Habitat Components for Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona
Krausman PR and Leopold BD. 1986. Habitat Components for Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 50(3):504-508
Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) habitat was quantified in the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona, in 1984. We compared measurements of perennial vegetation and topographic features on 300 plots in areas frequently used by bighorn sheep with measurements from 300 plots on an adjacent area not used by sheep. A 10-variable discriminant function model was 88.3% correct in differentiating areas used by sheep. Bighorn sheep habitat is farther from permanent water and bajadas (gentle slopes); has less large boulders, sheetrock, false-mesquite calliandra (Calliandra eriophylla), snakeweed (Gutierrezia spp.), needlegrass (Stipa spp.), and California jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis); and more basketgrass (Nolina texana), big galleta (Hilaria rigida), and propeller-bush (Janusia gracilus) than areas not used by sheep.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Krausman, Paul; Leopold, Bruce
- Units
- JOTR
- Keywords
- Animal Behavior, Desert Bighorn Sheep, desert ungulate, distribution pattern, Habitat Requirements, Home Range, Movement, vegetative association, Wildlife Management