EXTINCTION AND THE DOWNFALL OF ORIGINAL SPECIES James McCloskey

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors Biology 2009-2010

Extinction means no longer in existence. It is a very harsh but direct definition. Extinction is natural but not all of it is. The big catastrophe, which killed the dinosaurs, played a huge role but until recently species had been growing. Man is very responsible in the death of entire species. The biggest cause of recent extinction is because of human demand for the material in an animals habitat. Like the demand for buildings in a forest area. Since the beginning of time 99 percent of the worlds species are now gone.1 Think about that for a moment, 99 percent is a lot. Out of the entire Mollusk family an astonishing 288 species have been reported extinct since last updated in 2008.1 You may be thinking well extinctions dont happen nowadays but they do. In 2006 the Black Western Rhino was listed as extinct. Many smaller animals that we arent familiar with are going extinct. Small families like the mollusks have hundreds of extinct species. Many people think that since these animals are small and some are even difficult to see that their extinction isnt relevant. It is though because like a machine, little creatures affect their ecosystem. Roughly, when 90% of the habitat is eliminated, 50% of the species will be lost.2 One of the unsuspected reasons for extinction of rainforest animals in Africa is surprisingly the eating and trading of bush meat, wild animal meat. Not only does it cause the rate of extinction to go up but it also has been shown that it carries diseases like AIDS. Another cause of extinction and endangerment of a species is global warming. Global warming is predicted to put at least 20-30% of plant and animal species at risk of extinction, and up to 40-70% in worst case scenarios.2 So even if we arent directly hurting an animals species we

can still indirectly damage it by doing things like polluting the air and sea. During the 20th century, goats introduced to the Galapagos Islands fed on the tortoises food supply, and pigs, dogs and rats ate tortoise eggs. As a result, tortoise numbers went dramatically down.2 We should learn from examples like fur trades and poaching that the senseless killing animals will and can bring the downfall of many species. Wiping out a certain mammal reduces another animals food supply and so on and so on. An animal that may sound familiar to you is the Pyrenean Ibex. The Pyrenean Ibex was subspecies of the Spanish Ibex. It loved in abundance in France and Spain. By 1900, there were only 100 found in the wild.3 The main reason was the extensive poaching. The reason for poaching is ridiculous, unless the hunted animal is massive and the meat is eaten. Poaching of rare animals purely for the monetary value is foolish. By 1910 the Pyrenean Ibex was reduced to 40.3 Scientists preserved for a long time but it was too late. They very recently tried to breed one but the lungs failed and the Pyrenean Ibex officially went extinct. Now back to the Western Black Rhinoceros and its sad extinction. This species lasted longer but its downfall began in the turn of the 20th century when poaching began to become seriously threatening. By 1980, there was only a few hundred rhinoceroses left in the savanna of Africa.3 By 2000, there was an astonishing estimate of 10 rhinoceroses. After the failure of Africas government to crack down on the illegal poaching and the senseless poaching itself this poor creature was declared extinct. The Javan Tiger is unknown but its story is the perfect example of extinction due to hunting and habitat loss. It was small compared to most tigers. The main loss of

habitat was due to humans settling into their environments. What humans need to realize before they destroy a forest area is that they are also destroying hundreds of animals. After they lost their habitats they had to fight other animals for habitat. So the forced exit caused other problems too. After heavy poaching there was only 25 left in 1950.3 The last confirmed sight of this tiger was in 1972. There are however some successful conservation efforts. Such as Mellicita athalia, which is a butterfly from Britain. It has been brought back from near extinction in 1980. 4 The number of known colonies has increased from 31 to 43, due to the discovery of 22 new colonies on Exmoor which started to reverse the extinction effect.4 Conservation is not impossible. If animal goes extinct due to lack of fitness then mankind is at no blame. However, how we can help is to not hunt endangered animals and to keep all environments clean. Another example of a conserved species is the Amur tiger. Near 1940, this tiger and a few other tiger subspecies were on the brink of extinction.4 However groups like the World Wildlife Foundation also known as the WWF saved these animals and many tigers are starting to grow abundant once again. Indonesia unlike Africa takes the preservation of creatures very seriously. The killing of the Sumatran tiger results in severe penalties along with jail time. Speaking of the World Wildlife Fund, they are exactly what conservation is about. Just because we recycle doesnt mean we saved the wildlife. The best ways to help are either donating to funds like the WWF or personally going to environments with endangered animals and rebuiliding. The WWFs goal is by 2020 they will conserve 19 of the world's most important natural

places and significantly change global markets to protect the future of nature. 5 The WWF has recognized this problem for over 45 years. They clearly understand the effect of our actions on the environment and our pollution. IN 1961 there was conservation groups such as the IUCN but they didnt have proper funding and when European scientists, naturalists, business and political leaders decided to start a proper conservation effort. The WWF has invested over 1 billion dollars in over 11,000 projects in 130 countries.5 Their services include marine, freshwater, and ecosystem. The WWF is very proud of their efforts and they have an extensive article about Arara azul, as it is called in Brazil. A biology student named Neiva Guedes knew that she needed to make sure that there was more of this gorgeous bird. WWF Brazil picked up the Hyacinth Macaw Project from Guedes. It works with communities, and tourists to monitor the hyacinth macaws, and to protect them and make sure that they live on. They even made borders to protect the Hyacinth Macaw from predators like the vulture. Guedes started all these innovations. It just shows that all we need to change an entire ecosystem is hard work and faith. Guedes never thought negatively. In his mind he always knew that WWF would pick his project up. I know what Guedes did was extraordinary but it all started out with a dream and a hope. WWF started conservations efforts in a similar fashion. One reason that this project was so successful was the persuasions of Guedes. She pointed out that it was also good for tourism seeing as it was so beautiful as so many animals are. Neivas project lacks proper backing but it has still doubled a population in one decade. She is still hopeful because she knows that

if she doubled it once whats to stop her from doing it again. There are several things that we can do to help be conservative. We need to clean up wildlife habitats. We can protest the deforestation happening in countries like Africa. We can join groups such as the WWF. One of the things that almost everyone recommends is to recycle. Recycling has a huge impact on the environment. If everyone takes the time to recycle then we can save so much energy and material. We should try not to use pesticides and things like that. We should always be aware of our surroundings while on the road. We hear about the term roadkill but we should understand the impact on running over an animal. You stop it from reproducing and therefore making the population smaller. Join support groups and show support by voicing your opinions to your local government. The extinction of animal needs to stop. Its true that we cant avoid survival of the fittest but we need to stop pollution and destruction of wildlife habitat. My advice to everyone is to recycle, be aware of habitats, and understand that what we do to wildlife changes the course of the world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://extinctanimals.petermaas.nl/ 2. http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/Animal-Extinction.html 3. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/extinct-animals-in-the-last-100-years.html 4.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-48XKJ8P5G&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1991&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort= d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1268443798&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C00005 0221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3c000fc93a668310436220a745d7b 92f

5. http://www.worldwildlife.org