Is Anything Feasting on Those Seedpods?

Ecology Explorers Protocol for Studying Bruchid Beetles and Desert Legumes

The Sonoran Desert has one of the most diverse native plant and animal species of any desert in the world. Many trees are uniquely adapted to living here and they are part of food webs that include animals and insects also are adapted to desert living. Phoenix is an expanding urban area located within the Sonoran Desert.

One Sonoran Desert plant that has found its way into urban landscapes is the palo verde tree. In the desert, this tree supports a community of animals including bruchid beetles. These insects lay their eggs on palo verde seedpods and the larvae feed on the seeds.

The interactions between plants and animals can provide vital information on the health of an ecosystem. Ecologists are interested in determining whether the interactions between urban Palo Verde Trees and bruchid beetles is similar or different than their interactions in undisturbed Sonoran Desert communities.

You can provide important data by investigating the palo verde trees and bruchid beetle populations in your schoolyard.