Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
and tortoise found in nearby, less disturbed deserts. Many species are extremely
abundant on the natural areas included on courses; even some rattlers hunt the
rough. In New England, spotted salamanders, as well as wood frogs and Amer-
ican toads, successfully migrate across golf fairways between breeding ponds
and uplands. Where golf courses provide connections between natural uplands
and wetlands, amphibian populations may be sustained. These connections ap-
pear to erode through time, especially if development encroaches from outside
the course. As a result, older courses may be less useful to herps than more re-
cent ones.
As critical as connectivity is for amphibians, the type of wetland—whether
seasonal or permanent—is also important. Permanent ponds and lakes, which
are the most common types on golf courses, often harbor i sh and bullfrogs
that eat adult, and especially larval, amphibians. Predator-free, seasonal wet-
lands that l ood in the spring but dry up late in the summer support breeding
and tadpole development. In South Carolina and Georgia, for example,
courses with seasonal wetlands sustained nearly all the local amphibians that
are unable to coexist with i sh, including sensitive species, such as the mar-
bled salamander and eastern narrow-mouthed toad. Nearby courses that only
had permanent water bodies held many i sh, but less than half of the local
amphibian community.
Lizards, like birds, use a variety of habitats and often are more successful
than snakes or amphibians at living among us. Lizard and bird diversity in
Tucson, Arizona, peaks in suburbs where exotic trees and native desert vege-
tation are often juxtaposed. There, greater earless lizards cruise the sandy
open areas while spiny lizards and tree lizards command the more vertical sur-
faces. The less developed Sonoran Desert hosts some real beauties—whiptail,
zebra-tailed, and horned lizards—but slightly less diversity than subirdia.
