Flora And Fauna For Stewards

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11/6/2013

Flora And Fauna of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The Sonoran Desert • 60 species of mammals • Over 350 kinds of birds • 20 amphibians • 100 plus reptiles

• 30 native freshwater fish • Thousands of invertebrates • Over 2,000 native species of plants

McDowell Sonoran Preserve Flora and Fauna species documented on the McDowell Sonoran Field Institute Surveys as of November 2013: • Plants (376)

• Mammals (25) • Birds (128) • Amphibians (3) • Reptiles (32) • Flying insects (100) • Ground-dwelling arthropods - unique taxa (>70)

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Why is the Sonoran Desert so diverse? • 2 rainy seasons

• Many tropicallyderived life forms reach northernmost limits

Environmental Challenges • Lack of Rainfall – both in quantity and regularity • Temperature Extremes – daily and seasonally

• Extreme Evaporation Potential • Lack of Renewable Resources

Biological Challenges • Surviving the environmental challenges • Competition • Most organisms are specialists

• Predation

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Because of the environmental and  biological  challenges  … • Our plants have a tremendous range and degree of physical adaptations • Our animals have a tremendous range of behavioral adaptations; some physiological or physical • Our organisms have developed extensive symbiotic relationships

Desert plants and animals are NOT struggling to survive.

They have met the challenges and adapted to where they are.

Adaptation Strategies of Desert Plants Succulence Drought Tolerance Drought Evasion

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Succulence • Shallow extensive roots • Storing water in stems, leaves, roots • Waxy cuticles • Reduced surface (few or no leaves) • Protection (spiny, bitter, toxic, camouflage, inaccessible)

• CAM

Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) a variant of photosynthesis where stomates open at night for gas exchange, and store carbon dioxide as organic acid.

Drought Tolerance • Shed leaves (reduces surface area, reduces transpiration) • Waxy leaves (retard water loss) • Deep, extensive roots • Absorb water from drier soil

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Drought Evasion • Primarily  “annuals” • Exist only in brief wet periods • Channel all their energy into producing seeds, then die.

Other Adaptations • Small leaves

• Orientation

• Light colors

• Hair-like scales

• Self shading

littleleaf palo verde

brittlebush

Cactus All cacti are succulents. But not all succulents are cacti.

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Cactus Flower has: • Many tepals • Many stamens • Numerous stigma

Cactus A cactus has areoles.

Cactus Other common traits include: • Storing water in stems

• Spines instead of leaves

• Flexibility

• Storage cells

• Waxy skin

• Showy flowers

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Cactus General types of cacti include: • Columnar • Jointed Stems • Small and clumping

Columnar Cactus: Saguaros and Barrels • Pleated • Linear areole pattern • Long lived • Tip growth and blooming are at the apical meristem

Columnar Cactus: Saguaros and Barrels Differences

Saguaro

Barrels

Spines

Gray, straight, smooth

Reddish, curved, ridged

Arms

After 50 years or so

No arms

Flowers

White, blooms at night

Colors, day blooming Yellow, dry with rind

Fruit

Green to red, juicy

Seeds

1,000s, tiny black

100s, tiny black

Height

20 to 30 ft, 50 ft max

4 to 6 ft, 10 ft max

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Columnar Cactus: Saguaros and Barrels Why the height difference? • Saguaro has 13 to 20 woody ribs as support. • Barrel has an interior of mucilaginous tissue.

Jointed Stem Cacti: Cholla and Prickly Pear

Jointed Stem Cacti: Cholla and Prickly Pear • Stems have joints • Two spine types: glochids and typical; - spines are barbed • Web-like skeleton • Rely on asexual reproduction • Highly branching

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Jointed Stem Cacti: Cholla and Prickly Pear Differences

Cholla

Prickly Pear

Spines

Usually one color

Usually different colors

Joints

Roundish

Flat (pads)

Flowers

Relative small

Relatively large

Fruit

Small, rindy, green

Large, juicy, bright

Seeds

Often sterile

Often fertile

Small Clumping Cacti: Echinocerus and Mammillaria

pincushion

hedgehog

Small Clumping Cacti: Echinocerus and Mammillaria • • • •

Small, often grow under other plants Branching from the base Fibrous, web-like skeleton Central dominant spines

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Small Clumping Cacti: Echinocerus and Mammillaria Differences

