Point Arena Mountain Beaver

Pikes Peak is a beautiful, rocky mountain with a fantastic view. The day my family and I were going to go up Pikes Peak the day was gorgeous. Heading up the mountain is so relaxing, having conversations with my family while looking out the tinted window. Looking out my window I could see columns and rows of the most perfect looking pine trees rising up the peak. During the climb it was so admirable and calm as I was thinking in my head, what a perfect day. The view was fantastic as I got to see the world breathing in all of the fresh air. Pikes Peak has three lakes which are very inviting with its clear blue water glistening from the sun. The lookout on the very tip of Pikes Peak was very foggy and chilly. The view was pretty cool since I’ve

Over the past several years, the gray wolf, native to the Wisconsin area, has been listed federally as an endangered species due to the graphic and horrific treatment they had received during the industrialization periods of America, when they were frowned upon and hated because they are predatory creatures and did, on occasion, attack livestock and pets. Because the government was encouraging the hunting, including bounties for the animals, the wolves were hunted to near extinction. However, now Wisconsin faces a new problem. With the reintroduction of the wolves to the state, and their continued endangered status federally, the population has increased well beyond expectations, reaching what could be considered a problematic state. A

“Restoring an ecologically complete ecosystem in Yellowstone requires the return of willows--and with them, beavers. There's a clear threshold for ecosystem recovery. Willow stands must be more than 6 feet tall, the scientists found. That height is important, says Marshall. Then willows are beyond the reach of browsing elk, and can serve as seed sources for new young willows. Once willows have returned, beavers will gnaw down a certain number of them to build dams. The dams will further slow stream flow, allowing yet more willows to grow. The results offer new insights on the role of wolf-driven trophic cascades in the Yellowstone ecosystem, says Hobbs. Trophic cascades like that in Yellowstone occur when predators--or the lack thereof--in an ecosystem change the abundance or alter traits of their prey, in turn affecting the next lower trophic level.” ("National Science Foundation", 2013)

The state legislature has favored the ranching industry above ecology and continues to do so. Public polls “conducted by Boise State indicate that the overwhelming majority of Idahoans (nearly 70 percent) support wolf restoration” (Laverty, par. 4) and the legislature is seeking to remedy this by re-educating the public with “a balanced view of the impact of wolves on big game species, those sectors of the economy dependent upon sport hunting, livestock, domestic animals, and humans” (State, 3). Furthermore, the “cost of wolf reintroduction will be presented as a part of any public education program including direct and indirect costs” (State, 3).

The grief comes from lost love must be recovered by love. In crow lake, the author Mary Lawson portrays a young successful scholar, 26-year-old Kate Morrison, always is bothered by her anguished past. The innermost struggle not only leads she can’t directly face the problem existing between her and her older brother Matt for years but also becomes an obstacle of the further relationship with Daniel, the men she loves. But all the problems are concealed elaborately before the invitation letter received. While the peaceful life is broken by the invitation coming from Matt’s son, her nephew Simon, Kate suddenly has to face all the problems she doesn’t want to face

For example, their concept indicates that prey species will alter their foraging habits to the features of the terrain in order to avoid areas with a high risk of predation. Predation risk in a changing environment is also focused on by the authors. There are many environmental variables that may influence the degree of predation risk such as weather, wildfires, and other conditions that influence ungulates’ access to vegetation. Finally, the authors focus on ecosystem responses to trophic cascades—primarily on riparian functions and on beaver and bird populations. They also inform us that wolves may represent an indirect control on beaver populations as well as cause ungulates to avoid some riparian areas—therefore reducing herbivory on wooden browse species.

The California pocket mouse belongs to the genus chaetodipus and is a native species in California, thus it is known as the chaetodipus californicus. The chaetodipus californicus is a populous rodent whose habitat spans from that of Northern California, from the San Francisco Bay, deep into South California towards the border of Mexico. According to the ADW at the University of Michigan, the, “C. californicus occupies a wide variety of habitats year-round within its range in the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones. These include montane hardwood, valley foothill hardwood-conifer, valley foothill hardwood, annual grassland, sagebrush, chamise-redshank and montane chaparral, and coastal scrub. C. californicus occurs in greatest abundance in habitats where grassland and chaparral are in close proximity. In central California, this species is found at low to moderate elevations, whereas in southern California it is found primarily at moderate elevations.” (Johnson). The habitat regions are generally temperate and terrestrial, most of which are chaparral or forest biomes.

While Joseph D. Grant County Park consists of grasslands, there are also foothills of oak woodlands around the area. In these oak woodlands wild boars, brush rabbits, and California ground squirrels have a land advantage, while turkey vultures, American crows, and acorn woodpeckers have a sky advantage. Wild boars and brush rabbits tend to stay in bushy areas. This allows them to hide from predators and to breed. Both the wild boar and brush rabbits have an advantage to find acorns and seeds in this type of area as well. California ground squirrels create burrows, which are underground tunnels. Using an underground tunnel system allows these squirrels to move around the park effortlessly and safely. These squirrels also have an advantage in finding food,

Few sights are as iconic or memorable as paddling quietly and slowly along the edge of a glassy lake in the big woods of Minnesota, only to have the state’s largest native mammal rise up from the reeds and muck along the bank. The moose (Alces alces) has indeed become a symbol of the north woods, encapsulating the sense of wonder and enchantment that one so often feels while exploring one of the few truly wild environments left in Minnesota. Yet sighting these majestic beasts has become all the more rare. The hearsay and gossip around almost any small diner in northern Minnesota tells us exactly what scientific research has begun to confirm: there just are not as many moose in Minnesota anymore. Minnesota moose populations have a storied past. Fluctuations in total population numbers have been a natural and expected phenomena throughout history, but the scale and speed of the most recent population decline have more than a few local residents, researchers and scientists concerned.

