Biology In Your Backyard
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 enceIn anticipation of a possible experimental high flow release from Glen Canyon Dam, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center is collaborating with investigators from the Arizona Department of Fish and Game, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, Northern Arizona University and other cooperators to prepare a suite of scientific experiments designed to evaluate the effect of the experimental high flows on natural resources in and near the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. (more...) W  e captured 7 cougars between July 2003 and December 2004 and fitted them with collars that collected up to 6 GPS locations per day. These locations were transmitted daily to Argos satellites and delivered the next morning to our office in an email message from Argos Inc. This daily delivery allowed us to visit clusters of GPS locations to determine cougar activities shortly after the marked cougars had departed. (more...)Landscapes dominated by sagebrush throughout the western United States represent one of the nation's most imperiled ecosystems because of extensive habitat loss and degradation. Exotic grasses and forbs now dominate a large proportion of this once vast ecosystem and have altered disturbance regimes and ecosystem processes. (more...)  BirdsAs a group, endemic grassland birds have shown a steeper, more consistent, widespread decline than any other guild of North American bird species. Managers and conservationists need more information about the ecology of grassland birds that use the desert grasslands of the Southwest. In Arizona, researchers with the USGS Fort Collins Science Center (CO) are (1) evaluating habitat needs of wintering grassland birds and their response to management practices such as grazing; (2) comparing the response of wintering grassland birds and grassland structure to a large wildfire (2002 Ryan Wildfire) with data gathered pre-fire; and (3) determining breeding distribution and abundance of the Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow subspecies. The Southwest Exotic Plant Information Clearinghouse is a cooperative effort among the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service and Northern Arizona University to organize comprehensive information on exotic plant species in the southwest on one web location. SWEPIC serves to help all people and organizations committed to protecting the ecological and economic values of southwest resources from degradation from harmful non-native weeds. (more...) Greater Sage-Grouse currently inhabit 56% of their historic range, leaving some populations isolated from each other. Questions remain about the genetic viability of and distinctions between different populations of this bird. Scientists from the Fort Collins Science Center (CO) are completing DNA analysis of Greater Sage-Grouse sampled across their entire range of 11 states (including northern Arizona) and two Canadian provinces. These data will provide information to help understand gene flow, genetic diversity, and evolutionary history between many populations of grouse and enable comparisons between all surveyed populations. With this information, managers can develop species-wide management strategies that take into account the entire "genetic landscape" of this species.  Get Your Biology HereScientists at the Fort Collins Science Center (CO) are developing the Southwest Information Node (SWIN) of the National Biological Information Infrastructure to provide access to hundreds of biological databases and a suite of information tools tailored to address the complex environmental issues of the Southwest. SWIN will let users browse, model, map, simulate, forecast, interpret, and visualize biological and environmental conditions and processes. Current tools include a searchable database of scientific research and collection activities on federal lands in southwestern states; an interactive GIS map viewer; a GIS-based decision support system addressing critical habitat for threatened and endangered species; and, in partnership with New Mexico State University, an index of water, drought, and fire-related datasets from state and federal agencies. North American grizzly bears are a genetic variety of brown bears, which were first detected in the fossil record relatively recently (about 500,000 years ago). Although grizzly bears belong to the order of carnivores (flesh-eating mammals), they exhibit many traits that allow them to subsist on a highly varied non-meat diet that can, at times, consist almost entirely of fibrous vegetation. (more...) The humpback chub is a native fish unique to the Colorado River. This fish was well adapted to the warm and sediment-laden conditions that typified this flood prone river. However, during the dam building era of the early and mid-1900s a series of hydroelectric dams were constructed and water was diverted from this river system. (more...) S  cientists from the Fort Collins Science Center (CO) are studying migration stopover ecology of western land bird populations to identify geographic patterns of distribution and habitat use during migration in southwestern North America. This project synthesizes existing data from many studies and is an initial step in identifying regions important to "en route" western birds. Managers can use this information to prioritize habitat management activities in the region to benefit these visitors. Fish biologists at the Fort Collins Science Center (CO) are conducting studies on the Lower Colorado River documenting spawning requirements for native razorback suckers and bonytail, both of which are federally endangered, and evaluating the use of predator-free, off-channel rearing ponds for their young. Wild fish larvae are collected at spawning sites and relocated to these "refugia," where juvenile fish can grow to more than 30 cm (about 14 inches) in length. Then, when these larger fish are restocked to the main channel, losses to non-native fish predators are greatly reduced, and surviving fish will live to reproduce. In addition, biologists are working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatcheries to determine whether exercise and predator-exposure techniques will further improve the post-stocking survival of these fish. Studies and predation trials are being conducted at Achii Hanyo Fish Facility near Parker, Arizona. Populations of shrubland passerine birds are declining in the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau. Although habitat changes on breeding grounds are a primary cause of these declines, the additional factors on wintering grounds remain unknown. Surveys and research focused on breeding ranges fail to account for critical dynamics that influence passerine birds for approximately 7-9 months of their annual life cycle. (more...)  herThe southwestern willow flycatcher is a small passerine bird placed on the federal Endangered Species list in 1995. The purpose of this web site is to provide a centralized location where the viewer can find out what the flycatcher looks and sounds like, and learn about the status, distribution, biology and habitats of this endangered bird. It is hoped that providing access to such information will promote an understanding of its status and ecology, encourage further research and cooperation, and help promote effective conservation and management. (more...) T  hrough a cooperative agreement, scientists from the Fort Collins Science Center (CO) and the University of Southern Mississippi are initiating a collaborative study using Doppler weather radar to understand bird migration patterns in the borderlands of the arid Southwest (Brownsville, TX to San Diego, CA). The project will look at (1) migrant densities during flight, (2) migrant-habitat associations, (3) migrant flight elevation and direction of travel, and (4) the effects of topographic obstruction (for example, mountains) on radar capabilities. This information will be valuable to resource managers and others for habitat protection and management, as well as for addressing issues related to the siting and permitting of communication towers and wind power turbines that pose hazards to birds in flight.As drought conditions lower the surface of Lake Powell, its warmer surface waters are brought to the release structures of Glen Canyon Dam. During the summers of 2003 and 2004, some of the highest summer discharge temperatures recorded since the lake filled are flowing down the Colorado River down Grand Canyon. Here we provide an explanation of the processes that produce these effects, examine past instances of warm summer releases, and look into the future. (more...) By combining bird foraging height with the vector distribution pattern, we predict that species such as the Warbling Veiro would have higher prevalences, while birds like the White-crowned Sparrow would have lower infection rates. (more...)  ooTwo subspecies of Yellow-billed Cuckoo are recognized in the western hemisphere. Their range historically extended from southern British Columbia to northern Mexico. Currently the only known populations of breeding Western Yellow-billed Cuckoos are in California, Arizona, and western New Mexico. Yellow-billed Cuckoos winter in South America from Venezuela to Argentina after a southern migration that extends from August to October. (more...) |
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://biology.usgs.gov/wro/backyard/az.html
Page Contact Information:
avaughn@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified:
Tuesday, 18-Mar-2008 14:25:39 MDT
