Sonorensis ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM 2015 SAVING SPECIES Sonorensis CONSERVING Life ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM 2015 INTRODUCTION Kim Franklin, Ph.D. Conservation Research Scientist, Volume 35, Number 1 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Winter 2015 Cynthia Rubio, PNS Photo (http://myd.as/p6142) Ryan Hagerty, FWS NCTC The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Our dependence on clean air and water needs no explana- Co-founded in 1952 by Arthur N. Pack and William H. Carr tion, but why save species? When Congress passed the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), it recognized the “esthetic, Craig Ivanyi ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value” Executive Director of biodiversity. Biodiversity is the foundation of life itself. Debra Colodner It provides us with functional ecosystems in which funda- John Clecker, FWS NCTD John Clecker, Director, Conservation Education FWS NDTC McMorran, Robert mental processes such as photosynthesis, decomposition, and Science Department and nutrient cycling take place, providing us with essential Bob Orsillo Michael Woodbridge, FWS NCTC B. Moose Peterson, FWS NCTC Kane513 Kim Franklin Contents services such as filtration of air and water. Co-Editor Above, and clockwise: monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus); Kemp’s ridley hatchlings (Lepidochelys kempii); California condor (Gymnogyps californianus); least bell vireo at nest (Vireo bellii); peninsular pronghorn (Antilocapra americana peninsularis); Although the ESA was groundbreaking protection legislation masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi). Linda M. Brewer 1 Introduction in the United States, it was not the first. The Lacey Act of 1900 was Co-Editor Kim Franklin, Ph.D. passed to address growing public concern over the imminent de- Martina Clary mise of the passenger pigeon. It was the first federal law protect- “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of Design and Production 2-5 The Tale of the Monarch ing wildlife. Awareness continued to grow, and in 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Protection Act to “conserve, pro- aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and Sonorensis is published as a benefit to the Ruscena Wiederholt, Ph.D. & Kaitlin Libby Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum membership as tect, restore, and propagate” species on an official list of threat- wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” – Aldo Leopold, Round River: From the Journals of Aldo Leopold. a resource for furthering understanding of the ened and endangered species. The first list contained 78 species, 6-11 Top Predators in our Midst Sonoran Desert Region. 2021 N. Kinney Road, all of which were vertebrates. In 1973, the passage of the ESA Tucson, Arizona 85743. ©2015 by the Arizona- Sergio Avila Sonora Desert Museum, Inc. All rights reserved. No extended coverage to plants, insects, and smaller taxa. Today, it material may be reproduced in whole or in part protects more than 1500 plant and animal species. In addition, initiated the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas debated. Some view the small number of species delisted as a The Endangered Species Act (ESA) without prior written permission by the publisher. 12-17 Vaquita: Can Mexico’s Desert Porpoise Be Saved? most U.S. states have their own endangered species laws. In 1983, (CONANP), which protects 60 million acres, more than one failure, but a recent report by the Center for Biological Diversity Visit us at www.desertmuseum.org Barbara Taylor, Ph.D., Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, Ph.D., & the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) instituted the third of which are along the U.S.-Mexico border! points to a high percentage of species on the path to recovery, • passed in 1973 after the Clean Air Act (1963) and Clean Water Act Cover: Monarch butterflies grace the sky and blanket tree Armando Jaramillo-Legorreta, Ph.D. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, which manages There are many private organizations and local/region- which, for many species, may take decades. In this issue of So- (1972), among other environmental legislation branches in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in all nongame wildlife and endangered species within Arizona. al governments striving to save species and habitat in the norensis we look at current efforts to save endangered species, • administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and by Michoacán, Mexico. Photo by Noradoa/Shutterstock. the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and 18-21 Toward Species Recovery: The Desert Ark Revisited AZGFD has also taken the lead on some species reintroductions, Sonoran Desert Region, as well—too many to list here. The including two top predators, the planet’s smallest porpoise, Back cover: A neonate olive ridley sea turtle reaches the Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). such as that of the Mexican gray wolf. need is recognized and the will exists, but the practical and and a frog and snake endemic to the Sonoran Desert Region. sea. Photo by Aneese/Shutterstock; A Natural History of Craig S. Ivanyi & Debra C. Colodner, Ph.D. • requires designation of critical habitat and preparation of recovery Mexico has also stepped up to the plate to protect the Sonoran Desert: Catalina State Park, Arizona. political paths to species recovery are being freshly cut We also tell the story of a charismatic butterfly whose epic plans for listed species. endangered species and natural resources. The Office of Photo by Jack Dykinga. 