“No one definition has satisfied all naturalists, yet every naturalist knows what they mean when they speak of a species” — Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species By DR. CAMERON BARROWS What is a species? Species are the currency by which we measure biodiversity, how we make decisions about conservation priorities, and how we add...
"Maybe it's animal-ness that will make the world right again: the wisdom of elephants, the enthusiasm of canines, the grace of snakes, the mildness of anteaters. Perhaps being human needs some diluting." — Carol Emshwiller By DR. CAMERON BARROWS Saint Patrick is celebrated (in part) in mid-March for allegedly ridding Ireland of all its snakes...
"There is no way anything of value can be done without some framework. It might wqell be that the framework is discarded, or the rules opposed; that is not important. What is essential is that they exist so that one knows when one is in opposition to them." — Margot Fonteyn "You don't have to...
“ As the cold came on, and each of the more southern zones became fitted for arctic beings and ill-fitted for their former more temperate inhabitants, the later would be supplanted and the arctic species would take their places…. As warmth returned, the arctic forms would retreat northward, closely followed up in their retreat by...
“A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo By DR. CAMERON BARROWS Hidden among the grains of desert sands are countless species of bacteria and fungi, minute fossorial arthropods, and the seeds of every kind of wildflower found in a given...
“...everyone knew that all islands were worlds unto themselves, that to come to an island was to come to another world.” ― Guy Gavriel Kay By DR. CAMERON BARROWS Looking from the sea toward a desert island, it could be easy to imagine a landscape nearly devoid of life. You couldn’t be more wrong. Desert...
"Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?" - E.O. Wilson By DR. CAMERON BARROWS (This essay includes paraphrased portions of an essay originally written by Dr. Michael Allen, a retired University of California...
"A cactus is a desert’s rose." — Matshona Dhliwayo By DR. CAMERON BARROWS When I think of desert plants, those plants that are superbly adapted to the harsh aridity and temperature fluctuations of deserts, I think of cacti. Except for one species, all of the other nearly 2000 species of cacti are restricted to the...
“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams." — Antoine de Saint-Exupery By DR. CAMERON BARROWS For many who have not explored our deserts, their mental images of deserts have become intertwined with sand dunes. There are...
“The desert tells a different story every time one ventures on it.” — Robert Edison Fulton Jr. By DR. CAMERON BARROWS If time travel was possible, how thrilling would it be to be able to watch the passage of time, to see the rise and fall of mountains, the intrusion and retreat of oceans across...
“ Ecology is not rocket science. It’s way more complicated.” — Armel Castellan, Michael Allen, and others By DR. CAMERON BARROWS Not to demean rocket science, but to get a rocket into space, the primary variables are thrust, mass, and trajectory. Control those three variables and you can send a rocket almost anywhere. My dad...
“ If you feel like a fish out of water, just go back in the water.” — Tamerlan Kuzgov Imagining the cornucopia of species which contribute to the rich natural biodiversity of the North American deserts, fish probably are not what come to mind. Yet, fish are here. The Mojave Desert provides habitat for at...
“All amphibians are tethered to the pond by their evolutionary history, the most primitive vertebrates to make the transition from the aquatic life of their ancestors to life on land.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer While not all amphibians, toads, frogs, newts, salamanders, and the like, are tethered to ponds, most are tied to water in...
“ Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” — Carl Sagan The major deserts of North America are defined by climate and vegetation. There are some plants that ignore individual desert boundaries. Creosote bushes are found in the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts. Ocotillo occur in...
" The best scientists are open to the possibility that they may be wrong, and they are willing to change their minds in the face of new evidence." — Richard Feynman " Science is …. about being willing to ask … questions and follow the evidence wherever it leads." — Neil deGrasse Tyson What separates...
“ Change is the very nature of Nature. If there's one thing that doesn't change, it is the fact that everything changes.” — Ilchi Lee "Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better." — Sydney...
"Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” — David Attenborough To be clear, deserts represent a challenge for all life, as life as we know it on earth is dependent on the availability of...
“ If there is a Creator, he must have an inordinate fondness for beetles. ” – JBS Haldane This quote reflects the 400,000+ known species of beetles in the world, constituting almost 40% of all known insect species and 25% of all known animal life-forms. If there was a box filled with all the animals...
"A wise old owl once lived in a wood, the more he heard the less he said, the less he said the more he heard, let's emulate that wise old bird." — Flann O'Brien Truth be told, owls are probably no more or less wise than most birds. Yet, perhaps because of their round head...
“ Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.” — J. Lynn Passing a critical eye across desert landscapes, at the lowest elevations we see a possible future for much of our desert. Dry, rocky slopes and otherwise common plants without any recruitment, just scattered aging brittlebushes and creosote bushes...