Often referred to as ecosystem engineers, Castor canadensis Kuhl, or beavers, have lasting impacts on ecosystems by building dams. One main benefit of beaver dams is their ability to raise the height of water near the edges of streams, which contributes to the increased growth of plants. This ecosystem change is catalyzed by a beaver family moving into a new habitat and placing a large tree across a stream, then adding sticks, muds, stones, and smaller trees. This allows the water levels to raise behind the dam and pool water, which provides nourishment for nearby trees, ultimately increasing growth and abundance (Robbins, 2014).

My home, my neighborhood, my geoscape is mostly built around Garret Mountain. Garret Mountain is a reservation park that is well preserved and just beautiful. The park itself has trails, amazing skyline views all the way NYC, and recreation areas as well, not to mention a pretty big lake. Garrett Mountain is very well protected by the city of Clifton, Paterson and Woodland Park, so the area is always maintained, in tip top shape, mostly because of the amount of wildlife in the area. The area around my house is a big hill with a resting tier if you would, which is the street where my house is located and then another big hill that takes you in the mountain. Up in the mountain is beautiful. It’s all wooded, with roads of course, but it’s green and fresh. Garret once you get to the “top” it's fairly flat with small hills here and their,

Should it be willing to travel a greater distance for a large tree, since it’ll get so much wood from it? Beavers certainly go farther from the water to get an aspen tree than for an ash tree. That reflects their relative values. But what about size? Will it travel farther for a larger tree than it will for a smaller tree? Now I would have thought the bigger the tree, the farther the beaver would be willing to travel for it. That would make sense, right? If you’re going to travel far, make the trip worth it buy bringing back most wood possible. But actually, the opposite is true. Beavers will cut down only large trees that are close to the water. They will travel far only to cut down certain small trees that they can cut down quickly and drag back home quickly. Generally, the farther they go from the water, the smaller the tree they will cut down. They’re willing to make more trips to haul back less wood, which carries a greater risk of being exposed to predators. So it looks as though beavers are less interested in minimizing their exposure to predators and more interested in saving energy when foraging for wood, which may also explain why beavers forage primarily during the evenings. OK, so why does their behavior indicate more of a concern with how much energy they expend than with being exposed to predators? No one believes a beaver consciously weighs the pros and cons of each of these elements. The answer that some give is that their behavior has evolved over time. It’s been shaped by constraints over vast stretches of time, all of which comes down to the fact that the best foraging strategy for beavers isn’t the one that yields the most food or wood. It’s the one that results in the most descendants, the most offspring. So let’s discuss how this idea

The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit, or Brachylagus idahoensis, is listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This Pygmy Rabbit is the smallest species of its kind in North America, and it is also one of the only two species of rabbit in the world that digs its own burrow. The Pygmy Rabbit is different from other species because it falls within the monotypic genus ‘Brachylagus’. The phylogenetic identity of this rabbit is as follows: Animalia (Kingdom), Chordata (Phylum), Mammalia (Class), Lagomorpha (Order), Leporidae (Family), and Brachylagus (Genus). The closest living relative of the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit is the Idaho Pygmy Rabbit with which the original Columbia Pygmy’s are being bred to keep the genetics of the species diverse enough to survive without major future complications.

Loss of habitat is a known contributor to the global reduction of biodiversity within a multitude of taxonomic assemblages (Fischer and Lindenmayer 2007; Brudvig et al. 2015). Most ecosystems today are under the influence of human activity and are no longer without human interaction (Vitousek et al. 1997). The underlining cause of such habitat degradation can be attributed to anthropogenic activity (e.g., overexploitation, land clearing for agriculture, urbanization, etc). Human influence on ecosystems ultimately results in the detachment of a single populated areas into habitat patches, which, in turn, can hinder the dispersal and overall movement of individuals within a population (Luo et al. 2016). Interference of dispersal becomes a concern with wildlife species that exude large home ranges, such as large carnivores (Treves and Karanth 2003). Lack of connectivity within a wildlife population contributes to inbreeding and intensified demographic stochasticity, which then affects a population’s adaptation capability and can ultimately result in extinction; a definite threat to species of concern such as the Louisiana black bear (Frankham 2005; Luo et al. 2016).

First listed as an endangered species in 1973, the gray wolf (thanks to the conservation efforts and severe legal penalties for harming this species that are attributable to the Endangered Species Act) is one of the success stories of the Endangered Species Act. With the upswing in the gray wolf population, however, there has been a consequent increase once again in the same public resentment which almost obliterated the gray wolf from the face of the earth just a few decades ago. This resentment, and the loss of habitat which seems to characterize so many indigenous species of the Americas, translate to a continuation of the rocky road which the gray wolf has traveled for so long.