Biology

Biology. . The rich diversity of plants and animals of the Flagstaff area was first recognized in the summer of 1889 when Dr. C. Hart Merriam led a biological survey to the San Francisco Peaks. Merriam's "Life Zone Theory" detailed that temperature and precipitation changes from the bottom of the Grand Canyon at 2419 feet to the top of the peaks at 12,633 feet caused "different zones of animal and vegetable life to succeed each other from base to summit." This is similar to changes seen in the fauna and flora from Mexico to Arctic Canada., The most characteristic animal of the stately Ponderosa Pine Forest surrounding Flagstaff is the abert squirrel, with its ear tufts and a large bushy tail. Going up in elevation, black bear, mule-deer and elk roam the mixed-conifer and spruce-fir forests, while mountain meadows and aspen groves add visual variety to the landscape. A narrow band of stunted, gnarled bristlecone pine and engelmann spruce (krummholz) grows at timberline., The only true alpine tundra in Arizona is found at the top of the peaks, occupying an area of less than two square miles. Although tundra plants are among the world's most widespread species, the threatened San Francisco Peaks, groundsel, a small sunflower, is found nowhere else in the world., Barbara G. Phillips, Ph.D. , Biologist