Arctic Fish - Report Example

Species PART ONE Arctic Fish Introduction Evolution over the billions of years has led to the formation of millions of fish species each one different from one another. The earth is an almost unbelievable menagerie of the abnormal and incredible. The Mother Nature has emerged as one of the most stubborn characters who frequently conquer the different unfavorable environment the oppressively constant forces of the earth has created. Within these too extreme conditions is where we find ourselves developing admiration towards the ingenuity of the natural world. With the aim of exploring these diversities, I have chosen Montana Arctic Grayling fish since I find it as one of the most species that exemplifies adaptation at its most extreme. Below images are pictures of this particular fish species, retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Montana+Arctic+Grayling+fish&rlz=1C1VSNE_enKE617KE617&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zr9tVamGHMOv7AbUi4DYCA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=623 Analysis This species of fish belong to kingdom Animalia, phylum Craniata, class Actinopterygii, order Salmoniforme, family Salmonidae and species Thymallus arcticus (Katzman, 1998). This species of fish is native to northern America, where the formerly native species in Michigan is extinct while other remnants got found in the upper Big Hole River. They are very mobile and migrate up to 60 miles, and in their life history they make use of various habitats in many places. In the present times, they exist in small, cold and very clear lakes that have different tributaries that enable spawning. Their coexistence with another fish is not guaranteed, but the surety is that they only coexist well with cutthroat among other species of fish that they have evolved along with. Their unique reproductive statistics is that their growth rate is high in the Big Hole River. Here, they reach full sexual maturity, as well as their maximal size after a span of three years. General Analysis As discussed above, this species of fish lives in or under the ice in the arctic regions, among other polar regions and have antifreeze compounds in their blood. They are piokilotherm organisms; cold-blooded organisms, and, therefore, the lower the temperature of their surrounding is, the more inferior probable it is for them to stabilize their metabolic functions (Magee & Opitz, 2000). As the temperature drops to the extreme, there fare possibility of ice crystals forming in the organisms’ cells, and this can lead to an irreversible damage to these species, and ultimately death. Comparatively to the other marine organisms and seals, arctic fish seem to survive in the same freezing water despite lacking the ability to produce their body heat. For the last decades, it was discovered that there is antifreeze protein that exist in their blood, and this protein prevents ice crystals from forming or compounding. The functionality of this protein got created by Volkswagen, the car manufacturer. This particular protein prevents ice formation on the molecules in its vicinity; thereby give the room for the cells to go on with their life cycle. The protein achieves this by slowing the dance-like the movement of the water molecules, hence hindering the formation and breaking down the molecular bonds that permit ice formation. A similar antifreeze protein, like this one existing if arctic fish, has gotten found in some species of beetles living in high altitude regions closer to Arctic regions. PART TWO The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is the world’s first global environmental organization, established in 1948. It gets most widely known for its Red List, which categorizes and documents the status of the world’s threatened species. Among the critically endangered species include Pterodroma desert. These species belong to kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Aves, order Procellariiformes, family Procellariidae, class Pterodroma and species Desert. Its common English name is Desertas Petrel. This species conduct their breeding on Baguio, one of the deserts off Madeira in Portugal, and they do this in pairs, but later in the population appears to have a lot of stabilities. Their native countries are Morocco in Africa and Portugal in the Europe (Baillie, Hilton-Taylor & Stuart, 2004). The past surveys conducted in the 2006-2007 reported that between 120 to 150 existing pairs of this species breed on Bugio, Portugal. Statistical analysis got performed on these data and population estimates of around 250-999 mature ones, and assumptions got made that this equated c.350-1,500 individuals for their total population. Their population trend has gotten observed for a longer period and they have revealed a lot of stability in their demographic trend. Below image is a picture of Desertas Petrel Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22736135/0 The biggest threat to this particular species is the habitat degradation that has affected the species as well as its breeding sites, mainly by the introduction of domestic plants such as goats, rabbits, and mice (Baillie, Hilton-Taylor & Stuart, 2004). These domestic animals, mentioned above, are reported to frequently visiting the breeding sites, in the plateau regions, where they get located in Bugio. In Bugio, there are a lot or predation and disturbance caused by the Yellow-legged Gulls, scientifically referred to as Larus cachinnans. In these plateau regions, there is a lot of soil erosion taking place as a result of the various agents of soil erosion. This has always threatened the nesting areas where the different eggs get laid after hatching and given time to undergo complete maturity. During winters, this species undergo a lot of risks leading to their decline too. During winter, there are extreme weather events giving room for the potentiality of significant impacts on the regions sand used for purposes of nesting burrows. There are some conservation actions that need to get put in place for the purposes of protecting this endangered species. Some of these conservation efforts are underway while others got already proposed. There is an action plan, by the European, which got published in the year 1996, and later in the year 2010 its implementation was reviewed (Vié, Hilton-Taylor & Stuart, 2009). From the age 2006, there is eradication plan that gotten in force, for the rabbits and mice and is still in the process. There is also a goat eradication program that has seen in place though not yet complete, among other contingencies program towards an accidental bringing in of invasive species, is in underway development. A lot of monitoring gets conducted on the threats resulting from Yellow-legged Gulls, to reduce their rates or predation and disturbance they are causing to this species (Vié, Hilton-Taylor & Stuart, 2009). There are some LIFE monitoring projects that have gotten undertaken in Bugio including the planting of the natural vegetation and installation of anti-erosion blankets, to minimize erosion. Others include warning and control plans and actions as well as installation of artificial burrows, manmade, on Bugio. Though the southern part of Bugio is extremely remote, some researches are conducted as well as monitoring of the species, to detect if there are significant changes. I think the above underway strategy is useful, though I believe there is a better strategy that I would choose. This involves conducting coordinated surveys in Bugio, to get updated of the overall breeding population size. Annual surveys need to get done after every year so as to monitor the trends and dynamism in their demographic size and trends. They also need to study the at-sea distribution of the species to get the exact number of those that are around the sea. Reference Baillie, J., Hilton-Taylor, C., & Stuart, S. (2004). 2004 IUCN red list of threatened species. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN--The World Conservation Union. Katzman, L. (1998). Effects of predation on status of Arctic grayling at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Montana. Magee, J., & Opitz, S. (2000). Montana fluvial arctic grayling recovery project. [Dillon, Mont.?]: [Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks]. Vié, J., Hilton-Taylor, C., & Stuart, S. (2009). Wildlife in a changing world. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. Read More