A kangaroo rat is a cute little mammal from the, Heteromyidae family, who lives in the western hemisphere of the USA. The native kangaroo rat wasn’t endangered until the 1950’s. They mainly live in California. The Kangaroo Rat is a nocturnal mammal who hide in their borrows during the heat of the day and plugs up their borrows with loose soil as they get ready for the night, where they thrive (3). They have a diet that feeds off of seeds and grains with an average lifespan of 9.8 years. They are about 6 to 7.8 in and have a tail that is 7-8.5 inches long (1). They weigh about 3 to 6.3 oz (1). The kangaroo rat gets its name from having kangaroo like features like hopping with their back legs (2). They hop or jump at speeds of 10 feet per second (1). They have a long tail that is used for balanced as they travel in bipedal motion (1). They have adapted to the hot climates of the desert. They can survive off the moisture of seeds and live without drinking water. (1) Their life spans are about one to two very short years (1). They can range in many habitats as they can live in areas where they are low rainfalls and humidity and high summer temperature and evaporation rates(5). Not only can they strive on in low water areas they can be found in stony soils, clays, gravel and rocky grounds which are soils that they prefer.(5) Why is the Kangaroo Rat Endangered? Unfortunately, they are an endangered species due to urban and agricultural development that has caused a massive habitat breakup (1). The population of the Kangaroo rat has plummeted in the 20th century with over 95 percent of the former range of this species has been lost due to a mixture of overgrazing, mining operations, cultivation and the introduction of exoti... ... middle of paper ... ...ing to the desert habitats as they are a natural benefit to the dry lands. With further research we could explore the benefits of the kangaroo rats kidneys that could open the door for future benefits. They pose little problems and are a unique creature that could possible never be seen again if we don’t save them. Works Cited http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/interactives-extras/animal-guides/animal-guide-giant-kangaroo-rat/2196/ http://fieldguides.eol.org/fguides/fieldguide-view.php?guidekey=485&eol_id=328111&sci_flag=0 http://www.arkive.org/giant-kangaroo-rat/dipodomys-ingens/ http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/KangarooRats.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_rat http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/07/cute-endangered-animal http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6678/0 http://esrp.csustan.edu/publications/pubhtml.php?doc=sjvrp&file=chapter02H00.html
Koalas, an Australian native, have the scientific name, ‘Phascolarctos cinereus’, meaning 'ash grey pouched bear.' They are sometimes called koala bears due to their resemblance to bears. However, they are not related to each other. Instead, koalas are related to other marsupials, such as kangaroos and wombats. Being a marsupial means that the females have a pouch for newborns. The Australian Koala Foundation estimated that less than 80000 koalas are left in Australia (Australian Koala Foundation n.d.).
Biological evolution is a change in the characteristics of living organisms over generations (Scott, 2017). A basic mechanism of evolution, the genetic drift, and mutation is natural selection. According to Darwin's theory of evolution, natural selection is a process in nature in which only the organisms best adapted to their environmental surroundings have a higher chance of surviving and transmitting their genetic characters in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while those less adapted tend to be eliminated. There has been many experimental research projects that relate to the topic of natural selection and evolution.
...ted investigations of sediment archives in the crater lake of volcano Rano Raraku which contradict this hypothesis. On the basis of pollen data they found no evidence for a significant impact of rats proceeding anthropogenic woodland destruction” (2008, p. 24). Another scientist also found evidence that the rats were not abundant and was valued as currency for the Polynesian people. Brown (2006 [1924]) found that the Pacific rats were valued as currency by the islanders in the past, this report shows that rats were not abundant, but few on the island, and so the islanders will look at the animals as a valuable food source, not as a major environmental problem (2006 [1924]). Meith also conducted some research based on the intensive analysis of soils and sediments at several sites, and he also disagrees with the hypothesis of a major rat overpopulation (Mieth, 2010).
...rupt native species and ecosystem hence making the restoration of both evolutional and ecological potential almost impossible. Whereas Donlan (2005) concluded that re-wilding North American is the best conservation strategy to the African and Asian threatened megafauna, meanwhile re-wilding will restores the evolutionary and ecological potentials in the process. In my point of view, Pleistocene re-wilding must not be implemented simply because the introduced species might fail to adapt to the new environment. High costs and disease outbreak are another challenge that can’t be ignored.
URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~rkeel/200/ratchoc.html
Slowly, the disruption of these delicate balances are taking their toll on the native habitats and transforming small temporary changes into permanent problems. The area of environmental modification that will be emphasized in this paper is the introduction of non-native species to new habitats and the resulting effects on that habitat; specifically, the introduction of the European Rabbit to Australia.
The sixth major case of Endangered Specie. The laboratory Rats are bred every year to serve various scientific purposes. Once the test are complete the rat are rapidly killed, with the result that the variety becomes extinct.
Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!
1These two populations are different species because they have different capabilities of performing in nature. For example there is behavioral isolation. My evidence for that is that in the data, it states that the average time spent in courtship display for the St. Kitts rodent is 12.6 seconds. While the courtship display for the Nevis Rodent is 21.3. You can see that there is a major difference in the way that they behave. Also there is another type of isolation which is gametic isolation. There is gametic isolation because the average gestation time for St. Kitts rodent is 29.3 days. The average gestation for the Nevis rodent is 42.7 days. Therefore a sperm from St. Kitts rodent wouldn’t survive in the reproductive tract of the Nevis rodent. It wouldn’t survive because it wouldn’t develop properly and is not accustomed to its environment. There is also another type of isolation happening with the rodents of St. Kitts. This type of isolation is called temporal isolation. There is temporal isolation because the article states, “the reproductive seasons are being delayed by up to one year.” This is talking about that the rodents are having a hard time finding mates therefore, their reproductive season is being delayed. Also in the article it states, “In the 240 attempts to bring a Nevis animal into the St. Kitts population, you are unable to observe a single successful reproductive event.” The rodents are mechanically isolated, because if you can’t have a reproductive event, there reproductive organs might not be matching with one another. Their appearance might look identical but they are genetically different.
The platypus is highly specialised and dependent on water bodies to acquire food. With increasing incidence of drought across Australia survival of platypus populations is uncertain. Those of the population inhabiting marginal pools are more susceptible to drought, likely suffering considerable mortality, Also, decrease in water level increases the likelihood of death by terrestrial predators, such as foxes, due to the animals inability to move quickly from one pool to another (Hall, 1999).
Shreeve, jamie “Species Revival: Should We Bring Back Extinct Animals?” ngm.nationalgeographic.com 5 March 2013, 22 March 2014
"How Zoos Are Saving Our Animals." – Features – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
Rats are undesirable creatures that have been the symbol of death, pestilence, and disease. Rats can cause billions of dollars in damage and can start fires, spread serious diseases, and multiply rapidly to infest homes, according to the article Top Ten Fascinating Facts About Rats. Additionally, the inundation of rats in a home can cause panic and mass hysteria, with residents calling pest control companies and law enforcement as soon as they see a rat, as expressed by John Davidson in Floods See Rat Population Explosion . The trouble that the rats cause has been an issue for a very long time. The flood of rats that invade a home is believed to be caused by an increases in food sources near populated areas, and decreases in predators and dry
“Huntingdon Life Sciences is one of Europe 's biggest testers of animals. They kill approximately 75,000 animals each year, with 87 percent of these animals being rodents” (Murnaghan 1). Over 30 million mice are used in research facilities across the world, which makes up most of the animals being used in experimentation.
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.