Ecology of the Amphibians and Reptiles at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

Rosen, Philip; Lowe, Charles

We report here on 4 years of herpetological study (1987-1991) in the Sensitive Ecosystems Program (SEP; now the Ecological Monitoring Program, EMP). Our goals were to (1) conduct an extensive, monument-wide survey of the amphibians and reptiles (the herpetofauna), (2) develop baseline datasets on an intensive basis at specific study areas (EMP sites, and others) that will stand for comparison in the future, and (3) develop a system for long-range EMP monitoring of ecosystem health by the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI) resource management team. The project objectives were: 1. Obtain species-specific information on occurrence, distribution, and abundance of the herpetofaunal species on the monument. 2. Produce an annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles at ORPI, with consideration of species of hypothetical occurrence. 3. Prepare voucher specimens required to complete documentation at ORPI of species occurrence for the monument herpetofauna. 4. Evaluate and revise the ORPI herpetofauna "Red List." This list is used to identify special-status species, and to describe in detail threats and potential threats facing the monument herpetofauna. 5. Obtain data to describe herpetofaunal interrelationships with other ecosystem components. 6. Design a system for monitoring herpetofaunal elements of the ORPI ecosystem. 7. Prepare documents with step-by-step instructions for long-range EMP monitoring by ORPI resource management field workers, including discussion of (a) key ecological parameters, (b) specific methodologies, (c) protocols, and (d) tools.

Ecology of the Amphibians and Reptiles at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

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