Arizona Plant and Wildlife Research & Conservation

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum plays a pivotal role to many research and conservation efforts. Our main research is supported through our Desert Legume Program (DELEP) and the University of Arizona, however, we also have many partnered organizations sharing the same goals. There are on ground and off ground efforts being done by many organizations ranging from, state, federal, non-profit and private.

ARIZONA HEDGEHOG CONSERVATION

In October of 2008, BTA made its first relocation of Endangered Arizona Hedgehog Cacti, Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus, to the Arboretum from construction sites within the Tonto National Forest along Highway 60. Twenty of the specimens were returned to the Tonto National Forest and test seed plots were established. Desert Botanical Garden (DBG), a member of the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), were given spine samples and a specimen for testing. In June 2012, the Arboretum gathered over 20,000 seeds and kept them identified by plant accession. A second salvage was conducted in the fall of 2014. The arboretum has continued working with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), DBG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tonto National Forest, Resolution Copper Company and private contractors in an effort to protect and preserve the species.

QUEEN CREEK 2017 AQUATIC SPECIES AND HABITAT SURVEYS FOR ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT

Excerpts from Arizona Game and Fish Department survey report currently in Draft; provided by Dana Warnecke with Habitat, Evaluation and Lands Program Region VI.

In October of 2017, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGF) conducted fish and aquatic herpetological surveys to document the presence or absence of native aquatic species (fish, amphibians and reptiles), sampled water quality and investigated the flow regime of an approximate 1 mile reach of Queen Creek between the Town of Superior and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) in Gila county, Arizona. Surveys were conducted on Tonto National Forest (TNF) and State Parks (BTA) lands downstream of the Superior Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and FR 989.

The Department conducted a visual encounter survey on October 23, 2017, to determine presence/absence of aquatic herpetological (herp) species (amphibians and reptiles). Four surveyors walked both sides of the stream along the wetted greenline and narrow floodplain to efficiently detect aquatic herp species.

ONGOING BAT NETTING - ARIZONA GAME AND FISH PARTNER WITH BOYCE THOMPSON ARBORETUM TO EDUCATE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

Arizona Game and Fish Department's Wildlife Viewing Program hosts bat netting nights at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Bat netting is a great activity to get our members out at night, learning about the desert and the local bat species that call it home. This program promotes wildlife viewing and conservation through these public or member events while subsequently doing bat monitoring around the state. All the information they collect goes to a state-wide database that the Arizona Game and Fish Department keeps. The database connects back to monitoring and overall management implications for the department, for instance, what they have seen, where they’ve seen it, if populations are changing, etc.

That's one of the great benefits of being a member with the Boyce Thompson Arboretum! If taking a part in a great activity like bat netting excites you, please look for future bat netting nights as this is usually a member only event. You might see many species such as Pallid bats, Townsend's big-eared bats, Mexican leaf-nosed bats, Yuma myotis bats, Cave myotis bats, and maybe even a Mexican long-tongued bat!

2018 BUTTERFLY COUNTING AT THE ARBORETUM WITH CENTRAL ARIZONA BUTTERFLY ASSOCIATION

On Saturday September 8, the Central Arizona Butterfly Association (CAzBA) ran the 12th annual butterfly count using the Arboretum as a focus. This count is part of a database administered by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) (https://www.naba.org/butter_counts. html). There are about 450 established count sites in North America and Mexico and each is a circle 15 miles in diameter where butterflies are counted at least one day a year. The count data include the number of each species seen and are entered into a website run by NABA. These data are used in scientific research that monitors butterfly populations and factors that influence butterfly abundance and diversity.

The count circle that includes the Boyce Thompson Arboretum is centered on the Superior High School. We routinely visit several sites within the circle: the grounds of the Arboretum, the Arizona Trail trailhead, the Apache Tears riparian area, Oak Flat, Upper Devils Canyon, and the town of Superior.

TO LEARN MORE, SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE 16 OF THIS NEWSLETTER.

SURVIVAL & BREEDING OF TURKEY VULTURES IN THE SONORAN DESERT

Following its long-standing principle of protecting a species while it is still common, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary has been conducting research projects around the globe to assess the status and trends of raptor populations. In many regions of the World, vulture species are facing an uncertain future where habitat loss, direct persecution and/or unintentional poisoning are affecting them daily. This is most unfortunate as we are losing species filling a critical role in the ecosystem. Simply put, nobody wants to do the job that vultures provide: getting rid of dead and decaying carcasses. By their sole feeding behavior, vultures are providing a service that would cost billions of dollars annually.

For more than 12 years now, Hawk Mountain has conducted roadside surveys to assess vulture populations across the Americas and tracked several dozens of individual vultures migrating across the continent using telemetry transmitters to assess, among other things, migration connectivity, as well as survival rates among populations across its entire range (Canada to Argentina). Over the last 5 years, our research projects have brought us to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona to study the whereabouts of these important creatures. A new collaboration with the Boyce Thompson Arboretum aims to document in details migration timing and routes and to assess survival and breeding rates of turkey vultures inhabiting the region.