The Desert Rat-Kangaroo - Essay Example

Environmental Studies Environmental Studies The Desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) Discovered in the 1840s and previously common in the desert areas of Central Australia, the desert rat-kangaroo was officially listed as extinct under the 1999 Act of Environmental Protection and Biodiversity (Fisher & Blomberg, 2010). Apart from females with young offspring that lived in nests, it was typically solitary and its native habitat was arid land with sparse cover although it was also found in Australia’s loamy flats and clay pans. However, its extinction is still marred in ambiguity mainly because there were reports of its rediscovery, albeit short-lived, after its 90-year disappearance since the first sighting. Although the desert environment is harsh, the desert rat kangaroo had adapted to the conditions and survived in the ecosystem until interference in its natural habitat contributed majorly to its extinction. Humans were both directly and indirectly involved in the alteration of the mammal’s natural habitat by introducing herbivores such as rabbits and cattle, setting off an imbalance in the ecosystem. Fire regimes also played a key role in the destruction of the habitat (Fisher & Blomberg, 2010). Although the rat kangaroo was largely independent of water, there was increased competition for green plant with beetles. Other factors for its extinction include predation by foxes and cats. Since they were relatively small and hence vulnerable to predators, much of their self defense was in the ability to make high and quick leaps. The extinction of the desert rat kangaroo did not impact on the desert food chain significantly mainly because it was a replaceable species. More importantly, they were not direct competitors of surface water with any other species because all their water requirements were met by the water contained in the green plants in their diet. Being herbivorous animals, their role in the ecosystem was gradually assumed by cattle as the rat kangaroo’s population diminished. However, the population of beetles, weevils and other small insects of which the rat kangaroo was a key consumer increased. The most notable difference was a decline in the number of desert fox (Fisher & Blomberg, 2010). The Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) The orangutan is a primate that depends entirely on forests for survival. Unfortunately, high illegal and legal logging and deforestation rates are contributing to its increasingly endangered status. The problems are significantly caused by humans, who are also believed to kill more than 1,000 orangutans annually for consumption, agricultural pests and trade, which has reduced the population to 40,000 in 2015 from 60,000 in 2005 (Orangutan Conservancy, 2015). Ideally, human activity resulting from economic pressure, ignorance and greed has led to the loss of more than 80% of the orangutan’s natural habitat in less than two decades and presently, they can only be found on the Sumatra and Borneo islands. This has led to the classification of the species as endangered by the IUNC. The key threats to their survival have been reported as loss of habitat, poaching, palm oil plantations and illegal pet trade. Their natural habitat is being destroyed through deforestation acts such as illegal and legal logging and forest fires. Illegal pet trade, especially in baby orangutans, is also thriving despite being illegal. Essentially, when hundreds of baby orangutans are removed from the wild and traded every year, chances of having future generations are also eliminated (Orangutan Conservancy, 2015). Adults are hunted for game trophies as well as food either from disregarding the law due to poverty or ignorance and greed. In terms of economy, palm oil is simply an emerging threat but has rapidly grown to become one of the top threats to the orangutan’s future. However, the IUNC does not consider the orangutan as keystone species, meaning its extinction will not necessarily result in the extinction of other species mainly because there are still other primates that will play a similar role in the ecosystem. The most notable counteractions are banning poaching and destruction of rainforests in Sumatra and Borneo. For instance, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is funding initiatives to conserve orangutan habitat and reduce human-orangutan conflicts. Other initiatives to raise funds for the drive against trade in orangutans include the sale of “Save the Orangutan” wristband which is worn in support of the species (Orangutan Conservancy, 2015). The Red King Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) Although the red king crab has an invasive presence in the Barents Sea, Kamchatka Peninsula and the surrounding waters of the Alaska, it is native to the Bering Sea (Ilyushchenko & Zenzerov, 2010). This has been facilitated by the suitable physical conditions the new environments offer. The red king crab is a natural invader that gets to its new territories with warmer water from the depths of the ocean that is steadily intruding the continental shelf. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982) has identified the red king crab as an invasive species that threatens the broad-spectrum biodiversity and aquatic habitats. The red king crab’s establishment in the areas it thrives has had significant albeit mixed impacts economically, culturally and socially specifically among small scale fishermen. Among the commercially traded species of the king crab, the red king crab has the highest demand and has facilitated the growth of income to fishermen as well as the emergence of fishing communities. Presently, research on the threats posed by the invasive species is focused on how it impacts benthic communities and its commercial implications. On one hand, it has been shown that the red king crab impacts on benthic communities when it is in high abundance in its indigenous habitat (Grosholz, Ruiz & Dean, 2009). On the other hand, benthic organisms in its invasive range are the key prey items. Several studies have also indicated that the red king crab plays a role in the imbalance of the water masses’ food chains by spreading blood parasites among fish. Since the king crab plays a role as benthic competitors as well as prey of mammals and other fish, their impact on the food chain is not negligible. Its effects on the benthos are negative given the role it plays in the way the benthic community is structured. Its introduction led to a sharp increase in the rate of predation mortality, suggesting that its impact on benthic groups is largely a result of direct predation (Grosholz, Ruiz & Dean, 2009). References Fisher, D., & Blomberg, S. (2010). Correlates of rediscovery and the detectability of extinction in mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 278(1708), 1090-1097. Grosholz, E., Ruiz, G., & Dean, C. (2009). The impacts of a nonindigenous marine predator. Ecology, 94(5), 1206-1224. Ilyushchenko, A., & Zenzerov, V. (2010). New data on the tolerance of Barents Sea red king crabs to low Salinity. Russian Journal of Ecology, 43(2), 177-178. Orangutan Conservancy. (2015). Threats to orangutans: Orangutans face extinction. Retrieved from http://www.orangutan.com/threats-to-orangutans/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (2015). Orangutans. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/great_apes/orangutans/ Read More