[PCA] The Iconic, Vanishing Joshua Tree: Species Collapse - Evolution, climate change and sprawl threaten to wipe out Joshua trees across North America

[De Angelis, Patricia]

I'm not sure if this article was posted to the list last year, but I could
not see it in the archives. This fascinating 3-part series captures the
complexities of ecosystems and the importance of seed collection.
-Patricia/FWS

The Iconic, Vanishing Joshua Tree: Species Collapse - Evolution, climate
change and sprawl threaten to wipe out Joshua trees across North America

Aug 13, 2013 @ 11:37 AM

*Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series about the precarious
survival of the Southwest's iconic Joshua trees, which are threatened by
climate change and urban sprawl. **Click here for Part 2
<http://www.theactivetimes.com/iconic-vanishing-joshua-tree-part-2>,
and here for Part 3
<http://www.theactivetimes.com/iconic-vanishing-joshua-tree-part-3>.*

Chris Smith has a recurring nightmare. As he pulls up to his field site in
the Nevada desert, something is amiss. Instead of a forest of twisted,
charismatic Joshua trees, condominiums dot the landscape.  Smith, an
evolutionary ecologist from Willamette University, is among a group of
researchers who have devoted their careers to this fascinating plant. But
these scientists are now seriously worried. A combination of climate change
and urban sprawl is challenging the survival of this idiosyncratic species.

 http://www.theactivetimes.com/iconic-vanishing-joshua-tree-part-1
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