Loss of wildlife through human activity and Restoration ecology

Emman Jean Elagor

Learn about some of greatest threats to the survival of wildlife in the United States:

Disease

Global Warming

Habitat Loss

Invasive Species

Oil Spills

Overexploitation

Pollutants

Disease is a normal part of the natural world. Most ecosystems include organisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and
parasites that cause disease.

Chytrid Fungus:

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (or “chytrid” for short), is a fungus that grows on the skin of amphibians,
interfering with their ability to breathe or take up water through their skin. It has spread across the globe, infecting and
decimating frog populations. It is a global killer of amphibians.

Fibropapillomatosis:

Sea turtles worldwide are becoming infected with this disease, possibly caused by viruses, which causes tumors
to appear on the skin or internally. These tumors can make it difficult for a turtle to swim, eat or see, and they weaken
immune systems.

White-nose Syndrome:

Hundreds of thousands of bats in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have been infected or have died from
the white-nose fungus. The disease affects hibernating bats, making them appear to have a white substance on their
faces and wings.

Chronic wasting disease:

This disease is a highly contagious, fatal neurological disease (spongiform encephalopathy) that infects primarily
deer and elk. The disease is believed to be caused by a modified protein called a prion.

Whirling disease:

Trout, salmon and whitefish in 25 states have been infected by the parasite Myxobolus cerebralis that causes
whirling disease. It damages nerves and cartilage, causing young fish to die and older fish to swim in a tail-chasing or
whirling motion, making it hard for them to find food and increasing their vulnerability to predators.

Sylvatic plague: Prairie dogs are highly susceptible to this bacterial disease, which is transmitted by fleas. The
endangered black-footed ferret is at even greater risk from the effects of the disease, because not only can it be infected
by the disease, but prairie dogs are also its primary food source.

Observed Changes in Wildlife and Ecosystems

(Global Warming)

Changes in range: Wildlife and plants that are able to adjust are shifting their ranges northward or to higher altitudes to
adjust to warming temperatures. Wildlife that already live at high altitudes or latitudes, such as the American pika or
polar bears in the Arctic, may find themselves with nowhere to go.

Changes in timing of natural events: Many species take their cues about when to migrate, flower, nest or mate from
seasonal changes in temperature, precipitation and daylight (phenology). Global warming is confusing those signals. The
changes in the climate force wildlife to alter life cycle and seasonal events. Sometimes they might get out of synch with
other species in their ecosystem or with other natural events. For example, some animals are laying eggs, migrating, or
emerging from hibernation much earlier than they used to, only to find that the plants or the insects they need for food
have not yet emerged.

Widespread forest loss: In the western U.S., warming and drought stress are causing trees to die and making them more
vulnerable to pine beetle and other insect infestations. Higher temperatures and increased fuel from dead trees have
led to more wildfires.

Coral bleaching: Coral bleaching occurs when colorful algae that live in corals die or are expelled from corals under
stress. The algae live symbiotically with coral polyps, providing them with nutrients and oxygen. If the algae die and are
not replaced, the corals will also die. Scientists believe that the biggest cause of coral bleaching is warm sea surface
temperatures caused by global warming. If coral reef bleaching continues, many other marine organisms that depend on
coral reefs will also be in jeopardy.

Melting of Arctic sea ice: Arctic ice is melting at a faster pace than was predicted even a few years ago. Some scientists
are now saying that the Arctic could be ice free in the late summer as early as 2012. Many Arctic mammals, such as polar
bears, walrus, and seals depend on sea ice for their survival.

Loss of wetlands: Higher temperatures will lead to drier conditions in the Midwest’s Prairie Pothole region, one of the
most important breeding areas for North American waterfowl.

Sea-level rise: Sea-level rise will inundate beaches and marshes and cause erosion on both coasts, diminishing habitat
for birds, invertebrates, fish, and other coastal wildlife.

Habitat loss—due to destruction, fragmentation or degradation of habitat—is the primary threat to the survival of
wildlife in the United States.

When an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities—such as agriculture, oil and gas exploration,
commercial development or water diversion—it may no longer be able to provide the food, water, cover, and places to
raise young. Every day there are fewer places left that wildlife can call home.

