3.6 Endangered Species

3.6 Endangered Species:

Learning Objectives: 1) What it means for a species to be dubbed endangered. 2) The most common causes of extinction. 3) The attempts to replenish different species.

Here’s a scary thought: In the last 40 years, the wildlife population on Earth has been cut in half. This information was found after the World Wide Fund for Nature (previously known as the World Wildlife Fund) observed and studied about 10,000 animal populations across the world. This steep decline also shows that many species are close to, or have already achieved, an endangered status. In its broadest definition, an endangered species is a species of plant or animal that is at risk of going extinct.

To begin this lesson, click here to take a quiz based upon endangered species.

Animals have been going extinct and evolving for a very long time. Some very common extinct species are dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and the dodo bird. Unfortunately, there are other species that have gone extinct even within the last century. One such example is the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in early 20^th century. Even more alarming than this example is that there are many, many more species that are approaching extinction… and they could go extinct during our lifetime. One of these species is the Panthera tigris sumatrae, or Sumatran Tiger. The Sumatran Tiger, which is known as being one of the smallest tiger subspecies in the world, only has between 400 and 700 individuals left.

Relevant Readings: Below is a list of some recommended readings for you to get a better foothold on this subject matter. These articles go into further depth on information previously mentioned in the lesson.

• Earth Has Lost Half of Its Wildlife (This is the article mentioned in the first paragraph)
• Endangered Species- arkive.org Article (This provides an introduction to several different aspects of endangerment, including what it means, attempted conservation, and causes of endangerment)
• Summary of the Endangered Species Act (This gives a summary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which helped begin the enforcement of protecting species at risk)

In light of this tragic series of events for wildlife across the world, there is still hope for a resurgence of populations. All across the world, different Conservation groups and Wildlife Protection Activists make sure that both endangered animals and animals up for concern are watched over and kept safe. The Nature Conservancy and the WWF are among these groups. (Here is a link detailing some of the other major conservation/wildlife protection organizations.) Zoos are even beginning to make an effort in not just displaying animals, but also serving as a sanctuary for endangered species. On an even higher note, the technology in today’s day and age is reaching the point where it may be possible to genetically re-create extinct species. Watch/listen to the Ted Talk video posted below, which discusses this very idea of bringing species back from extinction.

Assignment: Create a PowerPoint Presentation about an endangered species of your choice. Please provide the history of its endangerment, where it resides and the areas in which it is endangered, reasons for it becoming endangered, attempts to revive/save the species, and current outlook at its future.

Let the Monarch Rule

For many years, the population of the Monarch Butterfly has declined to dangerous levels. In 2013, the population reached its lowest ever recording. Now, there is a beacon of hope for the replenishing of the Monarch population, and it rests in Mexico. Mexico, which is the main hibernation area for the Monarch Butterfly, has recently put a halt to its logging, which has already provided evidence of an increase in the population.

Originally, the blame for the declining Monarch population was divided among two factors: illegal logging that occurred in Mexican forests and the decline of milkweed, the plant that Monarchs lay their eggs on, in the United States due to herbicide usage. However, the recent halt on logging is also restricting large companies and local loggers from cutting down trees. Studies have shown that the company logging was a bigger culprit than the illegal logging. The trees that the Monarch Butterfly depends upon during its migration are the pine and fir trees.

From the political spectrum, the awareness of the rapidly decreasing Monarch population was brought by activists and campaigners. These people pushed for a change to current logging and for stricter surveillance of illegal logging. Socially, local logging has stopped in response to suggested alternatives for employment and income. These alternatives have come from Mexican and international businesses and philanthropists and have been in the works for over a decade. Some of the currently successful alternatives are community tree nurseries and local surveillance and reporting of illegal logging.

While the suppression of the illegal logging appears to be a long term solution, concerns still remain about the mass logging performed by companies. The current absence of logging from these companies have not been legislatively stopped, and it appears to be only a matter of time before the companies begin to log again. Scientists and activists hope that by the time the companies start again, if they ever do, that the Monarch population will have a grasp on a possible rebound. The 2013 recorded population of the butterflies was 35 million. This is a significant drop from 1996, when there were 1 billion butterflies. Also the area that the butterflies encompassed dropped between 1996 and 2013 from 44.5 acres to 1.65 acres. Despite the dramatic collapse in population, Omar Vidal, the director of WWF-Mexico, says, “The monarch butterfly as a species is not endangered.”

At this moment, observers can only sit and wait to see if the stops on logging will have an impact on the Monarch Butterfly population. With any luck… it will. But if it does not, the question arises: Is there any way to save the Monarch Butterfly?

Here is a video related to this issue:

Here are the sources that were used in researching this topic:

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140129-monarch-butterflies-mexico-animals-science-environment-migration-nation/
• http://positivenews.org.uk/2015/environment/conservation/16871/hope-monarch-butterfly-mexican-logging-halted/
• http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/monarch-migration.html
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/09/logging-monarch-butterflies-mexico/2790039/
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-years-first-monarch-butterflies-are-entering-mexico-earlier-than-usual/2014/09/29/4c8330f2-44c4-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html