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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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