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The past decade or so has seen a renaissance of saguaro studies, with more than a dozen studies on the saguaro and its response to a rapidly changing environment. People have been noticing heat stress, drought stress, and other signs of decline of saguaros in their neighborhoods. These signs include increased mortality, loss of arms, increased vulnerability to being blown over by wind, and previously unnoticed flowering phenology. We are still working to figure out exactly what is causing these signs of decline, but preliminary findings suggest that the interaction of drought and hotter temperatures over the summer, especially hot summer nights, with microsite characteristics are leading to stress for the saguaro. In this talk, Peter Breslin outlines the life history, ecology, and importance of the saguaro cactus, and presents evidence for best practices for management and restoration of saguaro habitats under climate change.
Speaker Bio:
Peter started studying cacti in habitat more than 30 years ago and decided to start a Ph.D. in cactus evolution and biogeography at age 52, focused on the Mammillaria and Cochemiea of Baja California. He finished his Ph.D. at 58, at Arizona State University. He has published widely on topics in cactus evolution and ecology, including being one of the authors of The Field Guide to Cacti and Succulents of Arizona, published by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society. He conducted the sixth installment since 1964 of the long-term saguaro survey on Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Arizona. He is currently the Raymond M. Turner postdoctoral research fellow at the Desert Lab on Tumamoc Hill, conducting a demographic study of the Tumamoc saguaro population with projections into the next century and beyond, as well as working on possible funding for Desert Lab projects. He is also the managing editor for publications of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, and edits both the Cactus and Succulent Journal and the annual peer-reviewed yearbook, Haseltonia.
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