Day 4, 9/7/10

My group's day began early Tuesday morning - awaking before the sun with hopes to dodge its rays throughout our day. We left the Posada Tacuyaba at 5AM for the hour-and-a-half journey southwest towards the Pacific slope of the Sonoran Desert. Our project involves examining the rib count variation within and between three different species of columnar cacti present in the Sonoran Desert. These species include:

Organ Pipe (Stenocereus thurberi)

Etcho (Pachycereus pectin-aboriginum)

Senita (Lophocereus schottii) with another Organ pipe in the background

We spent the morning recording the rib count of the above species. We also noted the cactus height and number of arms per cactus in order to examine any possible relationships between these variables and rib count.

Anthony jotting down field notes.

Data collection did not come easy, however, as we all came away with our fair share of unwanted souvenirs (read: cactus spines!).

 

One of the many cactus spines found stuck in our clothing.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Getting tickled by cacti was a small price to pay considering the sheer beauty of the desert. The area was truly a visual playground – towering cacti of various species, cracked dirt paths, curious cows peeking through the vegetation (as well as some bones of some not-so-lucky cows). Check out the pics below!

Organ pipe cactus can grow up to 8 meters high.

  

We saw huge piles of shells scattered across the desert. This segment of the Sonoran Desert is near the ocean, so locals commonly dump the shells after consuming the meat within them.

Another species of cactus found in the Sonoran Desert: Sina (Stenocereus alamosensis)