Project ID: 2002AZ1B

Title: The Impacts of Ungulates on Vegetation Associated With Water Catchments

Project Type: Research

Focus Categories: Ecology, Management and Planning, Surface Water

Keywords: birds, plant stress, range management, riparian vegetation, wildlife management

Start Date: 03/01/2002

End Date: 02/28/2003

Federal Funds: $11,325

Non-Federal Matching Funds: $22,649

Congressional District: 14

Principal Investigator:
Paul Krausman
University of Arizona

Abstract

Wildlife managers in the Southwestern United States often consider water a limiting factor for desert wildlife. As a result, thousands of water catchments have been created throughout the Southwest for wildlife since the 1930s. However, the influence of water catchments on wildlife have only recently been evaluated and there is no published literature indicating how the vegetation is influenced by wildlife that use the water sources. Understanding the relationship is important as vegetation is critical to maintenance of viable populations. If water catchments are attracting more ungulates to an area that are damaging vegetation, the net result would be detrimental instead of beneficial to the population. My objective is to determine if and how desert ungulates influence vegetation associated with water catchments in the Southwest.

Progress/Completion Report PDF