The purpose of this Agreement is to conduct a natural experiment that will evaluate the indirect effects of invasive plant management on wildlife along the Gila and Lower San Pedro Rivers.
The study will compare the corresponding baseline data (from the Phase I Study) for wildlife assemblage and
habitat constraints to that of the post-biocontrol conditions (Phase II).
The principal Investigator is Dr. Heather Bateman of Arizona State University (ASU) and she will be assisted by two graduate students and one undergraduate student.
The goals of this Agreement are to:
assess carnivore (mammal) presence within the three riparian stand types prior to biocontrol establishment; evaluate post-biocontrol effects to habitat and vegetation cover preferred by the northern Mexican gartersnake; determine indirect effects of a non-native plant biocontrol on herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians), mammals (carnivores only) and vegetation within the three riparian stand types.