Ongoing and Future Research

• Board member Dr. Carlos López Gonzalez is continuing years of study of both jaguars and their prey base in the region. Studies in 2007 will go beyond presence/absence inventory and attempt to determine population densities, range, and habitat, as well as prey species densities,
• Ongoing support has provided for bi-national research to document the relationships between the Sonoran jaguar population and individual jaguars in the U.S. — research that employs photographic evidence as well as analysis of scats and DNA,


• Inventories of butterflies and moths to better understand conservation needs have been ongoing since 2005,
• Amphibian and reptile inventories since 2006 will determine the number and distribution of species, presence of chytrid fungus among frogs, and if turtle species may be important jaguar food,
• Site-scale vegetation map for the entire reserve complex has been under development since 2006,
• Site-scale map of all topography and watering holes for basic ecology and jaguar seasonal use will be produced in 2007,
• Surveys of neotropical migratory birds, short-distance migrants, and resident breeding birds have been ongoing since 2003 to increase knowledge for conservation of migratory routes,
• Northern Sonora GIS mapping to analyze connectivity issues, including land ownership, confirmed sightings of jaguars and other large predators on adjacent ranches and UMAs (Mexican conservation areas), and locations for future camera-traps has been in progress since 2006,
• A future inventory of the fish found in the Río Aros will determine the number of native and invasive species in addition to the ecological health of the river and importance of fish to otter and jaguar,
• Future military macaw studies to assemble basic biological information on the endangered macaw, with nest-sites located along the Río Aros,
• Future neotropical river otter biological information gathering on the endangered species resident in the Río Aros,
• Future studies will determine the extent of harm inflicted on livestock by jaguars and pumas to determine if the Reserve is having negative impacts on surrounding cattle ranches, and
• GIS mapping of invasive grass species and tamarisk, as well as highly eroded areas, to formulate a strategy for restoration.