Question

Endangered Species

Imagine a world without rhinoceroses, or cheetahs, or elephants, or humpback whales, or whooping cranes, or passenger pigeons, or Carolina parakeets, or ivory-billed woodpeckers….

Actually, it is easy to imagine world without the last three on that list. They are already extinct. Extirpated. Gone forever.

As we enter the 21^st century, the human population continues to rise. Many of you may recall a time when there were only 4 or 5 billion people on the Earth. Now there are over 7 billion, and by 2020 there will be 8 billion. And we all need natural resources to survive—sources of food and water and raw materials. We all need land. We all need energy.

Because of those needs, we continue to encroach on other living creatures, different species that collectively form the biodiversity of life on Earth—the variety and richness of life.

This week, we are exploring efforts to restore and sustain that biodiversity in one place; Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Africa. Most large mammals were killed off across the region during 35 years of civil war. Now they are making a comeback, and scientists are documenting it. In fact, in this week’s Critical Thinking activity, you will be participating in that process, as a citizen scientist.  

For our discussion this week, let us each imagine an African savanna ecosystem without one of the animals currently living there. To do this, go to the Gorongosa National Park Field Guide (Links to an external site.) and select a mammal or bird pictured there. Click on its picture for a brief overview of the animal; you may want to supplement that information with additional online research. When you have completed your research, answer the following questions:

1. What animal did you choose?
2. What is its preferred habitat?
3. What food does it eat?
4. What animals prey on it?
5. What might be different about the savanna if your chosen animal were to go extinct? How might its extinction affect plants and animals of the savanna, and or the savanna landscape?
6. What arguments can you offer as to why this animal ought to be protected?

As you discuss the different animals that you have researched as a class, consider interrelationships between your animal and the animals your peers have chosen, along with the different reasons that students have identified for protecting the biodiversity of Gorongosa. Are some animals more valuable to the savanna than others? Are some reasons for preserving biodiversity more valid than others?

Your post must be formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing & APA (Links to an external site.).

Your initial posting should be 250-500 words and must be submitted by Thursday, midnight, of this week.

Answer 1

The Whooping crane is an endangered crane mainly as a result of habitat losss. It belongs to the species Grus americana. It is the tallest North American bird. Because of its whopping sound, it's name is whooping crane.It's lifespan is estimated to be 22-24 years in the wild.

Whopping cranes breed in shallow, grassy wet lands interspersed with grasslands or scattered evergreens.During migration they stop over on Wide shallow river flats.In winter they were mainly in coastal marshes and estuaries.They sometimes forage at crop fields.

Whooping cranes are omnivores. They primarily eat crustaceans, small fish, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. They'll also eat grains, Marsh plants and acorns.

Their many potential nest brood predators include American black bear,volverine,grey eolf,mountain lion,red fox,Canada lynx, in eagle and common Raven.Golden eagles have killed some young whopping crane and some fledglings.The bobcat had killed many whooping cranes in Florida and Texas.

Although believed to be naturally rare ,the whooping crane had suffered major population declines due to habitat destruction and over hunting. The whooping crane was declared endangered in 1967.

The whooping crane had suffered major population decline due to habitat loss and over hunting. The population fell to only 15 individuals in 1940s.A whooping crane eats a wide variety of plants and animals, and they in turn provide food for foxes, wolves,coyotes, lynxes, bobcats ànd raccoons.

Whooping cranes need wetland stopovers during their migration. But wetlands are being filled in,paved, dried up, and built on, so protecting whooper habitat for migratory stopovers is more important than ever. You can help protect wetlands by volunteering at a National Wildlife Refuge in your area.

The carrier pigeon is a domesticated rock pigeon which is used to carry messages,while the passenger pigeon was a North American wild species that went extinct by 1914.It is believed that this species once constituted ,25-40% of the total bird population of United States.

Hump back whale is also anendangered species. Of the 14 distinct populations ,12 are estimated to number more than 2000 hump back whales each and two are estimated to number fewer than 2000.