cacti forests
In arid ecosystems, cacti are primary resources for insects and arthropods that depend on dead or decaying wood. A new research review published in August in Annals of the Entomological Society of America explores this relationship and its ecological implications. Shown here are cactus forests in the Barranca de Metztitlán Biosphere Reserve in Hidalgo, Mexico (a) and Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve in Puebla, Mexico (b). Photos by Ana Paola Martínez-Falcón, Ph.D.)