Week
two has brought about a start to my research project for the program. After
completing my CRC tests I began formulating my research topic with Matt. I am
well into the planning stages at this point. My overall goal for this project
is to explore how different environments and varying levels of plant
biodiversity within the Sonoran desert effect biodiversity among bird species.
My plan is to visit five different sites within the Sonoran desert once a month
and identify the plant species in the area as well as the birds each time I
visit. The sites that I have identified for the project are all located within
the Sonoran desert and are between 970 and 1700 feet elevation. The sites
will be Encanto Park, Phoenix College, Downtown Phoenix, Tres Rios wetlands,
Saddle mountain, and Saguaro Lake. These sites will cover both urban and
wilderness areas as well as sites with and without a water source. As
of right now I have some tentative dates and paths for each site but those of
course will be subject to change based on how my first site visit goes. In the
meantime I am very excited to dig into some background research on my topic and
my sites. 
I can’t wait t see what you come up with! I always wondered what the makeup of the native plants really looked like and how urbanization affects that. Even the xeriscape that I see doesn’t really look native.
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