There are three major kinds of habitat loss:

Habitat destruction:

A bulldozer pushing down trees is the iconic image of habitat destruction. Other ways that people are directly
destroying habitat, include filling in wetlands, dredging rivers, mowing fields, and cutting down trees.

HABITAT LOSS:

Habitat fragmentation:

Much of the remaining terrestrial wildlife habitat in the U.S. has been cut up into fragments by roads and development.
Aquatic species’ habitat has been fragmented by dams and water diversions. These fragments of habitat may not be
large or connected enough to support species that need a large territory in which to find mates and food. The loss and
fragmentation of habitat make it difficult for migratory species to find places to rest and feed along their migration
routes.

Habitat degradation:

Pollution, invasive species and disruption of ecosystem processes (such as changing the intensity of fires in an
ecosystem) are some of the ways habitats can become so degraded that they no longer support native wildlife.

What makes an invasive species?

An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian (like the cane toad pictured left), plant,
insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and which causes
harm. They can harm the environment, the economy or even, human health. Species that grow and reproduce quickly,
and spread aggressively, with potential to cause harm, are given the label of “invasive”.

How do invasive species spread?

Wood products: Insects can get into wood, shipping palettes and crates that are shipped around the world.

Ornamental plants: Some ornamental plants can escape into the wild and become invasive.

Pet trade: Some invasive species are intentionally or accidentally released pets. Burmese pythons are becoming a big
problem in the Everglades.

Effects of oil spills

Direct effects of oil spills on wildlife

Oil spills can impact wildlife directly through three primary pathways: ingestion - when animals swallow oil particles
directly or consume prey items that have been exposed to oil absorption - when animals come into direct contact with
oil inhalation - when animals breathe volatile organics .released from oil or from “dispersants” applied by response
teams in an effort to increase the rate of degradation of the oil in seawater

Indirect effects of oil spills on wildlife

Oil spills can also have indirect effects on wildlife by causing changes in behavior: relocation of home ranges as animals
search for new sources of food increases in the amount of time animals must spend foraging disruptions to natural life
cycles

People have always depended on wildlife and plants for food, clothing, medicine, shelter and many other needs. But
today we are taking more than the natural world can supply. The danger is that if we take too many individuals of a
species from their natural environment, the species may no longer be able to survive. The loss of one species can affect
many other species in an ecosystem.

Overexploitation is the over use of wildlife and plant species by people for food, clothing, pets, medicine, sport and
many other purposes.

What Wildlife are Being Overexploited?

Fish and other aquatic species

As fishing gear and boats have improved, the fishing industry has become very efficient at harvesting fish and shellfish.
The industrialization of the fishing industry and the increasing world demand for seafood have people taking more fish
from oceans, lakes and rivers than is sustainable. Prized fish, such as swordfish, cod and tuna, have undergone dramatic
declines. In the Great Lakes overfishing has caused whitefish, walleye, and sturgeon populations to decline. Beyond
their role in the food supply, freshwater and marine fish are also trapped for the aquarium trade and fished for sport.

Birds

Birds are collected or hunted for sport, food and the cage-bird pet trade (parrots and songbirds are prized as pets).
Millions of birds are traded internationally each year. Close to 30% of globally threatened birds are threatened by
overexploitation, particularly parrots, pigeons and pheasants. The Carolina parakeet was once the only species of parrot
in the U.S., but it was hunted to extinction early in the last century for food, to protect crops and for its feathers (which
adorned ladies’ hats).

People have always hunted mammal species—for fur, food, sport, and for their horns or antlers. Mammals are also
trapped for the pet trade, zoos and biomedical research. Today, illegal hunting still threatens many species, especially
large mammals such as tigers, rhinoceros, bears and even primates, whose body parts are highly valued in some parts of
the world for traditional medicine.

Amphibians
Amphibians are collected and shipped all over the world for the pet trade, medicine, education (frogs are dissected in
many biology classes), scientific research and for food (frog legs are a delicacy in many parts of the world). The California
red-legged frog, now a federally protected endangered species, was over hunted for food and its numbers seriously
depleted during the Gold Rush in the area around San Francisco.

