Native Arizona Research Articles

Development and Evaluation of Habitat Suitability Criteria for Native Fishes in Three Arizona Streams

AbstractHabitat loss is a main contributor to fish fauna declines in the southwestern USA. Several studies have defined stream‐specific habitat conditions that support the growth and survival of native fish in Arizona to inform stream restoration efforts, yet general habitat use of most individual species across the region is not established. Therefore, we evaluated habitat use of four native fishes, Speckled Dace Rhinichthys osculus, Sonora Sucker Catostomus insignis, Desert Sucker Catostomus clarkii, and Longfin Dace Agosia chrysogaster, across three Arizona streams through the development of habitat suitability criteria (HSC). We developed both stream‐specific and generalized HSC for each species. Generalized HSC were calculated as the combination of stream‐specific HSC for each species. We then assessed the utility of generalized HSC through transferability among study streams. Also, past HSC studies have not considered the occurrence of nonnative species, so we tested whether the presence of nonnative fishes influenced native fish habitat use through logistic regression models. Fish and habitat data were collected along the Mogollon Rim in Arizona during the 2017 summer field season at base flow conditions. We established minimum microhabitat use for four native Arizona fish species through developing HSC. Most generalized criteria did not transfer among study streams due to variation in habitat availability and fish community structure. Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of nonnative fishes was inversely related to the presence of two native fish species, which could have influenced habitat use of both species. The lack of transferability across streams as demonstrated in this study confirms that only HSC developed in the stream of interest or in similar undegraded streams with comparable fish communities should be used for restoration efforts. For projects to restore native fishes in streams where nonnative competitors will not dominate, the least degraded similar streams without coexisting nonnative fishes can guide restoration efforts.

Differential Response of Native Arizona Gray Squirrels and Introduced Abert's Squirrels to a Mosaic of Burn Severities

Disturbance events can alter habitat properties, leading to species displacement, isolation, and/or local extinction. Therefore, understanding the interactions of potential ecological drivers on native and introduced wildlife species post-fire is critical to understand influences on distribution. We studied native Arizona gray squirrels (Sciurus arizonensis), which are believed to favor dense riparian habitat, and introduced Abert's squirrels (S. aberti), which prefer open ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests. We examined how uncommon native Arizona gray squirrels and introduced Abert's squirrels used areas previously burned by widespread fires more than a decade prior to our study. To determine how past fire may affect squirrel habitat, we examined squirrel use and occupancy within fire altered habitats and used distance sampling to determine squirrel distribution, feeding, and nest use within a mosaic of burn severities. Occupancy and habitat use indicated that introduced Abert’s squirrels readily used post-fire conditions more than native Arizona gray squirrels, likely due to the opening of a dense understory. Arizona gray squirrels remained in unburned riparian areas; therefore, fire affected riparian areas can be directly targeted for management to increase abundance of the native species.

Enzyme-induced carbonate mineral precipitation for fugitive dust control

Wind tunnel tests show that enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) holds promise as a method for mitigation of fugitive dust emissions. Fugitive dust (wind-blown fine-grained soil) is a significant environmental problem in semi-arid and arid environments. Conventional methods for fugitive dust control, including the application of water, salt, or synthetic polymers, are either ineffective in arid climates, limited to short-term stabilisation, or very expensive. EICP employs hydrolysis of urea (ureolysis), a process catalysed by the urease enzyme, to precipitate calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the presence of calcium ions. Urease is a widely occurring enzyme found in many plants and microorganisms. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of a topically applied EICP solution containing plant-derived urease to stabilise soil against fugitive dust emission. Three different soils were tested: a native Arizona silty sand, a uniform medium-grained silica sand and fine sand-sized mine tailings from southern Arizona. The wind tunnel tests established the treatment concentrations at which EICP was more effective in suppressing fugitive dust than specimens prepared by either thoroughly wetting the soil or treatment with a salt–urea solution. These tests demonstrate the potential of EICP treatment as a means of mitigating fugitive dust emissions.

