Species - Real-life applications

Endangered Species

An endangered species is any plant, animal, or microorganism that is at risk of becoming extinct or at least of disappearing from a particular local habitat. Over the course of Earth's geological history, species have become extinct naturally—sometimes in large proportions, as discussed in the context of mass extinction in Paleontology. In modern times, however, species and their natural communities are threatened mostly by human activities.

The number of endangered species worldwide is not known. In the United States—a country that, unlike most, expends considerable effort on keeping track of its endangered species—there were more than 750 species and subspecies listed by the late 1990s as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Additional endangered species are being added at a rate of about 50 per year, and there is a "waiting list" of an estimated 3,500 candidate species.

Efforts at monitoring endangered species in the United States have directed a disproportionate amount of attention toward larger organisms; consequently, smaller endangered species from such groups as arthropods, mosses, and lichens have received insufficient attention. The regions of the United States with the largest numbers of endangered species are in the humid southeast and the arid southwest. These areas tend to have the unfortunate combination of unique ecological communities alongside runaway urbanization and resource development.

Overdevelopment and destruction of habitats is perhaps the most well-known ways that humans endanger the survival of species. For example, the habitat of the northern spotted owl is under threat from loggers in the Pacific North-west (see Succession and Climax). Another threat is the introduction of new species, particularly predators, to an area that is not their natural habitat—a topic we discuss in more depth later in this essay.

HUNTING THE ESKIMO CURLEW.

Another way humans threaten species is by excessive hunting. An example of a species thus threatened is the Eskimo curlew ( Numenius borealis ), a sandpiper (a type of bird) that was still abundant in North America during the nineteenth century. A large, friendly creature, it was hunted in vast numbers during its seasonal migrations over the prairies and coasts of Canada and the United States and during its winter seasons in South America. (See Migration and Navigation for more about birds' winter migrations.) The Eskimo curlew became very rare by the end of the nineteenth century, and the last time an Eskimo curlew nest was seen (1866), the guns of the Civil War were practically still smoking. The last time a scientific team collected an Eskimo curlew specimen was in 1922. It might seem that the bird is extinct, but this is not the case. Although it is extremely rare, there have been a few reliable sightings of individuals and small flocks of this species, mostly during migration in Texas and elsewhere but also in its breeding habitat in the Canadian Arctic. Once abundant, the Eskimo curlew now hangs on by a thread.

RIGHT WHALES AND BLUE WHALES.

More familiar is the endangerment of whales, a cause made popular by many a "Save the Whales" bumper sticker. Among endangered animals of this group are the blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) and various species from the genus Balaena, or right whale. The latter species gained its common name because whalers of the nineteenth century considered it the "right" whale to hunt: it swims slowly and close to shore and so could be found and slaughtered easily. In addition, it yields a large amount of oil, used for lighting lamps in the era when Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851) was written. The estimated world population of right whales is currently about 2,000 individuals, much depleted from the historical high numbers; though it is now protected from whaling, it suffers an excessive mortality rate from ship collisions.

As for the blue whale, it occurs virtually worldwide, and with a typical weight of 150 tons (136 tonnes) and a length of 100 ft. (30 m), it is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth. Because it is such a fast swimmer, it could not be hunted effectively by whalers in sailing ships. Once steam-powered ships were invented, however, these whales were taken in tremendous numbers and became endangered. Because of its precarious status, this species has not been hunted for several decades, but it remains rare and endangered.

The Fate of the Dodo

When a species becomes extinct, it is gone forever. It is like a family whose last member has died without leaving an heir, but in this case the impact is potentially much more profound. Several thousand species have become extinct as the result of human activities, mostly hunting, in the past few hundred years, and of these species perhaps none is more well known than Raphus cucullatus, or the dodo.

Long before the application of the term clueless in the 1990s, a person out of touch or out of step was called a dodo. How did the bird's name come to be a synonym for stupidity? Perhaps it is just the funny sound of the name, or perhaps it is the fact that the dodo looked a bit like a turkey, another bird name used for someone of less than exemplary capabilities. Or perhaps the application of the name dodo in this way carries a hint of blaming the victim—the implication that the dodo somehow played a part in its own extinction.

