GPS and GIS: Spatial Tools to Help Document the Spread of Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum), a Plant Parasite in Arizona

Author: Juliann Eve Aukema
Organization: University of Arizona

BSW 310 Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
USA

Phone: 520/621-7282
Fax: 520/670-5001
jaukema@u.arizona.edu

Mistletoes are plant parasites dispersed by birds. The foraging patterns of seed-dispersing birds create seed shadows that, with time, develop into mistletoe spatial distributions. The responses of seed dispersers to resource abundance can create a positive feedback: high local abundance of mistletoes can lead to higher seed deposition. Using differential GPS, hosts of Phoradendron californicum were mapped. Using a GIS database, layers of hosts, mistletoes, dispersed seeds, and bird abundance were created. GIS can help us to understand and illustrate the spatial dynamics of pathogen transmission and spread.