Exposure to environmental features early in life potentially can influence the kinds of places animals select to live later in life. We examined whether there is evidence that Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii) hatched in an urban environment choose sites with features similar to their natal areas when they nest for the first time. The features we examined were the nest tree species and the level of development surrounding the nest tree. We banded nestling and fledgling Cooper's hawks in Tucson, Arizona, USA, from 1994 to 2004. We then monitored nests in Tucson to identify hawks that had been hatched in the city and eventually secured a breeding site. Percent cover of buildings around first breeding nests was not related to percent cover of buildings around natal nests for either sex. There was some evidence that being hatched in a particular tree species influenced choice of tree species at first breeding sites for males, but the influence was weak. In contrast, tree species in which first‐time breeders built their nests, and the sites where the trees were located relative to development, were proportional to what was available in the Tucson metropolitan area. Our data suggest that natal experience played a limited role in nest‐site selection by Cooper's hawks in Tucson for the features we examined. If learning occurred, it could have been for the general structure of natal sites. Thus, any small grove of large trees planted in Tucson could be used as a nest site by Cooper's hawks regardless of the level of development surrounding the nest.

This report, as others in the series, is dedicated to Eric's life and work; he was an extraordinary ecologist, community member, father, partner, and friend. Eric was co-coordinator of the University of Arizona (UA) biological inventory and monitoring program from 2002 until his sudden and unexpected death on September 20, 2004. Eric was near completion of his MS degree in Wildlife Conservation from the UA, which was awarded posthumously in November 2004. In his last year, Eric spearheaded projects to investigate the efficiency of current monitoring programs; he was passionate about using the best available information to guide vertebrate monitoring efforts in the region. He is survived by his partner, Kathy Moore, and their two young children, Elizabeth and Zachary. We hope that the lives of his children will be enriched by Eric's hard work on behalf of the national parks in the Sonoran Desert Network. Don Swann dedicates the mammal chapter to Lowell Sumner for his elegant study of mammals in the Rincon Mountains in 1950-1951 and for his lifelong dedication to biological research in U.S. National Parks; and to Russell Davis and Ronnie Sidner for their significant and ongoing contributions to our understanding of mammals in Saguaro National Park. xi xii Thanks to Saguaro National Park Superintendent Sarah Craighead, Chief of Science and Resource Management Meg Weesner, and biologists Natasha Kline and Don Swann for providing leadership and administrative support for this project. Other park staff who assisted our project included

No abstract

No abstract

This report, as others in this series, is dedicated to Eric's life and work; he was an extraordinary ecologist, community member, father, and partner. Eric was co-coordinator of the University of Arizona (UA) biological inventory and monitoring program from 2002 until his sudden and unexpected death on September 20, 2004. Eric was near completion of his MS degree in Wildlife Conservation from the UA, which was awarded posthumously in November 2004. In his last year, Eric spearheaded projects to investigate the efficiency of current monitoring programs; he was passionate about using the best available information to guide vertebrate monitoring efforts in the region. He is survived by his partner, Kathy Moore, and their two young children, Elizabeth and Zachary. We hope that the lives of his children will be enriched by Eric's hard work on behalf of the national parks in the Sonoran Desert Network. VIII Hubbard, Network Coordinator of the Sonoran Desert Network (SON) Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program, has been a strong and convincing advocate for continuing the role of the USGS/UA Inventory program in the I&M program. Kathy Davis at Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments played an instrumental role in this project by providing important early initiative. Larry Norris at the Desert Southwest CESU has provided strong support for our program and spent considerable time and effort providing clear and timely administrative assistance. Matt Goode, Don Swann, and Dale Turner provided much of the early planning for this project; we are indebted to their vision. Special thanks to Lisa Carder and Kathleen Docherty for their years of hard work on all aspects of the project. Eric Albrecht, to whom this report is dedicated, was an outstanding spokesperson and leader of the program; he was an invaluable member of the team and his contributions are sorely missed. We thank a core group of dedicated field biologists who collected a wealth of data at Fort Bowie