The Giant Panda Express: Destruction Of The Giant Panda

1327 Words3 Pages

Briahna Bishop
March 28, 2016
Dr. Zeng
M/W 8:00 a.m

The Giant Panda Express The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a beloved creature known to the world. However, it is also a creature that is critically endangered and faces extinction. As human advancements obliterate the habitats and influence the lifestyle of the Giant Panda, research is conducted to uncover the cause of the Giant Panda’s current predicament and to improve the methods of conservation to save the Giant Panda. Information gained by researching the Giant Panda and its behaviors would help scientists and conservationists discover just what is hurting the Giant Panda, and what people can do to stop the Giant Panda’s population from decreasing.

Habitat, a word that is
The major threat to their survival is the restricted and degraded habitats (Wang and Garshelis). Their habitat is not just one big area of land. In actuality, the Giant Panda’s habitat is fragmented and separated into small patches, each supporting a small population of the pandas. This fragmentation in habitat was caused by logging, deforestation, mining, poaching and by lightning speed economic development (Threats). Logging had been found to separate the once well integrated Giant Panda habitat into many sub sections (Zhou and Pan 363) and their forest habitats became increasingly fragmented by roads and railroads (Threats). Clearing the land in Giant Panda habitats had been another reason for the fragmentation of the Giant Panda’s habitat (Wang and Garshelis). The animal had been pushed higher and higher into the mountains, as their lower and flatter habitats were seized for human for agricultural activity (Wang and Garshelis). The small population due to the fragmentation is also a factor in the decrease in the population size. Studies have shown that small populations lead to a loss of genetic diversity and can lead to problems of inbreeding (Zhou and Pan
One important study that had been done was on the topic of small populations and how different factors will affect the population by scientists Zhihua Zhou and Wenshi Pan. It was important to discover whether these small Giant Panda populations would go extinct or persist, because the data would help to determine the future of the animal, especially since habitats are fragmented (Zhou and Pan 363). The study was conducted on the Qinling Mountain, where scientist caught and radio collared the Giant Pandas living there. Results shown that under current conditions, without considering factors such as immigration and poaching, the population was fairly stable and would persist for at least 200 more years. Also if the environmental capacity (the number of animals that the environment is able to support) doubles then the population would also increase. That was also the case if immigration increased. However, if emigration increased, then the population would decrease. This study had shown that to increase the population, one needed to increase the environmental carrying capacity so that more Giant Pandas could live in the same

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