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The official handbook for Saguaro National Park details the complex ecology of the park, presenting a thorough analysis of the saguaro cactus and the other plants and animals within its environment.
This book is a simple account of the natural history of Saguaro National Monument. It is intended to help you understand the relationships between land, climate, plants, wild animals, and man in the environment of a hot desert. While it includes brief profiles of many representative species, it is not intended to serve as a guide to the monument. It does indicate where the several distinctive natural communities exist, and when and where to look for certain plants and animals. For identification purposes, you will need field guides. The present edition is my revision of the 1957 book by Natt Dodge, then naturalist for the Southwest Region of the National Park Service. The first five and the last two chapters are essentially new; the central chapters on plants and animals remain largely as written in the first edition. The authors wish to thank former and present members of the monument staff for their help and companionship, in both field and office. We are particularly grateful to Chief Naturalist Harold T. Coss, Jr., who devoted much time and effort to obtaining many of the photographs and, with Park Biologist Warren F. Steenbergh, gave the manuscript a thorough scrutiny. The cooperation and hospitality of Superintendent Harold R. Jones have created the best possible climate for work on the revised edition. National Park Service geologist Robert H. Rose contributed in very great measure to the geological content. Finally, our thanks go to the many students of desert life on whose knowledge this book has been built, and to monument visitors who ask questions—for their concern gives hope for better relations between man and nature. —N.S.
A guide to identifying the common reptiles and amphibians of the southwest, including 50 color photographs and descriptions for each.
“This compact book summarizes the distribution of all of the Recent species of vertebrates of Arizona. The introductory Part 1, 'Arizona landscapes and habitats,' by Lowe, is an instructive and detailed ecological discussion of the diversified topography, climate, and flora of the state, illustrated with numerous excellent photographs.”—The Auk “An impressive volume . . . a valuable reference for professional biologists, students, and others interested in the native fauna of Arizona and its distribution there.”—Science
Our national parks are more than mere recreational destinations. They are repositories of the nation's biological diversity and contain some of the last ecosystem remnants needed as standards to set reasonable goals for sustainable development throughout the land. Nevertheless, public pressure for recreation has largely precluded adequate research and resource monitoring in national parks, and ignorance of ecosystem structure and function in parks has led to costly mistakes--such as predator control and fire suppression--that continue to threaten parks today. This volume demonstrates the value of ecological knowledge in protecting parks and shows how modest investments in knowledge of park ecosystems can pay handsome dividends. Science and Ecosystem Management in the National Parks presents twelve case studies of long-term research conducted in and around national parks that address major natural resource issues. These cases demonstrate how the use of longer time scales strongly influence our understanding of ecosystems and how interpretations of short-term patterns in nature often change when viewed in the context of long-term data sets. Most importantly, they show conclusively that scientific research significantly reduces uncertainty and improves resource management decisions. Chosen by scientists and senior park managers, the cases offer a broad range of topics, including: air quality at Grand Canyon; interaction between moose and wolf populations on Isle Royale; control of exotic species in Hawaiian parks; simulation of natural fire in the parks of the Sierra Nevada; and the impact of urban expansion on Saguaro National Monument. Because national parks are increasingly beset with conflicting views of their management, the need for knowledge of park ecosystems becomes even more critical--not only for the parks themselves, but for what they can tell us about survival in the rest of our world. This book demonstrates to policymakers and managers that decisions based on knowledge of ecosystems are more enduring and cost effective than decisions derived from uninformed consensus. It also provides scientists with models for designing research to meet threats to our most precious natural resources. "If we can learn to save the parks," observe Halvorson and Davis, "perhaps we can learn to save the world."