Keyword: ecology

Echinocereus triglochidiatus, kingcup cactus

This Species Review summarizes the fire effects information and relevant ecology of kingcup cactus in North America that was available in the scientific literature as of 2018. Kingcup cactus is a small cactus native to the American Southwest. It typically grows in rocky crevices in shrublands and conifer woodlands, and fingers into desert grasslands at low elevations. Its stems occur singly or in mounds up to 4 feet in diameter.

Red fox ancestry and connectivity assessments reveal minimal fur farm introgression in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Rocky Mountain red foxes Vulpes vulpes macroura potentially encounter other red fox Vulpes vulpes lineages at lower elevations, which may include nonindigenous red foxes derived from fur farms. Introgression from nonindigenous red foxes could have negative evolutionary consequences for the rare Rocky Mountain red fox subspecies.

Terrestrial vertebrates of mesquite bosques in southwestern North America [Chapter 11]

The major emphasis of this chapter is to address the species richness and population densities of land vertebrates in riparian mesquite bosques (woodlands). We find no single publication that lists vertebrates - amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals - of riparian mesquites of the Southwest lowlands. These vertebrates are listed for a few river valleys, such as the Santa Cruz River (Webb et al.

Breeding waterbirds of the Mexican portion of the Colorado River delta [Chapter 10]

Once a mighty and wild river with abundant wetlands, the section of the Colorado River flowing through Mexico has become a trickle ... whenever it flows. Most of the time since the 1960s, until recently, it did not and was completely dry. This brought tremendous changes in the "original" constitution and biological processes of the region, although they have not been fully investigated.

Evaluating riparian vegetation change in canyon-bound reaches of the Colorado River using spatially extensive matched photo sets [Chapter 9]

Much of what we know about the functional ecology of aquatic and riparian ecosystems comes from work on regulated rivers (Johnson et al. 2012). What little we know about unregulated conditions on many of our larger rivers is often inferred from recollections of individuals, personal diaries, notes, maps, and collections from early scientific surveys (Webb et al. 2007) and from repeat photography (Turner and Karpiscak 1980; Webb 1996).

Arizona as a watershed - then and now: Case studies of changed management of rivers and habitat in the lower Colorado River system [Chapter 8]

Prior to human development in the West, rivers flowed freely. Flows in the Colorado River varied greatly with season, with snowmelt runoff from the Rocky Mountains resulting in annual high flows (Topping et al. 2003). The large sediment loads historically found in the Colorado River, estimated to average 160,000,000 tons passing Yuma annually (LaRue 1916), have since caused Laguna Dam (fig.

Euro-american beaver trapping and its long-term impact on drainage network form and function, water abundance, delivery, and system stability [Chapter 7]

Euro-American (EA) beaver trapping was a regional and watershed-scale disturbance that occurred across the North American continent. This concentrated removal of beavers altered drainages by creating thousands of localized base-level drops as beaver dams failed and were not repaired.

Beavers, livestock, and riparian synergies: Bringing small mammals into the picture [Chapter 6]

Riparian ecosystems provide the anchor for their associated aquatic habitats and the structure for a unique assemblage of life found in these exceptionally productive ecosystems. Much of upland life also is tied to this zone, particularly in arid regions. For instance, on National Forest lands in the Southwest Region, 57 percent of all vertebrates occur in riparian ecosystems, but these systems make up