LOS ANGELES (AP) " Scientists will fan out across a California desert valley this weekend to take an inventory of everything there that flies, hops, runs, swims or grows in the dirt. It's been 45 years since researchers last scoured Amargosa Valley near the northern edge of the Mojave Desert. That accounting of species led to federal protections within the remote region and new scientific understanding of its biodiversity. Researchers have kept a regular count of hundreds of bird species, two species of desert fish and a tiny endangered rodent called the Amargosa vole, she said. The valley stretches into Nevada but the Bio-Blitz will focus on a 26-mile section along the Amargosa River on the California side, east of Death Valley.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 06, 2017 18:11 UTC