>>John, what do you think is going to happen to your chuckwalla population as development and other forms of habitat destruction gobble the habitat around the park up? Will your chuckwalla population still be able to sustain the same level of take that it sustained eight or so years ago?



What I gleaned from the original post's letter, and from my fuzzy recollection of a visit to South Mountain about 6 years ago, is that there IS no habitat around the park--at least in the same sense as it exists within the park boundary.



The unique "sky island" topography of this and other areas in AZ is what makes it so attractive to the chuckwallas. Hence, encroachment around the park will not affect the South Mountain chuck population/genetic diversity as there is not much gene flow between the isolated "ideal habitats" which are utilized.



Your question would be valid for different species with different habitat requirements in a different part of the country, but I don't think it necessarily plays well in Phoenix. However, I could be wrong--it's been a while since I've been there.




-----
Chris McMartin

www.mcmartinville.com

I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

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