UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE MOJAVE: AN INNOVATIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO ECOSYSTEM UNDERSTANDING

Innovative interdisciplinary research is critical to understanding the varied and relatively well-preserved environments that are National Preserves. Blueprint Earth is conducting interdisciplinary research in a 1km² area within the Cane Spring system in the Mojave National Preserve, a site chosen for its relative inaccessibility to the general public and for the apparent biodiversity present in the spring ecosystem. Since 2014, we have been investigating area geology, hydrology, biology, and atmosphere. Preliminary research findings include previously undocumented areas of surface water expression. We present our hydrologic and geologic findings to date, along with results of our ongoing spatial phylogenetic analyses. These will be used to compare and potentially correlate phylogenetic diversity and endemism with georeferenced observations in hydrology, geology, and atmosphere from the study area to look for new and informative connections among these traditionally separate research fields.