Climate Fact: Chihuahuan Change
Since the 1970’s the Chihuahuan Desert, which stretches across parts of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, has been receiving more wintertime rainfall, especially during El Niño years. As a result, the Desert has become more suitable for shrubs that are most active during the winter, and these shrubs have largely replaced the region’s grass species that are most active during the summer. This vegetation change has made the Desert unsuitable for the Harvester Ant and several species of rodent, but ideal for several rodent species that were living in nearby areas. The neighboring rodents moved in, but these newcomers are not good prey for the Desert’s main predators: the Burrowing Owl, Mojave Rattlesnake, and Horned Lizard. Today, except for an occasional Mojave Rattlesnake, none of these predators can be found in this Desert.
Seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
(Source: Brown, J.H. et al. 1997. “Reorganization of an arid ecosystem in response to recent climate change.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94: 9729-9733.)