Reptiles

Reptiles are harvested and traded around the world for their skins or shells, their eggs, meat, and for the pet trade.
Overharvesting of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle’s eggs nearly led to its extinction, and today it is still an endangered
species. In the U.S., box turtles are being collected at unsustainable levels for the overseas pet trade. Some reptile
skins—such as crocodile, python and monitor lizard—are highly prized as exotic leathers.

Invertebrates

Invertebrates make up at least 75% of all known animal species. Insects, oysters, octopus, crayfish, sea stars, scorpions,
crabs and sponges are all kinds of invertebrates. Today, many invertebrates—particularly marine invertebrates—are at
risk from overharvesting. Chesapeake Bay oysters, once an important part of the Bay economy, are now in decline.
Horseshoe crabs, whose eggs provide food for migratory birds, fish and other organisms, are being harvested as bait for
eel and whelk fishing. Octopus are suffering declines world-wide due to heavy fishing pressure. Shells and corals are
collected for ornaments and jewelry.

Plants

Plants are vital to our survival and are the foundation of most of the Earth’s ecosystems. People harvest plants for food,
medicine, building materials, and as raw materials for making other products. But we are taking too many plants from
the wild. Some plants, such as orchids, are so prized by collectors that they are now endangered and legally protected
from poaching by international law. Some medicinal plants, such as American ginseng, have also been so enthusiastically
collected that it is now very hard to find them in the wild. A number of tree species that are prized for their wood, such
as mahogany, are under threat because of overharvesting.

Pollutants

Every day the byproducts of our daily lives—sewage, exhaust, trash, agricultural and lawn chemicals, industrial and
power plant emissions and more—make their way via the air and water into the natural environment and become
pollutants. As big as our planet is, it is not big enough to dilute or absorb all the waste, chemicals and nutrients that
billions of people are continuously producing.

Species Characteristics and Extinction

1. Rarity.

Generally, rare species are more prone to extinction than common ones.

Deborah Rabinowitz (1981) showed that the concept may depend on three factors: geographic range, breadth of
habitat, and local population and size. A species is often termed rare if it is found only in one geographic area or type of
habitat, regardless of its density. A species that is widespread but a very low density, can also be regarded as rare.
Conservation by habitat management is much easier, and more likely to succeed, for species restricted to one area or
type of habitat than for widely distributed, but rare, species.

2. Ability to disperse. Species that are capable of migrating between fragments of habitat, such as between
mainland areas and islands, may be more resistant to extinction. Even if one small population becomes extinct in one
area, it may be “rescued” by immigrating individuals from another population.

3. Degree of Specialization. It is often thought that organisms which are specialists are more likely to become
extinct.For example, ample, pandas, which feed only a single species of bamboo, are at high risk of extinction. By
contrast, animals that have a broader diet may be able to switch from one type of soil may be more prone to extinction
than plants that prosper in many types of soil.

4. Population variability. Species with relatively stable populations may be less prone to extinction than others. For
example, some species, lemmings reach very high numbers in some years, and their population crashes in others. It is
thought that these species may likely to extinct.

5. Trophic status. (animals only). Animals occupying higher tropic levels usually have small populations. For
example, birds of prey and florida panthers are far fewer in number than their prey, and as noted, rare species may be
more vulnerable to extinction.

6. Life span. Species with a naturally short life span may be more likely to become extinct. Example:

small passerines live only a few years live only a few years. A few years with bad weather can stop breeding for the
whole lifespan. But parrots can live 70 years and “weather” bad years which can stop breeding for 10 years and can
breed again when habitat becomes favorable.

7. Reproductive abilty. Species that can reproduce and breed quickly may be more likely to recover after severe
population declines than those which cannot. Small organisms like bacteria, insects and small mammals are less likely to
become extinct than larger animals like elephants, whales and redwood tress which recovers slowly are highly to
become extinct.

Restoration Ecology

1. Educating the public about the importance of natural habitat and biodiversity.

2. Protecting remaining intact sections of natural habitat.

3. An understanding of the natural history of similar ecosystems.

4. Revegetation. The essential elements of a minimum cost restoration effort are the introduction of appropriate
seeds and related symbionts to sites that provide suitable soil and moisture conditions for rapid root growth and the
establishment of plants.

5. Advanced techniques.

Cages or fencing

Chemical sprays

Fertilizers

Mulching and composting