In fact, the dodo's only shortcoming was its inability to overcome the threat posed by an extremely dangerous predator: the human. A member of the dove or pigeon family, the dodo was flightless and lacked natural enemies until humans discovered its homeland, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, in the early sixteenth century. First came the Portuguese and then, in 1598, the Dutch, who made the island a colony in 1644. By 1681 the dodo had ceased to exist. Not only did sailors collect the birds for food, but introduced species, including dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys, and rats, also preyed on dodos. They were subjected to regular slaughter by sailors, but the species managed to breed and survive on the remote areas of the island for a time. After the establishment of their colony, however, Dutch

settlers launched what amounted to an extermination campaign.

No part of Earth's living environment can be removed without repercussions, and the destruction of the dodo illustrates the ripple effect that occurs when one species is eliminated. As it turned out, the bird had a symbiotic relationship (see Symbiosis) with the dodo tree, or Calvaria major, whose fruit it ate, thus releasing the seeds to germinate. With the dodo gone, the dodo tree stopped being able to reproduce. Fortunately, it is a species with a long life, and some specimens of C. major continue to survive after some 300 years; when those die, however, this species, too, will be extinct.

Exotic, Introduced, and Invasive Species

An introduced species is one that has been spread to a new environment or habitat as a result of human activity. An invasive species may or may not have been spread by humans (the ones we discuss were), but as the name suggests, it threatens an aspect of the habitat to which it has been introduced. Both introduced and invasive species are examples of exotic species, or species that have been introduced to a region or continent, usually but not always through human activity.

In the case of species introduced by humans, some were introduced deliberately and were intended to improve conditions for some human activity (for example, in agriculture) or to achieve desired aesthetic results—for example, when colonists wanted to plant a flower or tree that reminded them of home. Other introductions have been accidental, as when plants were brought with soil transported as ballast in ships or insects were conveyed with timber or food.

BENEFICIAL AND HARMFUL INTRODUCTIONS.

Some introduced species have been wildly successful. In fact, most agricultural plants and animals are introduced species: for example, wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) was originally native only to a small region of the Middle East, but it now grows virtually anywhere conditions are suitable for its cultivation. Likewise, corn, or maize ( Zea mays ), has spread far beyond its home in Central America. The domestic cow ( Bos taurus ) once lived only in Eurasia and the turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) only in North America, but today these species can be found throughout the world. If all introduced species were like cows and corn, or turkeys and wheat, there would not be much cause for alarm. Many introduced species are invasive, however, and pose a wide variety of threats—threats to their environments or, in some cases, to human well-being. All manner of weeds and pests are among the nefarious roll-call of invasive species, a broad grouping that ranges from nuisances to serious dangers.

ACCIDENTAL AND DELIBERATE INTRODUCTIONS.

There are more than 30,000 introduced species in the United States, and most of them enhance rather than diminish the quality of life. For example, there are the many species introduced by colonists to make them feel more comfortable in their new homes, among them, the Norway maple ( Acer platanoides ), linden ( Tilia cordata ), horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ), and other trees as well as many exotic species of shrubs and herbaceous plants. The European settlers also introduced some species of birds and other animals with which they were familiar, such as the starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ), house sparrow ( Passer domesticus ), and pigeon, or rock dove ( Columba livia ).

These are all deliberate introductions; on the other hand, accidental introductions are more likely to be undesirable. When cargo ships from Europe did not have a full load of goods, they had to carry other heavy material as ballast, to help the vessel maintain its stability on the ocean. Early ships to the New World often used soil as ballast, and upon arriving, sailors dumped this soil near the port. In this way, many European weeds and other soil-dwelling organisms arrived in the Americas. In addition, ships have used water as ballast since the late nineteenth century, and many aquatic species have become widely distributed by this practice. This is how two major pests, the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha, discussed later) and the spiny water flea ( Bythothrepes cederstroemii ) were introduced to the Great Lakes from European waters.

Several European weeds are toxic to cattle if eaten in large quantities, and when these plants become abundant in pastures, they represent a significant potential problem. Some examples of toxic introduced weeds in the pastures of North America include common Saint-John's-wort ( Hypericum perforatum ), ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ), and common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ). Several introduced insects have become troublesome pests in forests, as is the case with the gypsy moth ( Lymantria dispar ), which has defoliated many trees since its introduction to North America from Europe in 1869.

Similarly, the introduced elm bark beetle ( Scolytus multistriatus ) has helped spread Dutch elm disease, itself caused by an introduced fungus, Ceratocystis ulmi. It would be interesting to note the irony inherent in this affliction, which at first glance seems to involve another apparently introduced species, the "Dutch elm." There is no such tree, however; the name refers to the fact that the disease arrived in America from Holland, probably some time after World War I. Its principal victim is the American elm, or Ulmus americana.

