Sonora has a rich natural diversity, including reptiles and amphibians. Sonora’s location on the United States-Mexico border creates some unique conservation challenges for its wildlife. We compiled a list of the amphibian and reptile species currently known for Sonora, summarized the conservation status of these species, and compared our list of species with known species lists for adjacent states. The herpetofauna of Sonora comprises 200 species of amphibians and reptiles (38 amphibians…
Aim: To evaluate changes in breeding bird communities and assess implications for conservation.
Location: Madrean Sky Islands and northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. Methods: I compared observations from recent fieldwork (2009–2012) with an extensive historical data set (1887–1954) and used modelling and multivariate techniques to assess spatiotemporal changes in species occurrence, richness and assemblage composition, and associations with…
The flora of the lower Río Bavispe Valley from the Huásabas area south to the Río Áros at 430 to 1,510 m. elevations (1,410 to 4,954 ft.) was studied from 1995 to 2016. A total of 401 plant taxa in 74 families and 274 genera were recorded in the lower Río Bavispe Valley study area, including 24 non-native species (6.0%). The families with the most species were Asteraceae (50), Fabaceae (50), Poaceae (42), Euphorbiaceae (20), Malvaceae (19), Cactaceae (13), Solanaceae (15), and…
Mexico is recognized globally as a mega-diversity country. The state of Sonora has very diverse fauna, fora, and vegetation. The diversity of horned lizards in the genus Phrynosoma (Phrynosomatidae) in the state of Sonora is a reflection of the landscape and biotic diversity. In this paper, we summarize the distribution and ecology of eight species of Phrynosoma in Sonora.
To address obligations linked to the recently approved Pima County Multi-species Conservation Plan, I identified and estimated the quality of habitat for the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum; hereafter “pygmy-owls”) and surveyed owls on Pima County Conservation Lands in south-central Arizona in 2017. To identify habitat and prioritize areas for surveys across a vast region of County lands, I used a model of habitat quality developed in neighboring Sonora…
Species profile for Phaulothamnus spinescens can be found here.