Echinocereus

Mammillaria

Spines

Central is straight

Central is hooked

Flowers

Large, solitary

Small, in halo

Fruit

Large, fleshy, spiny

Small, long, no spines

Other Succulents: Agave • Size: few inches to several feet • Leaves: – thick, succulent – Grow in rosette – Green, bluish, graygreen in color – Lined with spines or teeth – Sharp point at end Tom's Thumb area

Agave • Flowers on tall branched or unbranched stalks • Live from 10 to 30 years • Builds up sugar and starch, shoots up stalk • Most species die after flowering once

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Other Succulents: Yucca • Semi-succulent to non-succulent

• Similar to agave but straighter, narrow leaves • Some grow on trunks

Soaptree yucca

Yucca • Large, white, bell-shaped flower on stalks • Unlike agave, most bloom more than once • Flowers and fruit edible; roots - source of soap • Northern preserve Banana yucca

Other Succulents: Ocotillo • Woody shrub 10 to 20 feet tall • Leaves develop after rain, several times per year • Red to orange flowers at tips • Long, thick, sharp spines • “Living  fence”

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Desert Trees Our three most common native trees: Desert Ironwood

Palo Verde

Mesquite

Desert Trees Things they have in common: – Slow growth – Pinnate leaves – Need a water source – All  are  legumes…  “bean  trees”

Desert Trees Key Differences: Bark

Palo Verde

Ironwood

Mesquite

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Desert Trees Key Differences: Leaves

Palo Verde

Ironwood

Mesquite

Desert Trees Key Differences: Flowers

Palo Verde (April)

Ironwood (May)

Mesquite (April)

Big Shrubs: Creosote Bush • Long life • Small, resinous leaves

• Stalks grow in concentric pattern • “Desert  smell”  after  rain • Drops leaves in drought • “Greasewood”

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Big Shrubs: Catclaw Acacia • Sharp, curved thorns • “Wait-a-minute  bush” • Usually about 6 ft, but can grow up to 20 ft • Gray green leaves, yellow flowers, catkins

• Legume

Big Shrubs: Jojoba • About 5ft tall • Gray-green leaves • vertical orientation • Male and female plants; 4:1 ratio • Nuts: 50% oily, indigestible wax

Small Shrubs: Triangle Leaf Bursage • About 2 ft tall • Triangular, gray-green leaves with fine-toothed edge • Drops leaves during drought • Dominant understory plant • Inconspicuous, green flowers in late winter • burs ripen in spring.

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Small Shrubs: Brittlebush • Woody shrub 3-5 ft tall • Bright green to gray-green soft leaves; aridity determines color • Hair-like scales (trichomes) • Small, yellow flowers on multi-branch stalks above leaves

Winter – Spring Wildflower Season A great wildflower season (rare) is determined by soaking rain of at least an inch in Oct Dec, and helped by more rains in Jan.

Owl’s  Clover

Mexican Gold Poppy

Most Common Wildflowers

Lupine

Globemallow

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Most Common Wildflowers

Fiddleneck

Desert Chicory

Desert Hyacinth

Chia Phacelia

Summer Wildflowers Species that grow only in response to summer rains.

Devil’s  claw

Arizona poppy

Opportunistic Wildflowers Species that will germinate in response to rain at almost any season.

Desert marigold

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Lichen • Symbiotic Relationship • Algae provides photosynthesis; fungus provides protection

• Algal or blue-green bacteria cells living in a compact mass of fungal tissue

Cryptobiotic Crust • True biotic community often identified by bumpy appearance and darker coloring • Includes cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae fungi, bacteria, and other microbiotic organisms • Protect desert soil surface below by glueing or knitting soil particles together • Increases water retention and soil fertility which reduces soil erosion Don’t  Bust  the  Crust!

Desert Animals Arthropods

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians Mammals

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Arthropods • Account for 85% of all living animal species • small size • capacity for rapid change • time

• Characteristics: • exoskeleton • segmented body • jointed legs

Arthropods • 30 species in Arizona Scorpions

• Striped tail most common, bark scorpion most dangerous • Sting to subdue prey, and for defense • Nocturnal • Fluoresce under UV light

Arthropods Spiders: (Arizona blond tarantula)

• Grows to 3-4 inches • Female solid tan, male black legs • Lives in 1-2 inch hole, lined with silk • Female may eat the male after copulation • Urticating hairs on abdoman

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Cochineal • Scale insect • Feeds on Prickly Pear cactus pad • Body fluids contain bright, crimson carminic acid

Cochineal • Produce brighter, richer red dye than vegetable dyes

• Spaniards kept source secret until 1800s • Gradually replaced when less expensive aniline dyes became available

Arthropods • 40 species in Arizona, many specialized

Termites

• Key ecological role is reducing cellulose • Social, live in colonies; queen, soldiers, workers • mud

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Arthropods Bees (carpenter bee)

• As many as 1,000 species in Sonoran Desert • As much as 80% of desert plants and 30% of agricultural plants pollinated by bees • Most native, desert bees are solitary.

