Last month, the site received a lot of rain (approx 3 1/2 inches), which appears to be changing conditions quickly. Rodent numbers are increasing again (up to 31!) and many are already showing signs up becoming reproductive. Mostly, we caught Merriam’s Kangaroo rat and Grasshopper mice. The dust has settled and the winter annual community appears to be doing well–some of the plots look quite green! We had lots of help this time with NMSU Las Cruces volunteers Dr. Karen Mabry, her field technician Andrew Henterly, and grad student Jane Smith, from another lab.
banner-tailed kangaroo rat on plot 23.
A view of Cave Creek Canyon and the plots in the morning.
The Portal Project 