展品:沙漠环形步道

在沙漠环路上，您将有一次崎岖的户外徒步旅行体验. 这个环线有半英里长, 下坡和返回，你会遇到标枪, 土狼和蜥蜴住在非常自然的围栏里. Also along the way you will learn about the marvels of the agave plant and identify various legume trees native to the region.

目前在沙漠环形步道周围展出的:

• 土狼
• 一种野猪)
• 蜥蜴
• 蓝色帕洛维德
• 仙人掌

土狼

The coyote is without a doubt the most famous desert animal, the very symbol of the west. He is prominently figured as the Trickster as well as the Wise One in Native American myths and legends. 郊狼的智慧和适应能力使2022世界杯下注着迷. 它可以吃任何东西，从仙人掌果到被公路撞死的动物, 从仙人掌森林到城市的任何栖息地都能生存. The coyote has expanded its range throughout the United States despite human attempts to eradicate it. 土狼不仅聪明, 好奇又好玩, 它有非常敏锐的感觉，使它适应了生存的敏锐听觉, 优秀的视觉, 还有极其敏感的嗅觉.

土狼大多是群居动物，生活在小家庭群体中. Within the larger hunting area of a coyote family is a central core area where the den sites are located. This area is scent-marked and defended, particularly during the spring and summer months. 土狼在灌木丛或其他植物上小便, 然后用爪子刨地, 它们有气味腺体. 这为其他土狼留下了嗅觉和视觉标记. 粪便也被用来标记领土.

土狼 typically sing a "good morning" wake up song around dusk as they prepare for the night's hunt. 他们也唱歌来与邻居交流, 保持家庭成员的联系, 夏雨过后, 满月时, 看起来, 只是为了好玩.

一种野猪)

一种野猪)在松散的群体中漫步，当它们穿过一个区域时进食. 它们用锋利的蹄子或鼻子挖出根和球茎. They eat prickly pear cacti, spines and all, by tearing off bites with their large canines. Because they don't have sharp cutting teeth, much fibrous material is left on the prickly pear. 贾维琳娜边走边嚼, 所以碎片从他们的嘴里掉下来, 有时会留下一条小路.

一种野猪)生活在2到20只动物的群体中，平均约为8到12只. 每个小组防守大约700到800英亩的领土, the size and boundaries varying in different seasons and different years; the territories include bed grounds and feeding areas, 但它们可能在关键资源上重叠, 尤其是水坑. An older, experienced sow leads the herd, determining when to bed down, feed, or go to water. 一种野猪) have no defined breeding season; the babies, usually twins, can be born in any month. 除了美洲狮，没有多少掠食者会攻击成年标枪狮, 但幼崽也是土狼的猎物, 山猫, 还有其他动物.

一种野猪)的视力很差，只能依靠嗅觉.

蓝色帕洛维德

绿树树皮的颜色是由于含有叶绿素的组织. 许多其他物种也是如此, 这些树通过在干旱季节落叶来保存水分, 但是帕罗弗迪斯仍然可以进行一些光合作用. 蓝色的帕洛维德也会因为秋天凉爽的气温而落叶.

The flowers are pollinated by numerous species of solitary bees that gather pollen and cache it in burrows for their grubs to feed on. 主要的棕榈蜜蜂是苍鹭蜂, 但还有其他六种森特里斯会去帕罗弗迪斯, 除了汗水蜜蜂, 几只切叶蜜蜂, 大黄蜂, 还有木蜂. Bee specialist Bob Schmalzel casually identified about 20 different species of bees foraging in a single palo verde tree at the same time.

仙人掌

The huge green columns of saguaros have captivated the attention of nearly every tourist who has set eyes on one, 更不用说整片“森林”了. 美国甚至为这种植物设立了一个国家公园. 仙人掌s are even more important to the O'odham peoples who have lived in their habitat for centuries. The high esteem O'odham have for saguaros is reflected in their many creation stories for this plant, 哪些倾向于分享人们被变成双龙的共同主题. These giant cacti are not plants to the Tohono O'odham; they're another form of humanity.

仙人掌是美国最大的仙人掌, commonly reaching 40 feet (12 m) tall; a few have attained 60 feet (18 m) and one was measured at 78 feet (23.8 m). The cylindrical stems are accordion-pleated; the ridges (outer "ribs") are lined with clusters of hard spines along the lower 8 feet (2.4米)和灵活的刚毛高于此高度. White flowers are about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter; they bloom mainly in May and June and are followed 一个月后由多汁的红色果实.

