It has been two years since a new species has moved to the area.
Conservation efforts and climate change have brought three new damselfly species to the Santa Cruz River.
The new tenants include the Fiery-Eyed Dancer and two tropical species–the Cerulean Dancer and the Harkness’s Dancer. Freshwater biologist and University of Arizona professor Michael Bogan points towards climate change and Santa Cruz’s warmer waters as reasons for why tropical bugs have flown North.
“A lot of Arizona's natural streams are too cold for tropical species, even still with climate change,” Bogan said. “But places like the Santa Cruz, which are fed by our treated wastewater, are actually a little bit warmer than natural streams. So in some ways, they almost mimic a tropical ecosystem.”
In recent decades, the Santa Cruz River dried up due to overuse of water resources during Tucson’s growth in the early 1900s.
Insects find a new home on Santa Cruz River - AZPM
Conservation efforts and climate change have brought three new damselfly species to the Santa Cruz River.
The new tenants include the Fiery-Eyed Dancer and two tropical species–the Cerulean Dancer and the Harkness’s Dancer. Freshwater biologist and University of Arizona professor Michael Bogan points towards climate change and Santa Cruz’s warmer waters as reasons for why tropical bugs have flown North.
“A lot of Arizona's natural streams are too cold for tropical species, even still with climate change,” Bogan said. “But places like the Santa Cruz, which are fed by our treated wastewater, are actually a little bit warmer than natural streams. So in some ways, they almost mimic a tropical ecosystem.”
In recent decades, the Santa Cruz River dried up due to overuse of water resources during Tucson’s growth in the early 1900s.
Insects find a new home on Santa Cruz River - AZPM