Imagine that you are driving or biking into any one of a dozen small rural communities on either side of the US/Mexico border in the year 2040. You notice a beautiful building that appears as though it were made of locally sourced materials, situated in a shaded mesquite bosque that appears as…

In island systems, nitrogen-rich seabird guano is a marine subsidy that can shape terrestrial plant communities. In zones of nutrient upwelling such as the Gulf of California, copious seabird guano is commonplace on bird islands. Several bird islands host regionally unique cactus forests,…

The weekend of April 26th through 28th, 2013 marked an exciting event for the community of Patagonia, Arizona. Biologists from all over the state gathered to document and celebrate the tremendous biodiversity of the Patagonia Mountains, one of the southernmost Sky Island ranges in the United…

Since 1979, observations of monarch butter y (Danaus plexippus L.) in Sonora, Mexico have been low. There are 10 records of monarchs breeding in Sonora on Asclepias curassavica, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, and A. subulata (Apocynaceae).

In July-August, monarchs from the Canelo-Hereford area…

The New World tropics reaches its northern limit in Sonora, not as often stated at the Tropic of Cancer (23.37°N) just north of Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The northernmost tropical deciduous forest (TDF) is in Sonora (28.6˚N), 680 kilometers north-northwest of Mazatlán and 300 km south of the Arizona…

Natural landscapes have distinctive personalities. Each is the product of the interplay of geology, climate, vegetation, time, and often, human activities. The landscapes that form the Santa Catalina Mountains of southeastern Arizona give that range a unique personality like no other in the…