I thank each of the team members for taking on the laborious task to evaluate surrogate species for the Great Plains – LCC. Following review of the GP-LCC Surrogate Species document (dated 15 Nov 2013), Species Template, and literature/policy review, these comments were developed for your consideration.
• Six habitat types were identified as potential priorities within the GP-LCC area (short and mixed-grass prairies, playa wetlands, riparian streams, prairie rivers, cross timbers, and savanna, scrublands’ and sand dune [are these not three themselves?]). Among the six habitat types identified as potential priorities within the GP-LCC, five had priority habitats and related species discussed; however, Cross Timbers does not have any discussion regarding habitat or relates species. Also, non-playa wetlands and saline lakes were added in the narratives but, they were not previously listed as potential priority habitats. It appears that priority habitats in this landscape need better definition. I note that three priority habitats (riparian stream, prairie rivers, and cross timbers) within the GP-LCC are not represented in the Llano Estacado sub-geography.
• Bailey (1998) describes at least six Ecosystem Provinces in the GP-LCC. While I understand the intent to divide the GP-LCC into sub-geography to accomplish the task at hand, it would be beneficial to understand how this sub-geography was selected and to include discussion about other sub-geography endeavors planned for the future. Only for note, selection of sub-geography by ecoregional boundaries, as described by either Ricketts (1999) or Bailey (1998), would have included more priority habitats.
• Reviewing “Guidance on Selecting Species for Design of Landscape-scale C...
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...ies can best serve conservation of the greatest number of species at the largest landscape scale appropriate, LPC may be an appropriate surrogate.
• Northern pintail and sandhill crane numbers are an artifact of breeding success (that occurs outside of this selected sub-geography) and available habitat (viz. surface water and food). Because of this, it is recommended that available habitat vs. population demographics would be a better landscape condition indicator.
• I celebrate the use of black grama (a decreaser) and prickly pear (an increaser) as range condition indicators and applaud the committee’s use of flora in addition to fauna. However, distribution of black grama is limited throughout the sub-geography selected. If this geography included the short-grass steppe the distribution of black grama would suggest it as a much better landscape representative.
As if there weren’t enough problems for scientists trying to save the Great Lakes Eco System. Many non-native species have entered the eco system and many of them are harmful. Every species in itself has played a role in the eco system. These non-native species make it increasingly difficult for the Great Lakes Eco System to be regulated.
Zielinski, E. (2012, April 25). The Northwest Forest Plan. Retrieved from U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/history/sidebars/ecosystems/Northwest_Forest_Plan.html
United States Department of the interior Fish And Wildlife Service, . North American Fauna. 2012.
There are 10 different ecosystems which are Pineywoods, Gulf Prairies and Marshes, Post Oak Savanna, Blackland Prairies, Cross Timbers and Prairies, South Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Rolling Plains, High Plains, and Trans-Pecos. The area extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. “The terrain is rolling with lower, wetter bottomlands that grow hardwood trees such as elm, mesquite and ash. This region is home to a variety of plants and animals that like woodlands and shorelines.” (Texas Parks and wildlife, n.d.)
U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm
http://eaglenet.lambuth.edu/facultyweb/science/biology/RCook/community%20ecologyS10.pdf. Impacts on the Biodiversity. Quebec Biodiversity Website -. Web. The Web.
The Everglades, classified as a wetland or a "transition zone" can support plant and animal life unlike any other place. Wetlands are an important resource for endangered species and "that more than one third of the United States' threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands." Says Elaine Mao, the author of Wetlands and Habitat Loss. People have started to notice the importance and the role of wetlands like the Everglades and how they are valuable and essential for ecosystems to live. Wetlands provide so many kinds of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds, and
Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley.
By conserving the ecosystem, the animal population will incline. Recent reports of record duck numbers throughout much of their continent-wide breeding range is proof that to manage wildlife you need to manage their ecosystems. Wet weather, combined with abundant nesting cover provided by the federal Conservation Reserve Program, has shown that wetland and grassland ecosystems are what make or break duck populations. The same is true for all other species, game and non-game. R. Holmes.