Sonoran  Desert  is  home  to  world’s   smallest Perdita minima (2mm) and largest carpenter bee (1.5”)

Arthropods

Wasps: tarantula hawk

• Pepsis wasp • grows  up  to  1.75” • Only female hunts tarantulas • Adults fee on nectar and pollen • Wasps have aposematic (warning) coloration

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Amphibians Sonoran Desert Toad

• One of largest toads in North  America  (7”) • Gray-green dorsum, creamy venter (underside) • Habitat includes creosote bush, thornscrub, grasslands

• Active May through Sept, lays eggs in summer rainy season • Potent toxin as defense

Amphibians • 3 inch, smooth-skinned

Couch’s  Spadefoot

• At base of hind foot is a dark, sickle-shaped spade; used for burrowing • Emerge from underground when feel vibrations of thunder • Breed in temporary pools • Young mature from egg to toadlet in less than 2 weeks

Reptiles Desert Tortoise

• Can  grow  to  about  14” • Short club feet, flattened for limbs for digging • Generally herbivores, toothless • Habitat diverse • Lives 35 to 40 years, mostly within few miles of where they hatched

• Protected in AZ

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Reptiles Sonoran Tiger Whiptail

• About  4”  long  lizard  plus  long,  thin  tail.  Dark  mottling   on back and sides. Young have blue tails. • Doesn’t  stop  moving;;  stays  on  ground • Feeds on invertebrates and smaller lizards by searching leaf litter, under plants, rocks, on ground • Diverse habitats • Many whiptail species reproduce by parthenogenesis.

Reptiles

• Long and slender, 3 - 8ft long • Variable color

Coachwhip

• Distinct head, large eyes, braided appearance to scales, lighter cross stripes may be present • Clocked at 3.6 mph • May retreat or be aggressive when threatened • Will bite but non-venomous

Reptiles Rattlesnake Facts • 13 species in Arizona; 4 in Preserve • Rattlesnakes use the "loreal pit," a heat-sensing organ between the nostril and eye to locate prey and potential predators • These snakes have glands that make venom, much like human saliva glands make saliva • The rattle is made of keratin, the same material found in human hair and fingernails

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Reptiles Rattlesnake  Facts  (cont’d)

• Age of rattlesnake cannot be determined by counting the segments of its rattle • Rattlesnake prey may include small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and centipedes

• According to Arizona Poison Centers, less than 1% of rattlesnake bites result in human deaths

Reptiles

• Up  to  66”  length

Western Diamondback

• Small scales on head

• Bold black and white tail banding

• Active at night in warmer months, day in spring and fall, retreats to rocky areas in winter but may emerge on warm days • Mating season, males wrestle prior to copulation

Birds and Mammals Desert Adaptations Primary strategy for dealing with high temperatures is avoidance.

Phainopeplas migrate in summer

Merriam’s  kangaroo   rats   are nocturnal

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Birds and Mammals: Desert Adaptations They also seek out a cooler microclimate Change insulating value of feathers or fur Take advantage of higher body temperatures Use evaporative cooling http://youtu.be/KfRApj_gIXA?t=21s

Birds and Mammals: Desert Adaptations Water Income and Water Expense

Income

Expense

Free water

Evaporative cooling

Water in food

Dilution and excretion of waste

Oxidation water

Eggs or milk

Birds Turkey Vulture • Wingspan to 6ft

• Carrion eater • Keen sense of smell • Soars on thermals • Utilizes urohydrosis for cooling

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Birds Harris’  Hawk • Raptor, social and hunt in groups

• Exhibit  “stacking” • Prey on rabbits, rodents, snakes, lizards and other birds

Birds Gila Woodpecker • Insect eater, also cactus fruit, hummingbird feeders, even dog food • Nests in saguaros; excavates  “boots”

Birds Gilded Flicker • Cavity nesters in saguaros, higher than gila woodpecker • Feeds on insects, also ants on ground and cactus fruit

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Birds Greater Roadrunner • Largest cuckoo • Hits 15 mph running • Feeds on anything small enough it can kill and eat

Birds Gambel’s  Quail • Terrestrial bird, short round wings

• Diet mostly seeds, also succulent fruit and insects for water • Gregarious, coveys as large as 20

