干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Ecological boundaries have been of interest to naturalists since the time of Darwin and Wallace because they ale transitional zones on the landscape across which distinct changes occur in constitution of plant and animal communities In the xeric landscapes of the central Baja California Peninsula fin palm (Frythea armata and Washingtonia robusta) oases ale small (usually <1 ha) mesophilic islands of structurally complex habitats We report new records of mesophilic reptiles and imphibians from the adjacent Californian biome in palm groves of the Sonoran region these highly philopatric species provide evidence of cattier cooler and moister Pleistocene environments The fan palm oases of the central Baja California Peninsula ale natural laboratories for the study of evolutionary processes because they provide unique mesic habitats in a changing desert landscape