Scientist studies Arizona's saguaro cactuses using natural vibrations

Geologist Jeff Moore was visiting family in Tucson when he got the idea of adapting tools used to measure earthquakes for the study of saguaro cactuses.

Studying the inner structure of a cactus usually involves slicing the column into pieces, then adding weights to different sections. The saguaro often doesn't survive.

Saguaro cactuses are a keystone species in the Sonoran desert, but are facing new threats, such as rising temperatures, drought and even predators, like wild burros, that eat nearby shade plants.

Arizona’s iconic saguaro cactuses seem like immobile sentinels standing watch over the Sonoran desert landscape. But beneath their still, spiny exteriors, these towering cactuses are actually vibrating, and researchers have developed a new tool to record their frequencies.

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