Typical of the tenacious genus Senecio, the small shrub Azuzón de Alborán colonizes areas that could be described as disturbed and unstabilized as it does live where there is an accumulation of volcanic ashes and shell laden sand, historically perturbed by natural events and human activities.[6] Also typical, this species produces three generations of plants each year and is non-competitive; the middle generation of S. alboranicus shares its part of the island with Lavatera mauritanica and Anacyclus alboranensis. Atypical of the genus, this species is a halophile, growing in soils with a known high concentration of salt.[9]
Azuzón de Alborán can be found growing at altitudes between 0 metres (0 ft) and 15 metres (49 ft).[7] The restricted size of the island and the rarity of the habitat make azuzón de Alborán particularly vulnerable to changes. Climatic conditions (quantity and distribution of rain, soil salinity, etc.) and human activities[6] (the lighthouse was once staffed);[7] there have been large fluctuations in the numbers of individuals each year. These fluctuations affect not only the number of individual plants but also their size and the number of flowers. The decline of this species could be caused by alterations generated by human presence (military occupancy, artificial environments, etc.) in addition to events like natural changes or biotic threats (competition, parasitism, diseases, etc.),[6] alterations which probably not coincidentally describe many of the conditions that occurred from the mapping those years.[9]
^Juan F. Mota; M.Encarna Merlo; Ana J. Sola & M.Luisa Jiménez-Sánchez et Joaquín Valero. "Diapositiva 1"(PDF) (in Spanish). Gijón City Council. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
^"Senecio gallicus Chaix. record n° 98633". African plants database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
