Case Studies:

Flying Fox: these are actually BATS! They are POLLINATORS!

Kudzu: The INVASIVE vine that is taking over North Carolina among other states! It was brought over from Japan ON PURPOSE!

African “killer” bees Bees brought to South America for Scientific Research, but they escaped and are now in the U.S.

Pollinators KEYSTONE species Without pollinators, many different plants can’t reproduce. Help to start the food chain Examples: flying foxes, bees, hummingbirds

Fish Good “indicator species” because – Found everywhere – Live in water (first indication that something’s wrong with water – for example: male fish turning female…)

Zebra Mussels Invasive species! Accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes. Causing a lot of harm to lake ecosystems and millions of $$$ in damage

The spread of zebra mussels…

Kelp Tall weeds that grow in the ocean

Kelp provides a lot of habitat for others.. Sea otters play a “key” role in maintaining kelp; they eat the sea urchins that would otherwise eat up all of the kelp (HINT!! Relate this to wolves/elk/willows and aspen trees) Picture of sea otter eating a sea urchin:

Passenger Pigeons Biologically extinct! Meaning: GONE FOREVER!! – 1914

Amphibians Good indicator species: – Live both in water and on land – Permeable skin – Found everywhere – Disappearing FAST!

Dung Beetles KEYSTONE! Help to recycle nutrients! Use other animals’ feces: bury it for FOOD or to lay eggs

Water Hyacinth From the video Accidentally introduced Lake Victoria, Africa

Nile Perch From the video Introduced ON PURPOSE! Caused massive extinction of species in Lake Victoria

Weevils From the video Biological control of water hyacinth SUCCESSFUL however… Gov’t still used chemicals

Sea Otters KEYSTONE Maintain kelp (which provides habitat for many other species)

Brown Tree Snake Invasive! Accidentally introduced to GUAM – caught a ride on a boat?? Overrunning Guam, taking over the island! Venomous

Cane Toads Invasive! Introduced to Australia on purpose to control the cane grub which was eating the sugar cane crops. The Cane Toad and Cane Grub never come into contact with each other… not a very well thought out plan…

More cane toads… TAKING OVER AUSTRALIA!!! Poisonous to would-be predators

Top Predators KEYSTONE!! Sharks, wolves, bears, tigers, big cats… Think: wolves in Yellowstone!!

Elephants Foundation species: they maintain the savanna – take down/trample trees to keep grasslands as grasslands. (Bison do the same thing for North American Grasslands)

Asian Carp Invasive!

More Asian Carp Introduced on purpose to certain areas but due to flooding, they escaped. The following agencies are working together to install and maintain a permanent electric barrier between the fish and Lake Michigan to prevent the carp from entering the Great Lakes: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers EPA State of Illinois International Joint Commission Great Lakes Fishery Commission U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

More on the carp… They can out-compete native fish for food and therefore drive native fish populations into extinction.

Fire Ants Invasive! Accidentally introduced to the U.S. from a docked ship that came from South America.

Sharks Top predators… so they are KEYSTONE! – We kill ONE MILLION sharks for every shark that kills or injures one person.

Whooping Crane Nearly went extinct with only 16 left in Efforts have helped the population grow to over 200 but they are still ENDANGERED. Biggest threat today: loss of wetlands Need FLYWAYS as they migrate up to Canada to mate/reproduce.

Whooping Cranes…

California Condor Scavengers Largest flying birds in North America Shot… poisoned… slow to reproduce… need a LARGE range… they almost went extinct SUCCESSFUL captive breeding program!! Still ENDANGERED today.

Condor…

Mountain Gorilla Endangered!! Found in Central Africa – subject to loss of habitat, poaching, and the many wars that have taken place/are still taking place there…

Many are taken and sold… Many of the adults are killed trying to protect the babies which are sold for profit.

Blue whale Endangered! Many marine biologists feel that it’s too late to avoid extinction… World’s largest animal. Take 25 years to mature and reproduce! Only one offspring every 2 – 5 years.

Giant Panda Specialist Endangered

Carolina Parakeet Native to the U.S. – EXTINCT!! Because: They were considered a “pest” Habitat taken away Feathers were used in hats…

Prairie Dogs Prairie dogs were considered “pests” Large scale poisoning “program” reduced the numbers drastically! They were a food source for the black footed ferret so the ferret almost went extinct as well.

Poisoned prairie dogs…

Black Footed Ferret

Pros and Cons of Captivity, Seed Banks, Botanical Gardens etc… Next two slides

PROS Preserves genetic information (gene banks) Preserves species (build up populations??) Education and awareness

Cons Success rate varies from “successful” to “not at all” $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Not enough individuals to maintain a population Captive animals often kept in insufficient facilities (Ex: killer whales “stored” in what is essentially a bathtub when they are used to having a range that spans hundreds of miles).