of grassland bird species. Desert grasslands are patchily distributed across the southern halves of New Mexico and Arizona, and shortgrass steppe is a component of the Great Plains system...

We examined patterns of species richness for amphibians and reptiles in Arizona and evaluated patterns in species distribution between ecoregions based on species range size. In Arizona, the Sonoran Desert has the highest herpetofauna diversity, and the southern ecoregions are more similar than other regions. There appear to be distinct low- and mid-elevational faunas. There was no difference in elevational measures or species range sizes between species groups. However, species widespread in one ecoregion tended to have larger distributions in other ecoregions. Relating similarity indices...

The first Conference on Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago brought together scientists, managers, and other interested parties from the United States and Mexico to share their knowledge about the region and to identify the needs and possible solutions for the future. The 1994 conference ended with an open discussion among the participants. The conference in 2004 had a similar goal and also concluded with an open forum. Participants discussed past and present accomplishments and the need for increased partnerships, especially among parties in the southwestern United...

Use of forbs for revegetation in the Intermountain West has been problematic due to the large number of species and lack of research data. Some forbs are found in numerous plant communities and distributed over wide geographic ranges while others are more narrowly adapted. Seed sources for revegetation use may be selected from species and ecotypes indigenous to the planting area. Management of local stands to improve seed production may be required to insure the availability of adequate quantities of seed. Alternatively, seed of an increasing number of commonly used species is being grown...