Discerning the spatial patterns of biodiversity and understanding their ultimate (why) and proximate (how) causes is very dear to biogeography and is one of the key concepts of Macro ecology. Some places on earth contain more species as compared to others. All species occurring at a given space and time either originated (speciated) there or dispersed and arrived from another place and settled there. Biogeographers try to understand the past and current distributions of species by incorporating historical, evolutionary and ecological factors. Earlier biogeographers or the ‘naturalists’ in their sacred quest to serve ‘the creator’, travelled to various parts of the world and imparted valuable knowledge about the diverse patterns and processes of nature. Linnaeus (1743), on the one hand, hypothesized that early Earth was filled with water except for it’s highest mountain top i.e., Mount Ararat which was known to be the site of paradise and as the sea level dropped the exposed land was colonized by plants and animals that migrated down from high elevational zones of Mount Ararat whereas Willdenow (1805) hypothesized that within each geographical region of the earth, plants and animals were first placed and later survived the great flood on many mountain ranges (Lomolino,2001). Von Humboldt and Darwin in the South American Andes and Wallace Southeast Asian islands noticed the decreasing trend in elevational species richness patterns (McCain and Grytnes, 2010). Later work done by Grinnell (1917), Whittaker (1952), Terborgh (1977, 1985) on elevational species richness became accepted and set a established pattern for all species for more than two decades (McCain and Grytnes, 2010). However current researches on elevational gradients are...
Canada is a very large country, with areas of land in various climate regions, and land regions, thus having many ecozones that differentiate from another. The most populated ecozone in Canada is the Mixedwood Plains; the ecozone we are located in, named after the mixedwood forests that are native to the area. The Mixedwood Plains is one of the smallest of the Canadian ecozones, spanning only 175 963 kilometres squared. The Mixedwood Plains is bordered by three of the great lakes on the southern side of the ecozone, and comes up along the St Lawrence river to southern Quebec, and fills the tip of Ontario. It has rolling plains and small rock formations and escarpments. The Mixedwood Plains contains over half of the Canadian population as it contains some of Canada’s largest cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Windsor. The Mixedwood Plains has a relatively temperate climate with summers ranging an average temperature of 18o c – 22oc and winters ranging from -3oc - -110c.[2] Native mammals to the ecozone are black, brown and grizzly bears, grey wolves, coyotes and foxes, raccoons, squirrels, and other small mammals. Avian species include brown sparrow, hawks, crows, cardinals and bluejays. Fish are bass, trout, carp and pike. The Mixedwood Plains is made up of about 40% water, and contains over 20% of the worlds freshwater. One of the major problems in the world today is freshwater shortage. Because we have ample supply, we don’t notice, but much of the world is short on water. There are more water resources, but one of the largest is being quickly polluted and populated by invasive species .
Lynn R. Goldman, who wrote the article, “Endangered Species Act,” explains the details and the importance of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The article suggests that human activity is the lead cause of species extinction. Human kind brings loss of habitat, pollution, and overharvesting. What people do not realize is that species biodiversity has many health benefits for them. Whether it is a substance used in pharmaceuticals, or improving the quality of the environment, a species has its effects on human kind. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 states that any species deemed endangered by the Department of the Interior (DOI), will be protected in different ways that are most beneficial to the species. The DOI can claim an area as a “critical habitat,” which protects all features that are essential for a specific species to survive and thrive. Problems arise when land that can be considered a critical habitat is owned privately, which can conflict with property rights (Goldma...
The ecozone's forests are composed of 12.8% mixedwood, 2.1% deciduous, and 0.2% coniferous trees. The forest cover spans from 3 to 16%, and 40% of Ontario's rare plants are exclusive to the Carolinian forests. The Wood Poppy, Small-whorled Pogonia, Prickly Pear Cactus, and Cucumber Tree are species listed as Endangered. Wild Raspberry, Black-eyed Susans, Clover, Goldenrod, and Trilliums are widespread in forest ecosystems. Thickets and abandoned fields are h...
“Saving Wild Places - Latin American and the Caribbean - Yasuni National Park, Ecuador” Wildlife Conservation Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
The destruction of this forest releases 340 million tons of carbon per year according to the World Wildlife Foundation, or WWF, which in turn causes climate changes everywhere around the world. Undiscovered species can hold the key to curing a plethora of diseases, but if those species become extinct, those keys are lost forever. If nothing is done to prevent this, the world’s treasure trove of bio-diversity will cease to exist, creating irreversible damage to not only the South American people, but also the rest of the world. Conversion of the tropical forest into cropland and pasture began a long time ago in Ecuador, before its secession from Spain. Their major crop was cocoa, which was grown along the waterways to be exported as their main source of trade.