Birds Anna’s  Hummingbird • Territorial; protecting feeding and courtship areas • Diet: nectar; may eat soft arthropods • Body temperature: 105⁰ – 109⁰F

Costa’s   hummingbird:   only true desert native

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Birds Cactus Wren • Nests in chollas, palo verde, saguaros • Nest about size and shape of football; side entry

• Diet: arthropods and cactus fruits

Birds White-Winged Dove • Seed and fruit eaters • Sloppy nests built almost anywhere • Help pollinate saguaros and disperse seeds • Mostly summer residents

Birds Phainopepla • Males black, females and immature males dark gray • Feeds on berries, mostly desert mistletoe; also insects

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Mammals • External fur-lined cheek pouch for storing and transporting seeds • Diet: mesquite beans, grass and creosote seeds • Most never drink water Desert Pocket Mouse

Mammals

• Estivate in extreme temperatures • Burrow entrance plugged to keep moisture inside

White-throated wood rat

• “Packrat” • Medium-sized rat about 1 pound, big ears and eyes, short tail • Habitat diverse; can live in arid areas as long as cholla and prickly pear available • Forages at night, brings things back to nest to store or to add to nest

Mammals

Harris’  Antelope  Squirrel • White stripe on sides, bushy black tail usually arched over its back • Prefers rocky habitat

• Feeds on fruits of cholla, prickly pear and barrel cacti, seeds, mesquite beans, insects, occasional mouse • Diurnal, even in summer

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Mammals

Townsend’s   Big-eared Bat

• “Evening”  bat • Roost by day from open ceilings of mines, caves • Insectivorous • Use echolocation to find prey • Big ears: to sneak up on moths that  use  “jamming”  mechanism • Nursery colonies may be more than 300 individuals

Mammals

• Everybody’s  prey,  most     killed first year, compensate by prodigious reproduction rate • Small, 1-3 pounds

Cottontail Rabbit

• Spend  day  in  “forms”,  also   borrow  other  animals’   burrows • Usually two litters per year, 2 to 4 rabbits per litter • Young are born altricial

• True hare, not a rabbit

Mammals

• Large, 2ft, 8-10 pounds • Prefers flat open spaces

Jackrabbit

• Stands up to see predators, crouches and freezes; bounds away in 15 foot leaps • Dramatic courtship dances • Young (1 or 2) born precocial

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Mammals Coyote

• Pointy face, black tipped tail, slender legs, small feet • Weighs 15-25 pounds • Diverse habitat, extremely adaptable, including your neighborhood • Lives in small groups, dens located central to hunting area; dens mostly for pups • Breeding season Feb-Mar, births Apr-May

Mammals Javelina

• “Collared  Peccary” • 40-50 pounds, thick neck, sharp  canines  (“javelins”) • Herbivores, but also will eat dead birds or rodents • Poor eyesight, good sense of smell • Live in groups usually of 812,  share  each  other’s  scent • Marking territory with scent

Mammals

• Weighs 15-22 pounds • Short  “bob”  tail

Bobcat

• Most common in rugged, heavily vegetated areas • Hunts by ambush; prey includes jackrabbits, rodents, birds, snakes • Solitary except during Spring mating season • Range only a few miles depending on prey available

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• Females 75 pounds, males up to 145 pounds; 6 ft long, 3 ft long black tipped tail • Habitat is rugged, heavily vegetated areas, but anywhere with prey

Mammals Mountain Lion

• Primarily deer, also smaller animals • Solitary, except for few days at mating • Range is 25 square miles or more

Mammals Mule Deer

• Brownish gray with big mule ears, white tail with black tip • Herbivores; habitat anywhere with enough vegetation for food and cover

• Social, in herds or bands for protection • Range generally only a couple of square miles

Mammals Ringtail

• 2 pounds or less, grayish, pointed face, big eyes & ears, fluffy black & white ringed tail as long as its body • Strictly nocturnal, rarely seen in the wild • Habitat riparian canyons with rocky outcrops and caves • Omnivore • Can rotate its hind feet 180⁰ to climb down cliff faces

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Resources • A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert; AZ Sonoran Desert Museum; www.desertmuseum.org/ • A Field Guide to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve; McDowell Sonoran Conservancy • MSC Flora Photo ID Guide; Marianne Skov Jensen (2010)

McDowell Sonoran Preserve PLANTS Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet) http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/checklists/checklist.php?cl=2560&proj=1

HERPS https://www.facebook.com/groups/142024522619105/

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