Sharing Tails®: A State-Wide Public Outreach Program Teaching Children About Native Arizona Fish

Limited public outreach programs about Arizona native fish exist and those that do are passive, fee-based, or Web-oriented, while others limit their geographic range. The program this article addresses sought to improve this situation with development of a state-wide outreach program with a goal to educate Arizona's children about native fish with an objective to generate excitement about these fish in elementary school children. Through on-site school visits using multimedia, interactive play, and hands-on activities, the Sharing Tails ® program educated 33,285 students about native fish from January 2009 through May 2011.

Does An Asexual Endophyte Symbiont Alter Life Stage and Long-Term Survival in a Perennial Host Grass?

Asexual, seedborne endophytic fungi in perennial grasses are often viewed as strong mutualists because fitness of the symbiont and host grass are closely coupled. However, at least for some native grasses, the asexual endophyte, Neotyphodium, acts parasitically, yet remains at high frequencies in natural populations. Most previous studies of Neotyphodium effects on host survival have been short term relative to the long life span of the perennial grass host. We therefore tested the hypothesis that Neotyphodium alters the survival in various life stages and long-term survival of adult native Arizona fescue (Festuca arizonica). To test the former, we planted 40 infected (E+) and 40 uninfected (E-, endophyte removed) seeds from four different maternal plants in the field under ambient conditions. We followed survival of seeds, seedlings, and adult plants over a 5-year period. To test the latter, we determined the infection of 1633 adult plants and followed their survival over the next 5-7 years. E+ seeds did not differ from uninfected seeds in terms of overall survival from seed germination to seedling to adult. However, the shape of the survival curve differed, with E+ plants showing higher mortality in early life stages. E+ adult plants did not differ from E- plants in long-term survival. Survival was generally very high during the study, which included a severe and prolonged drought. Infection by asexual Neotyphodium does not increase survival in early life stages or that of adult plants. Because asexual, vertically transmitted symbionts are predicted by evolutionary theory to be strong mutualists, the persistence of high infection frequencies in natural populations without long-term benefits to the host remains enigmatic. One possible explanation is that the long life span of the perennial host and low seedling recruitment may obscure either the costs or benefits of endophyte infection.

Neotyphodium endophytes in grasses: deterrents or promoters of herbivory by leaf-cutting ants?

Endophytic fungi, particularly in the genus Neotyphodium, are thought to interact mutualistically with host grasses primarily by deterring herbivores and pathogens via production of alkaloidal mycotoxins. Little is known, however, about how these endophytes interact with host plants and herbivores outside the realm of agronomic forage grasses, such as tall fescue, and their livestock grazers or invertebrate pest herbivores. We tested the effects of Neotyphodium inhabiting introduced tall fescue and native Arizona fescue on preference, survival, and performance of the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex versicolor, an important generalist herbivore in the southwestern United States. In a choice experiment, we determined preferences of foraging queens and workers for infected and uninfected tall fescue and Arizona fescue. In a no-choice experiment, we determined queen survival, worker production, and size of fungal gardens for foundress queens reared on diets of infected and uninfected tall fescue and Arizona fescue. Foraging workers and queens did not significantly prefer either uninfected tall fescue or Arizona fescue relative to infected grasses, although ants tended to harvest more uninfected than infected tall fescue and more infected than uninfected Arizona fescue. Queen survivorship and length of survival was greater on uninfected tall fescue, uninfected Arizona fescue, and infected Arizona fescue than on infected tall fescue or the standard diet of palo verde and mesquite leaves. No queens survived beyond 6 weeks of the study when fed the infected tall fescue diet, in contrast to the effects of the other diets. Likewise, worker production was much lower and fungal garden size much smaller on infected tall fescue than in all other treatments, including the standard diet. In general, ant colonies survived and performed better on uninfected tall fescue and infected and uninfected Arizona fescue than standard diets of palo verde and mesquite leaves. The interaction of Neotyphodium with its host grasses is highly variable and these endophytes may increase, not alter, or even decrease resistance to herbivores. The direction of the interaction depends on host and fungal genotype, herbivore species, and environmental factors. The presence of endophytes in most, if not all, host plants suggests that endophytes may alter foraging patterns, performance, and survival of herbivores, such as leaf-cutting ants, but not always in ways that increase host plant fitness.

