Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed 2/25/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 32-38).

The Leptonycteris yerbabuenae is found in southern Arizona, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Some females are migratory, mating in southern Mexico, and migrating to maternity roosts in northern Mexico and southern Arizona to give birth. Twelve microsatellite loci markers and the Mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR) were amplified to examine population structure and phylogenetic relationships among roosts. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from L. yerbabuenae. A total of sixteen localities in AZ and Mexico were sampled. The mtDNA CR fragment resulted in 102 haplotypes. The phylogenetic analyses resulted in two clades, but no observable geographic structuring. The average FST value across all loci and all sampled localities was 0.022. Program STRUCTURE analyses indicate one population (K=1) throughout the sampling area. These results suggest movement between maternity colonies and transient roosts in Arizona, Sonora, and Chamela, Management recommendations based on these results would be to manage as a single population.

Agave palmeri (Palmer's agave) is a semelparous, perennial succulent thought to provide critical forage for the endangered species, Leptonycteris curasoae (lesser long-nosed bat). Preserving intact agave populations and mitigating loss of habitat may be critical to L. curasoae recovery. Two methods for restoring A. palmeri in disturbed habitats were evaluated: seeding and translocation. In a greenhouse, the emergence and establishment of 2700 seeds was tested across four environmental variables: irrigation level, shade, surface mulch, and soil type. The overall emergence of seedlings was low, particularly in low irrigation, unshaded, unmulched treatments--conditions that might be commonly expected in disturbed habitats. In the field, growth responses of 277 wild transplants were assessed in relation to size class, initial water availability, and storage method. Transplants of all sizes responded positively when replanting coincided with seasonal rainfall, suggesting that salvaging and replanting A. palmeri plants may be a promising restoration strategy.