Talk on the Columnar Cacti

 From Susan Holiday at the Native Plant Society:

Allow me to introduce myself -- I’m the Communication Coordinator for the Natural History Institute, a non-profit in Prescott that hosts a wide variety of natural history talks, field experiences, a 9,000 specimen herbarium, and a nature art gallery. We are also the meeting place for the Prescott Native Plant Society and the Prescott Audubon Society.

All of our talks are live-streamed to our Youtube channel, so they can be attended remotely as well as in-person in Prescott. We have an upcoming talk that I think will be of interest to AZ Native Plant Society members, and I was wondering if you could share it with members of your chapter.

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"On Growth and Form: Ecology and Evolution of Columnar Cacti" 

A free talk with Dr. Alberto Búrquez

Thursday, March 28th at 7pm

Natural History Institute

Registration for in-person attendance

Livestream link

There are over 100 species of columnar cacti found throughout Central and South America, the largest and greatest variety of which are found in Mexico. Just three species grow natively as far north as Arizona – organ pipe cacti, senitas, and of course, the beloved saguaros. In this presentation, columnar cactus ecologist Dr. Alberto Burquez will detail his research on the evolutionary history and ecology of these massive charismatic plants, with special focus on the saguaros. He will explain their adaptations to life in the Sonoran Desert, their taxonomic relationships, how their range has changed over time, and the effects climate change will have on them.

Alberto Búrquez, Ph.D., is a researcher at the Instituto de Ecología at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is a co-author (with David Yetman) of The Saguaro Cactus: A Natural History and Mexico’s Valleys of Cuicatlán and Tehuacán: From Deserts to Clouds. His scientific papers on ecology, evolutionary biology, and ethnoecology have been cited over 8,000 times. His current work focuses on population ecology and genetics of columnar cacti, plant-animal relationships, biogeography, ecology of invasion by plants, and land-use change in the Sonoran Desert and the tropical deciduous forests of the Pacific coast of Mexico.

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Feel free to reach out to me if you ever have events or initiatives you’d like to promote to the Natural History Institute network -- the majority of our members are in Yavapai County, but we have connections to naturalists and academics all throughout the state.

Thank you,

Carly

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Carly Taylor (she/her)

Communication Coordinator

Natural History Institute

Writer of Keeping An Eye On Things