22-26 From an Owl Flap to Landscape Conservation: through difficult terrain. Each attempt is based on the best migration and healthy populations are at risk. We consider Listing under the ESA We gratefully acknowledge all the authors, the Attorney General for Environmental Protection (PRO- available science, but there is much yet to learn. Zoos and both international and local conservation approaches, The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan • based solely on science, not economic and social concerns photographers, and organizations who contributed FEPA) was created in 1992, and the Ministry of Environment aquariums are among the players making valuable contribu- such as the Pima County Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. • endangered = a species in danger of extinction throughout all or a Brian Powell & Julia Fonseca articles, photos, or maps for this issue of Sonorensis. and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) in 1994, when the Law tions to recovery programs. Currently, ASDM keeps, breeds, We look at existing challenges as well as successes in saving significant portion of its range Photos on this page, above: California least tern for Endangered Species Protection was also passed. These or exhibits 29 endangered species, 8 of which have been species at risk. We hope these stories help more people under- • threatened = a species that is likely to become an endangered (Sternula antillarum browni); California tiger salamander 27-29 Not Just Doom and Gloom: Bright Lights in Conservation organizations take a major role in protecting species at risk, species within the foreseeable future . (Ambystoma californiense). released into the wild. stand, appreciate, and conserve the treasures of our amazing Rodrigo A. Medellîn, Ph.D. as you will note in this Sonorensis. Finally, in 2000, Mexico The success or failure of the ESA has been hotly Sonoran Desert. S 2015 winter | Sonorensis 1 paper-winged dance of a monarch butterfly will no longer be seen and appreciated, and their ecological niche will collapse. While monarch but- The Tale of the EDI terfly larvae sequester poisonous chemi- cals from milkweed, they are still a prey item for many species that don’t seem to be bothered by these chemicals. They are an im- portant food source for many species of mice, birds, insects, spiders, and hosts for bacteria In the Wiederholt yard, when I was a child, there and viruses. was a narrow garden between the house and the driveway that sprouted roses, colum- USFWS Portrait of the Monarch bines, and milkweed. There, in northeast- Monarchs are the official insect or butterfly Above: Monarch butterfly caterpillar on common milkweed leaf. Right: Monarchs ern Wisconsin, the milkweed bloomed of seven U.S. states, the emblem of Quebec, overwinter in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Michoacán (Mexico). Left each fall, sending downy seeds across page: Monarch on Asclepias curassavica. and the representative insect of Michoacán, the landscape. In the summer, I would the Mexican state where they overwinter. The look for holes in its leaves, for that meant traditional belief of the indigenous Otomies and the monarch butterflies had returned. Lifting Mazahuas in Michoacán is that the monarchs, the leaves, my sisters and I found fat yellow-and- that has amazed and puzzled the best minds. Impressively, which returned around the time of the Day white caterpillars munching away. A few weeks lat- although the long journey north in spring takes several gener- of the Dead, are the souls of their ances- er, we searched for the chrysalids (the encased pupae), to ations, many individuals actually make the whole return trip— tors. In Tucson, Arizona, the All Souls put in jars. We’d watch the shiny green pods that darkened thousands of kilometers—back to Mexico in the fall. Procession, which pays tribute to at the very end—just like in our elementary-school books. While most of the monarchs migrate from central Mex- loved ones passed, includes a troupe When the adult monarchs emerged, slowly flapping their ico to the northern United States and Canada east of the of monarch-wing wearers who honor wings, we’d release them outside to fly away, never to be Rocky Mountains, a smaller population of butterflies over- the butterfly. seen again. Once, we found a monarch whose wings had winters on the coast of California and spreads west in the The wingspan of this vibrant orange formed improperly, bent hopelessly for flight.