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Photograph of study site and |
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To see an enlarged version |
My study site was located just west of Greasewood City Park at the eastern base of the Tucson Mountains. The site itself was approximately 120 meters long and 45 meters wide (the enlarged version of the photograph below shows it in outline). At 760 meters above sea level, the vegetation there was fairly typical of the slopes and coarse outwash plains of the Arizona Upland division of the Sonoran Desert (Shreve and Wiggins 1964). Triangle-leaf bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea) was the predominant ground cover while also present were scattered individuals of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), paloverde (Parkinsonia microphylla), jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), saguaro (Cereus giganteus), chainfruit cholla (Opuntia fulgida), staghorn cholla (Opuntia versicolor), barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii), prickly pear (Opuntia phaecantha), and various other small cactus species.
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Photograph of study site and |
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To see an enlarged version |
Ground cover at the site ranged from 40-60 percent. In addition to the extrafloral nectar-collecting ants featured in this study there were also army ants in the genus Neivamyrmex and the myrmicine Aphaenogaster cockerelli. The site was also home to various ground-nesting bees, tarantulas, scorpions, snakes, lizards, small rodents, deer, and a host of other beings.
Unfortunately, it no longer exists. The site was located on private property and was bulldozed over during the summer of 1996.
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Sunset photograph taken from |
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Click on image to enlarge it |
For climatological data on the region see the climate page at the Tucson National Weather Service website.
Shreve, F. and I.L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
Copyright (c) 1998 Barry Sullender
Rice University
All rights reserved