Efficiency of a Subsurface Constructed Wetland System Using Native Southwestern U.S. Plants

AbstractA small‐scale three‐cell (in series) subsurface (SSF) constructed wetland that used 16 previously untested native Arizona plants was found to be effective in the treatment of secondary waste at high elevation (2350 m) in northern Arizona. Fifteen of the 16 plant species survived in at least one of the cells in the system. Plant survival depended on their position in the cells, with increased survival rates downstream from the effluent input to cell 1, on water depth, and on individual species selection. The wetland was effective in removing both chemical pollutants (total Kjeldahl nitrogen [TKN], ammonia, nitrate, total kjeldahl phosphorus [TP], and phosphate) and bacteriological indicator organisms of human pathogens (total coliforms and fecal coliforms). The fecal coliform counts of the effluent exiting the third cell were below the recreational full‐body contact (swimming) standard (200 cfu/100 mL) in 14 out of the 15 mo of operation. The TKN and TP concentrations were reduced by 84 and 73%, respectively compared to nutrients entering the system. The loss of N suggests that a combined nitrification/denitrification process is active in the wetland. However, after 9 mo of operation, nitrate levels began to increase beyond the target of 1 mg/L indicating that nitrification rates are exceeding denitrification rates and that the wetland cells are aerobic. The constructed wetland system effectively conserves water. Because it is used to irrigate plantings near the constructed wetland, the nutrient concentrations in the effluent aid plant growth.

Biochemical Genetic Studies of Native Arizona and New Mexico Trout

ABSTRACr-Populations of Gila trout, Salmo gilae, and Apache trout, S. apache, from New Mexico and Arizona, respectively, as well as a trout, Salmo sp., population from the Rio Mayo, Mexico, were analyzed for protein polymorphisms at 36 presumptive genetic loci using starch gel electrophoresis. These data were used: 1) to identify the genetic differentiation between these populations and rainbow trout, S. gairdneri, and cutthroat trout, S. clarki, and; 2) to evaluate purported hybridization between the native populations and introduced rainbow trout. Salmo gilae and S. apache were more similar to each other than either was to S. gairdneri, S. clarki, or Rio Mayo Salmo. Salmo gairdneri showed a greater genetic identity to S. gilae, S. apache, and Rio Mayo Salmo than did S. clarki. In eight of the nine localities inhabited by putative hybrids, no evidence of hybridization was detected. Four streams were inhabited by unhybridized S. apache and four streams inhabited by S. gairdneri. In the latter four streams, S. gairdneri has presumably replaced the native species. In one location the entire sample consisted of hybrids.

Landscaping with Native Arizona Plants

Landscaping with Native Arizona Plants

Experimental Catastrophic Selection and Tolerances to Low Oxygen Concentration in Native Arizona Freshwater Fishes

Open— and closed—system experimental designs were used to test comparative tolerance, survival, and potential natural selection in four species subjected to low dissolved oxygen concentration–the desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius), long—fin dace (Agosia chrysogaster), speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), and Gila sucker (Catostomus clarki). Different rankings of the species resulted for tolerance (closed—air system) and survival (open air system). Open—system experiments were designed that demonstrate mechanisms by which this environmental stressor produces catastrophic selection in nature. During interspecific competition, adaptive behavior and structure as well as physiological tolerance were decisive in survival.

The Quadrupeds of Arizona

Previous articleNext article FreeThe Quadrupeds of ArizonaElliott CouesElliott Coues Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 1, Number 7Sep., 1867 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/270103 Views: 97Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Shari L. Ketcham, John L. Koprowski, Donald A. Falk Differential Response of Native Arizona Gray Squirrels and Introduced Abert's Squirrels to a Mosaic of Burn Severities, Mammal Study 42, no.44 (Dec 2017): 1–12.https://doi.org/10.3106/041.042.0407Jonathan J. Derbridge The Natural History of Tassel-Eared Squirrels, Journal of Mammalogy 96, no.11 (Mar 2015): 245–246.https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyu026