CBC Southwestern Research Station

Southwestern Research Station

The Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) is a year-round field station owned and operated by the American Museum of Natural History under the auspices of the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. Since 1955, it has served biologists, geologists, and anthropologists interested in studying the diverse environments and biotas of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The Station welcomes scientists and advanced students from all parts of the country and from abroad to carry out their research projects. SWRS is located at 5,400 feet elevation in riparian habitat, surrounded by oak-juniper-pinyon pine woodlands.

Five “life-zones” (environments that are characterized by particular groupings of plants and animals) can be encountered on the slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains: Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran, Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. Biogeographically, the Station is located at a crossroads between distinct desert and mountain biotas. At lower elevations, some species are derived from the Sonoran Desert to the west, whereas other species are elements of the Chihuahuan Desert to the east and south. At higher elevations, plants and animals characteristic of the Rocky Mountains to the north and the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico. Bird-watchers rate Cave Creek Canyon as one of the top birding localities in the United States.

Research Facilities
Scientists from the American Museum of Natural History and from other institutions across the country, and from around the world, conduct research at SWRS. Research facilities include a library and plant/animal collections, and a laboratory. An outdoor aviary complex, animal behavior observatory, and a multi-room live animal holding facility afford outstanding facilities for behavioral ecology studies.

Fields of interest include entomology, herpetology, ornithology, mammalogy, botany, geology, arachnology, animal behavior; and population, behavioral, physiological, and conservation ecology. Numerous long-term studies are in progress, including: communal breeding in Mexican jays, evolution of unisexual parthenogenetic lizards, spadefoot toad reproduction, horned lizard ecology and behavior, sexual selection and behavior in striped plateau lizards, and the evolution of social behaviors in ants. Scientists working at the Station have produced well over 1,000 publications to date on their research conducted there.

SWRS hosts several advanced training courses and professional workshops, including:

Bat Conservation International: BCI presents a comprehensive curriculum for an introductory field workshop designed to train serious students of bat conservation in the current research and management techniques for the study of bats.

The Ant Course: This course is designed for systematists, ecologists, behaviorists, conservation biologists, and other biologists whose research responsibilities require a greater understanding of ant taxonomy. Emphasis is on the classification and identification of more than 50 ant genera of North America.

The Bee Course: Designed primarily for botanists, conservation biologists, and pollination ecologists. This course emphasizes classification and identification of more than 50 bee genera of North and Central America (both temperate and tropical).

Field trips for the Ant and Bee Courses teach collecting and sampling techniques while associated lab work provides instruction on specimen identification, preparation and labeling.

Arizona Native Plant Society Workshop: For 21 years, the Arizona Native Plant Society has conducted their annual Labor Day Weekend in the Chiricahua Mountains at the Southwestern Research Station. Participants engage in field trips, workshops, and evening presentations.

Cave Creek Canyon, the backdrop for the Station, affords the finest bird-watching in North America. As space permits – frequently in the spring and fall, occasionally in the summer – naturalist guests may stay at the Station and enjoy outstanding scenery, a multitude of wildlife, and great hiking trails.

Next Steps

Increase the number of courses offered at SWRS that focus on biodiversity conservation. These courses would be tailored to fit the present-day needs of environmental scientists, state, federal, and private employees; resource/wildlife managers; and conservation workers.

Decrease dependence on outside sources of power (“Greening” the SWRS). The SWRS needs to provide a positive example for the scientists, naturalists, and general public that visit the station by creating a place of educational value. By becoming a “green” model, we can enhance the environmental health and integrity of the SWRS and pose unique opportunities to explore and respond to the interrelationship of environmental issues. We also plan to refurbish SWRS housing units using the principles of sustainable design.

Secure funding to build a state-of-the-art computer facility at the SWRS. Technological advances over the last 20 years have provided new tools and techniques that are essential to the way we practice and impart conservation biology today. Web-based tools to display complex data can be used to develop computer simulations using a variety of computer programs that explore topics in conservation biology.

Increase access to the internet at SWRS by providing a faster means of data transfer (i.e., DSL or Satellite Internet), and make access available in each of the cabins.

Increase the ability of SWRS to support student researchers and facilitate undergraduate/graduate biodiversity conservation training. The SWRS currently provides grants to students conducting research at the station, financed by donations from station users. A dedicated endowment would ensure stable funding of student research projects, which often span several field seasons. With interest generated from an endowment fund, the SWRS would be able to fund a student's research for several field seasons or until completion.