Erin Maggiulli

Common Name Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

Scientific Name (Genus species) Lepidochelys kempii

Characteristics & Traits

Triangular head w/ hooked beak, grayish green color. Around 100 Ibs and 65 cm in length.

Habitat Found in salt marshes in or near shores. They spend 2-10 years in open ocean where they return to the shore. They are concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico.

Niche(s)Feed on shellfish and other small organisms. Females leave the water to lay eggs on the shore specifically at night.

Current & Past Populations

Current: 1,000 Past: 42,000 nests were found in a single day in the Gulf of Mexico

Causes of Endangerment

Endangerment is attributed to overhunting of eggs, threatened nesting habitat and incidental capture.

Solutions/Successes

(ESA & CITES)

Protected under endangered species act, Mexico protects nesting habitats and guides the young back to the ocean protecting them from predators.

Endangered Species

Erin Maggiulli

Common name Scientific name

Whale shark; Rhincodon typus

Characteristics/Description

Largest fish in the world. (>40ft.) Wide mouth with hundreds of tiny teeth to filter feed. They can and typically do, live for over 100 years.

Habitat Coastal and oceanic habitats, latitudes between 40N and 30S. Lives in open ocean and feeds in shallow waters part of the year.

Niche Feeds on large amounts of krill and small organisms, checking their populations.

Current vs. Historic

Population

Has declined >50% over the last 75 years. Possibly tens of thousands left.

Causes of Threatened

Status

Targeted by fisheries which also causes fatal injuries upon striking a vessel. They are at risk of commercial fishing for food.

Solutions/Successes

Listed on CITES Appendix II“They may become extinct so unless trade is controlled.”

Threatened Species

Erin Maggiulli

Common name Scientific name

Pyrenean Ibex; Capra pyrenaica

Characteristics/Description

Gray and brown fur. Males had large curved horns with ridges while females horns were shorter and thinner.

Niche Grazer/herbivore. Would migrate to higher altitudes to mate and were able to colonize and adapt to different areas.

Habitat Inhabited rocky mountain sides with scrub vegetation and small pine trees located in the Iberian peninsula.

Cause of Extinction Direct cause is debated but suggestions include poaching, inability to compete food and diseases. Interspecific competition with other livestock like sheep, cattle and horses also contributed to the decline. This animal was hunted as a trophy species as well.

Date of Extinction Jan. 6th 2000

Preventative Measures?

Was cloned in 2009 making it the first “un-extinct” species ever however the clone died shortly after birth.

Affect of Extinction on Ecosystem

Abundance of producers increased.

Extinct Species

Erin MaggiulliCommon name/ Scientific name

Stonefly; Plecoptera (has as many as 3,500 subspecies)

Characteristics/Description

Adults have flat wings, two short tails and two antenne. Typically 5-50mm in length. They also have gills and two pairs of claws.

Habitat Found in areas of oxygenated water such as rivers and streams.

Niche Stoneflies are neither exclusively herbivores or detritivores. They eat algae, lichens and rotting wood. They will spend around two years in water developing as larvae.

Why is it considered an indicator?

Their presence in an ecosystem indicates the health of an aquatic ecosystem. (Specifically larvae presence).

Indicates: positive or negative condition

Positive, their presence suggests a minimally polluted body of water.

Successes and/or protections of the

species

Currently many stonefly species aren't threatened however, due to their role as indicators, the ESA is looking into potential threats and how threats to their populations can be stopped before they manifest.

Indicator Species

Adult—>

Nymph<—

Erin MaggiulliCommon name/scientific name

North American beaver; Castor canadensis

Characteristics/description

Able to modify their environment by making dams in rivers facilitated by a wide flat tail. To support their aquatic lifestyle, they have webbed feet and dense fur. They are also nocturnal

Habitat Being a semi-aquatic species beavers live near lakes and rivers. They make their own habitats called dams.

Niche They make their own shelter, dams, that flood surrounding areas creating wetlands and make them more resilient. They reproduce and eat in their dams. Primary diet is tree bark and water plants.

Adaptations that allow title of ‘keystone’

species

Beavers area able to make wetlands by flooding lands with dams that they build with their broad and flat tails.

Species that depend on it for

survival

Trout and salmon populations as well as many other fish species, birds (egg laying habitats), amphibians, reptiles, other rodents and a multitude of plants.

Successes/protections

Hunting and trapping beavers is controlled in the United States but major conservation is not necessary as no major threats alter the population.

Keystone Species

Erin Maggiulli

Common name/Scientific name

Brown Tree Snake; Boiga irregularis

Characteristics/Description

It has a head wider than its body and like most snakes, have pupils that accommodate for night vision. Adults can grow up to 3-7 feet long. They're also venomous and wrap around its prey to inject the venom.

Native Range and Niche

Native to Australia, Indonesia and Papau New Guinea. Their natural predators are pigs and monitor lizards. They are generalists and feed on lizards, birds, rodents and other small mammals.

New Habitat and Niche

Invaded the United States in Guam, most likely transported by cargo. Invasive species devastate populations and disrupt ecosystems by preying on the native species.

Adaptations to new environment

The brown tree snake is a generalist and therefore did not need to adapt to much change in their new environment. They had the same organisms available to eat as in their native area.

Effects on invaded ecosystems

They prey on native animals like birds and bats, amphibians, rodents and other reptiles. They have caused the extinction of some species in Guam that served as crucial pollinators of the island’s plants. Frequent power outages can be attributed to the snakes interfering with power lines.

Courses of Action of Removal

They are federally regulated and are prohibited from being transported between states. Traps, barriers, bait, biological controls are also used to eradicate or control the population.

Invasive Species

Erin MaggiulliWorks Cited

Voshell, Jr., J. Reese; illustrated by Amy Bartlett Wright. 2002. A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America. Blacksburg (VA): The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company. 442 p

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-3. <www.iucnredlist.org>.

"Science Discussion: Beavers as a Keystone Species." A Rattlin' Blog. N.p., 20 June 2016. Web.

Stonefly Larvae (Plecoptera)." Biomonitoring Macroinvertebrates-Stoneflies, Monitoring and Assessment, Bureau of Land and Water Quality, Maine Department of Environmental Protection. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2017.

Rafferty, John P. "Brown Tree Snake." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2016. Web.

Society, National Geographic. "Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Pictures, Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Facts." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.