Data provides rare insights into Mojave summer birds, bees
New data collected by interns offers rare insights into the summer bird populations at two oases in the Mojave Desert. Interns with the Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) program visited Arrowweed and Bonanza springs over a six-month period to study birds and bumble bees. The community science data collected by the interns is the first of its kind at these two oases.
Understanding a Mojave Desert oasis
Bonanza Spring is the largest freshwater spring in the southeastern Mojave Desert. From its 2,105 feet elevation in the low foothills of the Clipper Mountains, the spring’s freshwater is derived from a groundwater basin source. Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) interns studied avian and bumble bee populations at Bonanza Spring in Mojave Trails National Monument between September 2022 and February 2023. This article explores the spring’s flora and fauna, and data collected by the interns.
Tracking desert tortoise in the Colorado Desert
The desert tortoise population is in steep decline — in some areas, the population has decreased by 90%. Each year the Mojave Desert Land Trust heads out to areas of critical tortoise habitat looking for signs of hope for this threatened species.