Cervus Elaphus

899 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact that invasive species have on our ecosystem

Invasive species are species that has been introduced to an environment where they are not from originally, and that have since become a problem through spread and increase in population, often hurting the plants and animals already there. Cervus elaphus (C. elaphus), also known as the red deer or elk, is an invasive animal found now all over South America and New Zealand (Flueck, 2010). Originally from North America, Asia, and Europe (hence the common name European Red Deer), Cervus elaphus were introduced less than one hundred years ago in Argentina and places in New Zealand and ran ramped over National Parks and natural forests. They influenced native flora and fauna and disrupt their processes (Flueck, 2010). These red deer cause less regeneration of favored plants which stop normal vegetation to grow thus changing structure and composition of the ecosystem in which they reside (Flueck, 2010). Now in competition with native deer in Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand, ecological concerns have been raised to save the native species already existing as well as the canopy environment where they live.

With not many descriptive characteristics, this red deer, with its plain brown body and lighter stomach, has many details on where they are from and where they are headed. C. elaphus are indigenous to Eurasia and North America including but not limiting to Afghanistan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States (Lovari, 2008). They were introduced in Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and Portugal but now have begun to cause trouble beyond what can be controlled. This species spread around many areas not due to some unknown cause but because C. elaphus is on the endangered species list as well (Lo...

... middle of paper ...

... following control of invasive deer. Conservation Biology 17(2): 450-459.

Flueck, W. T. 2010. Cervus elaphus (mammal). Global Invasive Species Database. February 23, 2011

Lovari, S., Herrero. J., Conroy, J., Maran, T., Giannatos, G., Stubbe, M., Aulagnier, S., Jdeidi, T., Masseti, M. Nader, I., de Smet, K. & Cuzin, F. 2008. Cervus elaphus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. .

Merino, M.L., Carpinetti, B.N., and Abbal, A.M. 2009. Invasive mammals in the national parks system of Argentina. Natural Areas Journal 29(1):42-49.

Relva, A., Nunez, M.A., and Simberloff, D. 2010. Introduced deer reduce native plant cover and facilitate invasion of non-native tree species: evidence for invasional meltdown. Biological Invasions. 12(2): 303-311.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Zebra Mussels

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Invasive species are non-native organisms that occupy habitats and disrupt the natural ecological cycles of the habitat. They threaten the biodiversity of an ecosystem and are biological pollutants Invasive species introduced into new habitats usually maximize their reproduction in their new home and crowd out native species. Their lack of natural predators in their new community allow for a proliferation in growth and expansion as a result of their abundant food supply. Once they are established, invasive species can rarely be eliminated because their new habitat is favorable for their survival.

    Read More

  • Deer Overpopulation and Some Proposed Solutions

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    When people talk about deer, they are commonly talking about the North American Whitetail. That is because they are so prevalent in this country. They can be found in every state in the US. The only place where you will not find any whitetails is in parts of Arizona and California. In most states the whitetail is very prevalent, especially in the northeast. They are one of the most hunted animals in this area, particularly in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Despite the amount they are hunted, both in and out of season, you can not drive more than a few miles out of the towns without seeing one that was hit by a car. The deer population in this area just keeps growing. It is unclear what should be done to stop the over population of this beautiful creature. Perhaps different hunting seasons or longer seasons are the answer. Possibly we should focus more on the development of birth control for the female deer, or maybe repopulating wolves into the areas where the deer population is too great. Something has to be done.

    Read More

  • The Ecological Impacts of Feral Swine

    2713 Words  | 6 Pages

    U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm

    Read More

  • Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    White-tailed deer, along with the rest of the Cervidae family, are facing a possible epidemic. Although the disease has not spread over the entire range CWD is efficiently transmitted between individuals. CWD is to the best of our knowledge 100% fetal and incubation can take a few years allowing for many possible transmissions. There also at this time is no form of vaccine or treatment for infected cervids. Despite efforts being put forth to control CWD, being a free-range family of animals proves control to be extremely difficult.

    Read More

  • White Tailed Deer

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    The deer are easy to spot. In the summer, it’s coat is reddish-brown and in the winter it is buff. All year around its underside and tail are completely white as well as having a white spot on its neck. The prime deer habitat consists of deciduous trees, primarily cottonwood, ash, willow, elm and box elder. However preferred, the woodland cover is not essential to the deer’s survival.

    Read More

  • Deer Overpopulation: A Persuasive Essay

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Web. 18 Jan. 2014. Levy, Sharon. A Plague of Deer. BioScience 56.9 (2006): 714–21.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Deer Hunting

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,

    Read More

  • Effects Of Deer Overpopulation

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deer overpopulation is a controversial topic. Some believe that deer overpopulation is not a real problem. Some may also believe the high numbers that studies show, is a scheme to give hunters an excuse to hunt without reason. The truth is that deer overpopulation is a true issue. Deer, especially the eastern whitetail deer population in these modern times, is out of control. “There are an estimated 30 million whitetail deer in the United States today. Under optimal conditions, whitetail deer populations will double every two years”(Rooney). As the numbers of whitetail deer rise, the land for them to live on decreases. This may lead to deer walking on roads and causing accidents.

    Read More

  • Invasive Species

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Niskern, Diana. Invasive species. Washington, D.C. (101 Independence Ave., S.E.): Science Reference Section, Science, Technology, and Business Division, Library of Congress, 2004.

    Read More

  • Lilly-Marlene Russow Why Do Species Matter Analysis

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second major case of Endangered Specie. The Pere David deer, was first discovered by a western naturalist in 1865, by then it had existed only in captivity for a while leaving no choice to bring large group of animals with he to Europe; where they were bred enough so that there are healthy populations are find in major

    Read More

  • For Environmental Balance, Pick Up a Rifle, by Nicholas Kristof

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Deer Hunting

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: The population of white-tail deer in Alabama has drastically increased over the past century causing significant damage to property and homeowners, caused by hunters being less active.

    Read More

  • Essay On Invasive Species

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Invasive species, (also known as invasive alien species or simply alien species) are defined as any organism (plant, animal, pathogen, or other living thing) that is alien (non-native) to an ecosystem, which can cause adverse economical, ecological, or health effects to native species and/or humans. The roots of these problems all stem from the massive negative ecological impact these organisms are having on the environment (CBD, 2009). For all animal extinctions where the cause is known since the 1600’s, invasive alien species have been a contributing factor 40% of the time (CBD, 2006); the second most contributing factor to extinctions after loss of habitat (GC, 2013). By eliminating native species through competition for resources, predation, and transmittal of disease, invasive species continue to reduce biodiversity in almost all ecosystems around the world (CBD, 2009). In the future, this problem may worsen, and if no action is taken, could lead to a cascading ecological problem so large that whole communities or even ecosystems could collapse.

    Read More

  • Animal Welfare

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.

    Read More

  • Biodiversity Loss and Extinction

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the big causes of extinction or the endangerment of species is foreign species entering a habitat. This species that are not native to the land can disrupt the food web in that community. These species take control of the food web and endanger some of the other species. The native species become endangered and over the course of many years they either adapt to their new way or life, the foreign predator leaves or is killed off due to the different environment, or the species is killed off and becomes extinct. Organizations like the “World Wild Li...

    Read More

More about Cervus Elaphus

Open Document