Once again, I find myself working in central Texas. For the third time in my journeys, I am working on a project involving the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia). Why is it endangered? Various threats exist, but number one is habitat fragmentation and destruction.
I have had the privilege of working with various endangered species, each facing threats from different directions.
Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) in Texas. This bird overwinters in Central America, from Mexico south to Nicaragua. It only breeds on the Edwards Plateau in Texas, in what is known as the Texas Hill Country. Which is pretty much central Texas. It numbers about 5.000 pairs in the world, all wild.
Puaiohi (Myadesters palmeri) in Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. A year round resident on the island of Kauai. It numbers from between 200 to 300 individuals in the wild, with an additional 50-60 birds in captivity. Threatened by habitat loss and avian malaria, both tied to global climate change, in addition to non-native predators (cats and rats).
Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi) in Ecuador. A year round resident of the cloud forest in southern Ecuador. It numbers from between 40 and 120 individuals in the world, all wild. It's primary threat is habitat destruction.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) in Mississippi. A year round resident of pine forests in the southeastern United States, found from eastern Texas east to Georgia, south to Florida, and north to North Carolina. Even with this wide range, the habitat is severely fragmented and disjunct. It faces many threats, all tied to habitat loss and fragmentation.
But why protect and save a species?
Though most of the people I am around the majority of the time have the same attitude as I do about conservation, I still hear that question a lot. Why does it matter if we lose a species?
For myself, as a start, we (as a human race) do not have the RIGHT to directly or indirectly cause an animal to go extinct. We need to regard ourselves as part of the environment, not rulers or controllers of it. Starting with that mindset, being a part of the earth, will allow us – all of us – to lead generally healthier, better lives.
An individual species is part of a greater whole. Extinctions WILL occur naturally. One can look at the fossil record and realize there are many species, some quite different than anything now, that spent many millions of years on this earth, but are no longer. We are all familiar with the dinosaurs. But there were also giant armadillos the size of tanks, sea creatures called trilobites, old species of sharks and other fish that dwarf what is now found in the oceans. All these species existed for MILLIONS of years before they disappeared. In our current “form”, we have been on this earth for less than forty thousand years.
That being said, when various species disappeared, other species were taking their place at the time. The extinct species just couldn't cut it anymore. Perhaps it ended up being vulnerable to another particular species, or disease. Or it's habitat disappeared through natural process (such as a lake drying up).
So, why should we protect species if extinction is normal?
If we view a species as the proverbial canary in the coal mine – if a species goes extinct from direct or indirect human causes, it means we, as the human race, altered the environment in such a way that the species could no longer exist. And perhaps that environment will no longer be supportive of us, either. The alteration of the environment through habitat destruction is the primary cause of extinction. However, we have also caused extinctions through the introduction of non native species to a habitat (Brown Tree Snake in Guam, various animals to Hawaii), outright hunting (Passenger Pigeon, Great Auk, Dodo), and perhaps market collecting (Spix's Macaw, extinct in the wild).
What does it mean for us?
If habitat destruction continues, and we continue to lose species, the earth becomes a poorer place. Even with the advances of technology, cloning is not a viable option for re-establishing an extinct species. With the Golden-cheeked Warbler, habitat destruction means that the area has become so overrun with people and new housing and commercial development, that the juniper-oak woodland the bird requires for existence no longer exists. And the “open space” people crave in an area will be gone, and so they may no longer care to live in that area. But even if they move away again – the species will never be able to come back.
It goes further than that though. That is mostly an aesthetic reason. There are many more reasons to protect a species.
Everything on Earth is in balance in some way. Take one thing out of an environment, and one may not see effects right away, but they will be felt throughout the environment. A good modern example – for good or bad, depending on ones viewpoint – is when wolves were reestablished in Yellowstone National Park. Their introduction affected so many things in the environment, it was hard to believe that some of the results seen (like better fishing!) were the result of the wolf introduction.
Another example that may happen while we are trying hard to prevent it, is the extinction of some of our North American bat species from White Nose Syndrome. A fungal infection that affects hibernating bats, it may cause various bat species to go extinct. Why is that a big deal? Simple: bats eat bug pests. Not only mosquitoes, but insects that infest crops. If you want inexpensive food, mostly free of pesticides, you should root for the bats.
We all hear about various drugs found in the rainforest. Why the rainforest? Through sheer diversity of species and quantity of species, plants and fungi and evolved various chemicals to prevent animals from eating flowers, eating seeds, eating leaves, eating stems, and eating roots, while at the same time providing food in the form of fruit. These plants have had millions of years to design chemicals and food, which we are only now just barely learning about. How much of what we use comes from plants? Too many to mention, but rubber (latex), virtually ALL antibiotics, and digitalis for heart problems all come from plants. Some of our favorite fruits like papaya, mango, and bananas come from tropical forests. Native cultures in the tropics used plants to treat all sorts of illnesses, from headaches to menstrual cramps to infections to sore muscles to insect stings. We are barely beginning to harness the products the rainforest can produce.
So, what is the big deal of losing a species? For me, the number one reason will always be: WE WOULDN'T KNOW THE LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES until it was too late. Perhaps the species plays some role in controlling an unknown pest. Perhaps the species can provide a chemical that can help prevent cancer. Perhaps the species helps in the life cycle of an important plant crop.
And for me, we, as a species, do not have the right to allow a species to go extinct. The earth becomes a little poorer every day through the extinctions that occur.
So, do your part. Help protect endangered species, and support those doing research to learn more about how to protect a species.
