Biodiversity, Conservation & Ecosystems

With an unparalleled network of environmental monitoring stations, research field sites and cyber infrastructure, UArizona pioneers fundamental and use-inspired ecosystem science to help save species and conserve the lands, forests and wildlife of the western U.S. and beyond.

Our research

Charrovida reopens with plant-based menu, philosophy

The pandemic has given some businesses, including Carlotta Flores’s year-old Charrovida restaurant on the northwest side, time to rethink their game plan.

At monsoon time, Tucson's toads go looking for love — and maybe a swim

Bighorn Fire nearly out but ecological trouble lies ahead

Firefighters have mostly contained the Bighorn Fire, which has consumed more than 119,000 acres of the Santa Catalina Mountains since a bolt of lightning set the blaze off on the night of Friday, June 5.

People Try To Spot A Lizard Cleverly Hiding In A Pic Of Broken Branches

If you’re someone who enjoys solving puzzles or loves a good challenge than I have an absolute treat for you. Your mission should you choose to accept it – is to find a lizard cleverly hidden in these broken branches.

Can this tiny owl survive in one of America's fastest-growing states?

Conservationists want the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl back on the endangered species list, but opponents say it’s unnecessary.

Warming Will Reduce Trees' Ability to Slow Climate Change

Floods follow fires: Leaders prepare for post-Bighorn Fire monsoon

All eyes have been on the Bighorn Fire since it sparked on June 5.

But now, city and county leaders are preparing for what comes next — monsoon and flooding.

Alaskan megaeruption may have helped end the Roman Republic

For ages, the shadow of a volcano has hung over the fall of the Roman Republic. Ancient historians told of the Sun’s mysterious disappearance after Julius Caesar’s murder in 44 B.C.E., which was followed by bouts of cold and crop failures. Now, a team of scientists and historians has discovered that one of the largest known eruptions in history struck in 43 B.C.E.—potentially contributing to 2 years of weird weather and famine as the republic dissolved and the empire took shape.

Will the iconic saguaro cactus start to disappear from parts of the Southwest?

The saguaro cactus, an iconic symbol of the Southwest and a key cultural touchpoint to desert tribal peoples such as the Tohono O’odham, may one day begin to fade from some parts of the Sonoran Desert as natural and human-caused factors reshape the landscape.