All Taxa Biotic Inventory Enters Second Year

Canyon de Chelly has started the second year of an all taxa biotic inventory in association with Neil S. Cobb, director of the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research.

The park is interested in understanding how food webs function in riparian areas in order to better manage native species. The exotic vegetation removal program begun by the park in 2005 and the associated research plots provide an excellent experiment to understand how exotics can influence invertebrates, a major food base for vertebrates.

In addition to invertebrate inventories, the ATBI includes small mammal and avian inventories and will soon include fish. Participants include a wide variety of volunteers from across the Four Corners region, including local universities and students form nearby Diné College who have a keen interest in biological sciences.