Desert Tortoise Research Paper

When humans develop land for houses and building, they cut down trees and changed animal and plant habitats. Some animals, like the raccoon and the skunk, can adapt, but other animals can’t adapt and their population is

[Thesis and preview]: Today I am going to share with you a quick history lesson, talk about where these animals currently roam, and explain several threats that this growing population currently faces.

However, they disagree on whether or not it is harming the wildlife populations in those areas. Terris says “roads and sprawling neighborhoods are replacing pristine wildlife habitats at an alarming pace, putting the survival and reproduction of plants and animals at risk.” Terris also believes it may be “the problem for U.S. wildlife in the 21st century”. (Terris) According to Terris, one victim of sprawl is the Florida panther, which has been reduced to a population of 30 to 50 adults. Furthermore, in the Sonoran Desert many plant species are affected, which also affects the animals that rely on those plants. She goes on to give numerous examples of animals and plants that are being harmed that spreads across the U.S., supporting the fact it is widespread.

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

The Red-bellied Cooter is being threatened by both man-made and natural causes. Do to economic growth, areas that used to be a good habitat for these turtles are now being turned into new, buildings like apartments, houses, and stores. In areas where the turtles can live, they are threatened before they have even hatched from their eggs by other predators like raccoons, skunks, or even snapping turtles. Almost all of the eggs in a nest are harmed before they have a chance to hatch. So while humans taking up land takes the Red-bellied Cooters’ homes, their predators take their lives.

The Chelonia mydas can grow up to a maximum length of 4 feet and weigh up to 440 pounds (ecos.fws.gov, 2016). The green turtle can be found in Mesoamerican Reef, Coastal East Africa, Coral Triangle, the Galapagos, and the Gulf of California (worldwildlifefund.org, 2016). These areas are resting and nesting areas that are primarily located in shallow water, lagoons, and bays with nearby seagrass (ecos.fws.gov, 2016). In the last decade the habitats of the Chelonia mydas have been negatively effect in regards of the primary food source having been heavily reduced by climate change. A study conducted from 2000 to 2013 observed the before and effects of an extreme heat wave on an ecosystem on the West coast of Australia (Thomson et al., 2015). The study reported a 90% dieback of seagrass also resulting in habitat degradation and the steady decline of Chelonia mydas health with only 6 percent fell in the highest health category (Thomson et al.

A current threat to the Mojave desert is its renewable energy sources, or windmills as people most know them as. About 50,000 acres of desert tortoise habitat has been built over, mostly in California. Dunes which house many Mojave Fringe toed lizards have been impacted, as well as windmills that have been built in the way of golden eagle habitats. This causes many collision between the birds, a threat that many of them face. Many of these renewable energy sources people are able to see heading down to Palm Springs or getting on the freeway to LA. A large area of the desert was plowed and flattened out for solar panels destroying many homes for animals. More and more windmills are also being put up as well with all the road work going on, more

The Graptemys caglei, also known as the Cagle’s Map Turtle, is an endangered turtle species found in San Antonio, Texas and along the Guadalupe River. It identifies easily by the pattern on its shell which resembles an aerial view topography, as well as its spiked shell edges, which are not as sharp as other map turtles of the same genus. Although the Cagle’s Map Turtle has natural predators pose a threat to the individual turtles’ lives, the predators are not a greater threat than habitat disturbances created by humans. Unfortunately, this species suffered a significant drop in population since the mid-1970 through changes in its habitat disallow support of a larger population of the turtles(van Dijk, P. P., 2011).

In today’s world, hardly any species of wildlife become extinct from natural causes. Europeans hunt animals to such an extent that we classify it as overhunting. We destroy their habitat, and introduce other animals that are a threat to endangered animals or are competition for resources and food. Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to both animals and plants.

The framework begins with the object under study, which is the content discussed in each essay, and how the objects in the essays are described. The Theobald essay discusses the lack of connectivity between different species due to human destruction of the wilderness. The abstract of this essay states, “The potential for ecosystems to adapt to climate change will be contingent on the ability of species to move and ecological processes to operate across broad landscapes” (Theobald et. al 123). Humans have been eliminating the habitats of animals because of development, and this is making it harder for the animals to adapt and move where they need to.

Urbanization takes about a new set of difficulties to the environment. These difficulties contain land pollution and air pollution. As new roads and builds are built the capability of soil to engross water is reduced. However, these are not the only issues. As the population growths it begins to invade on the land that is occupied by native species. As a result, bigger predators several be scared off by the growing population throwing off the balance of natural selection. This is the case with Sparksville and the prairie dog population.

Feral cats are a major issue to wildlife in the Great Sandy Desert. They are not only killing native animals, but they are spreading diseases to native species as well. Researchers estimated that there are around six million feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert, and plan on killing thousands per year to make the native species life safer. The research shows that the total amount of feral cats in the desert is much lower than the previous years of feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert due to many people killing them. “Agencies are responsible for managing cat populations and would enable better planning for baiting, trapping, shooting or other eradication

Elizabeth Kolbert, a journalist, took her curiosity of science and traveled all around the world to see just how the lives of different varieties of species deal with predators, habitat changes, climate changes, etc. Just some of the places Kolbert visited were the United States, Panama, France, the island of Ischia, One Tree Island, and many, many more. Extinction, the disappearance of a particular species, is a crucial topic in this particular book. Many species over the whole entire world, are quickly declining in numbers. Humans have a vital responsibility for some of these species going extinct, and we need to advertise what we are doing to animals world wide so we aren’t a source of the majority of extinctions.

Imagine that Hawaii the tropical 50th state is losing all of it’s natural animal species because either animals had to migrate here or be brought over here by humans for a purpose which causes new or exotic invasive species to kill off many of the local endemic animals on Hawaii. Hawaii has lost many native animal species, including bird, reptile, and mammal species due to the very dangerous invading animals that cause countless problems such as predation, environmental harm, or human health issues. Throughout the years, many native animals are declining because of many reasons and that is why preserving Hawaiian species is a worldwide problem. The purpose of this paper is to share the history of why most of these animals are endangered through factual evidence.

In “Can The Desert Tortoise Be Saved?”, Mackenzie Carro explains that baby tortoises are becoming endangered by ravens eating them but with technology, lots of help, and time they can eventually save the bag Desert Tortoises. Baby Desert Tortoises in the Mojave Desert are being eaten up by all the ravens that have populated the desert. Over the past 50 years people have been producing more and more garbage which also provides the ravens with food, they have also built fences and telephone wires which raven's nest on so humans are basically providing ravens with everything they need. Conservationist Tim Shields has decided to do something about it he decided his first tactic was to outsmart the ravens he made plastic fake tortoises that emitted