The Mojave Desert subpopulation occupies only the most well-studied 30% of the larger former range of the desert tortoise, yet this portion experienced the greatest human impacts and the largest documented past population losses.
Notes on verification
Verbatim match to USGS/IUCN Red List assessment (Berry et al. 2021), with corroboration from taxonomic literature (Murphy et al. 2011) on the 30% range figure and independent population decline data (Berry et al. 2020, USFWS) supporting disproportionate human impact. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- Gopherus agassizii - USGS Publications Warehouse (seed:environment_and_wildlife)
- https://tortoise-tracks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-Berry-et-al-IUCN-Red-List.pdf (corroboration)
- https://doaj.org/article/45d1ecccf4b04d6bad8cf360dd9ed981 (corroboration)
- https://www.defendthemall.org/blog/2023/species-spotlight-mojave-desert-tortoise (corroboration)