Herpetofaunal Use of a Desert Riparian Island and Its Adjacent Scrub Habitat
Szaro RC and Belfit SC. 1986. Herpetofaunal Use of a Desert Riparian Island and Its Adjacent Scrub Habitat. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 50(4):752-761
The restriction of water flow in 1959 in Queen Creek in Whitlow Ranch Dam, Pinal County, Arizona, has caused the development of a 15-ha riparian island upstream behind the dam. The herpetofaunas of the riparian interior, riparian edge, desert wash, and upland habitats were sampled to assess the value of this type of development for mitigating continued losses of riparian habitat. Total species richness was 4 in the riparian interior, 7 in the riparian edge, 14 in the desert wash, and 15 in the desert upland. Many of the locally expected riparian species were absent. The lack of invasion by typical riparian species probably results more from biogeographic considerations and flooding patterns than from structural and physical conditions of this newly formed riparian habitat. Regression models for species abundance emphasize the importance of using floristic information rather than summary variables in developing animal-habitat relationships.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Szaro, Robert; Belfit, Scott
- Units
- DEVA
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance (Biodiversity), Amphibia (Amphibians), Anura (Frogs Toads), Bufonidae (Toads Bufonids), Distribution (Biodiversity), Presence (Biodiversity), Reptilia (Reptiles), Squamata, Taxa Links To Datasets, Taxa Links To References, Viperidae (Pit Vipers Vipers)