The saguaro's range is almost completely restricted to southern Arizona and western Sonora. 在加州和锡那罗亚，有一些植物就生长在政治边界之外. 蜥蜴在亚利桑那高地数量最多. 植物生长在海拔4000英尺(1200米)的地方。. In the northern part of their range they are most numerous on warmer south-facing slopes.

水构成了蛇的大部分重量. A fully hydrated large stem is more than 90 percent water and weighs 80 pounds per foot (120 kg per meter).

The great, mostly aqueous bulk of larger plants protects them from temperature extremes. Heat absorbed through the surface during the day is stored in the mass of interior tissue, 导致温度小幅上升，不会达到致命的水平. The heat is slowly radiated and conducted back into the air during the cooler night. The same thermal inertia usually keeps the tissues above freezing on cold winter nights.

仙人掌s flower mostly near the stem tips during the dry foresummer; peak production is from mid-May to mid-June. The sturdy white flowers open late at night and remain open until midafternoon of the next day. They are about 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter and emit an aroma like that of overripe melon. The flowers are self-sterile; cross-pollination is necessary for fruit set.

The fruit ripens in tremendous abundance during the peak of the foresummer drought, 在这个最热的季节，它几乎是唯一湿润的食物, 一年中最干燥的时候. It becomes a staple for many birds, mammals, and insects during late June and early July. 主要有效的种子传播者是几种食果鸟类, 比如白翅鸽, 毒蜥啄木鸟, 和家雀. 鸟消化果肉，种子完整地通过它们的内脏. 鸟类栖息在树上也会排便, 从而将种子存放在有利的生长环境中.

Seedlings grow very slowly during their first few years and are extremely vulnerable. 它们是微小的，热和霜冻的软刺食堂. 啮齿动物, 兔子, 鸟类会吃掉它们能找到的幼苗, 还有许多其他动物死于干燥或冬季结冰. 几乎所有的幸存者都位于看护植物的树冠下, 它们在哪里躲避极端天气，躲避食草动物. 大多数沙漠植物——不仅仅是蜥蜴——必须在看护植物下开始生长. 布什杂酚油, bursage, and desert zinnia are among the few perennials that can successfully establish in fully exposed sites.

在图森山脉, 哪个国家的年平均降雨量为14英寸(355毫米), 一个西葫芦大约需要10年才能长到1¼英寸(3英寸).身高8厘米，30年达到2英尺(61厘米). 仙人掌在大约8英尺高的时候开始开花.平均需要55年的时间. Compare this with 40 years to first flowering in the wetter eastern unit of 仙人掌 National Park (16 inches, 406 mm, average annual rainfall) and 75 years in the drier Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (9 inches, 230 mm). 没有人研究过尤马附近的种群, 哪个地区的年平均降雨量约为3¼英寸(90毫米).

仙人掌s may begin to grow arms when the plant is between 50 and 100 years of age (in the Tucson Mountains), 通常略高于茎的最大周长，约7至9英尺(2英尺).1 to 2.距地面7米. The number of arms and overall size of a plant seem to be correlated with soil and rainfall. 仙人掌s在bajadas和finer上, more water-retentive soils tend to grow larger and produce more arms than do those on steep, 岩石山坡上. A few saguaros have been observed with as many as 50 arms; many never grow arms. 天龙的手臂总是向上长. The drooping arms seen on many old saguaros is a result of wilting after frost damage. 随着时间的推移，生长尖会向上翘起. 有一种神话说，武器是为了平衡植物而产生的, 但研究表明，手臂的生长是随机的. Many saguaros can be found with several arms all on the same side of the main stem.

对于许多鸟类来说，双鱼座是绝佳的筑巢地. 主要的筑巢伙伴是吉拉啄木鸟和镀金闪光鸟, 它们都在肉质茎上挖洞筑巢. 植物用一种叫做愈伤组织的疤痕组织来密封伤口, 它会很快变得非常坚硬，不受微生物感染.

啄木鸟通常每年都会挖新的筑巢洞. Several other hole-nesting but non-excavating birds occupy abandoned woodpecker nests, 包括猫头鹰精灵, 房子雀, ash-throated霸鹟, 还有紫色的海燕. 无脊椎动物也栖息于其中.

Larger birds such as red-tailed hawks build nests in the angles between the main stems and the arms. 高大的仙人掌也为许多鸟类提供了很好的狩猎和休息场所. 仙人掌鹪鹩有时会在树枝间筑巢，偶尔也会在啄木鸟的洞里筑巢.

倒下的仙人掌成了许多小动物的家. 蛇, 啮齿动物, 蜥蜴, 无脊椎动物在它们的下面和里面找到栖身之所, 直到还原剂和分解剂群落完全回收残留物.