DELIBERATE AND HARMFUL INTRODUCTIONS.

Not all harmful introduced species were introduced accidentally. Settlers from Europe deliberately brought pets, such as the domestic dog ( Canis familiaris ) and cat ( Felis catus ); while these pets may add greatly to the quality of human life, they can cause problems, because they are wide-feeding predators. Such creatures threaten vulnerable animals in many places, especially isolated oceanic islands. Among other predators are mongooses (family Viverridae), often introduced to get rid of snakes, as well as omnivores, such as pigs ( Sus scrofa ) and rats ( Rattus spp.) Meat-eating animals are not the only threat: herbivores such as sheep ( Ovis aries ) and goats ( Capra hircus ) also endanger plant life in some areas as a result of overgrazing.

A particularly striking example of harmful, deliberate species introduction is the Nile perch ( Lates niloticus ). First introduced to Africa's Lake Victoria in the 1950s, it has proved an economically important food source, with a large worldwide market. The problem is that the Nile perch is an extraordinarily active predator and has brought about a tragic mass extinction of native fishes. Until the 1980s, Lake Victoria supported an extremely diverse community of more than 400 species of fish, mostly cichlids (family Cichlidae), with 90% of those species being endemic, meaning that they exist only in one area. About one-half of the endemic species are now extinct in Lake Victoria because of predation by the Nile perch, although some species survive in captivity, and a few are still in the lake.

KILLER BEES, ZEBRA MUSSELS, AND KUDZU.

Three notable examples of invasive species in America are

Africanized honeybees ( Apis mellifera scutellata ), better known as "killer bees"; the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha ); and kudzu ( Pueraria lobata ). The first "killer" bees were released accidentally by a Brazilian bee breeder in 1957. These aggressive insects have no more venom than domesticated honeybees (another A. mellifera subspecies, which is also an Old World import), but they attack more quickly and in great numbers. Interbreeding with resident bees and sometimes traveling with cargo shipments, Africanized bees have spread at a rate of up to 200 mi. (320 km) a year and now threaten humans, fruit orchards, and domestic bees throughout much of South and Central America and north to Texas and California.

The zebra mussel was introduced to the Great Lakes in about 1985 in ballast water dumped by a ship or ships arriving from Europe. It colonizes any hard surface, including rocks, wharves, industrial water-intake pipes, and the shells of native bivalve mollusks. A bean-sized female zebra mussel can produce 50,000 larvae (an immature form of an animal) in a single year. Growing in masses with up to 70,000 individuals per square foot, zebra mussels clog pipes, suffocate native clams, and destroy the breeding habitats of other aquatic animals. These invaders have placed a great burden not only on the environment but also on the economy of the Great Lakes region: area industries spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually to unclog pipes and equipment.

Kudzu is an integral part of culture in the southern United States, but it originated in Japan and did not arrive on American shores until 1876. In that year, numerous foreign governments sent exhibits to the Centennial Exposition, held in Philadelphia to honor the country's 100th birthday. Two generations later, during the Great Depression, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service began promoting the use of kudzu for erosion control.

At a time when work was scarce, young men in the government-sponsored Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) earned a living by planting kudzu throughout the South. The federal government paid farmers as much as $8.00 an acre—a fabulous sum at the time—to plant kudzu fields. Before another generation had passed, in 1953, the federal government stopped promoting the use of kudzu. In 1972, just four years shy of a century after its first introduction, kudzu was officially declared a weed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Obviously, something had gone wrong. The problem was that kudzu grew too well—so fast, in fact, that in the minds of many southerners, it began to possess some sort of mystical significance. This preoccupation with kudzu is reflected in the work of several Georgians, whose state has been particularly afflicted with the vine. There is the poem "Kudzu" by James Dickey as well as the cover of Murmur, the music group R.E.M.'s 1983 debut, which features a photograph of a kudzu-covered railroad trestle near the group's hometown of Athens.

Kudzu covered more than railroad tracks, and in the mid-twentieth century, it began to seem as though it would cover the entire South with its tangled vines. The plant is capable of growing by as much as 1 ft. (0.3 m) per day during the summer and can cover virtually anything that is not moving. Over the course of a good year, kudzu can grow by as much as 60 ft. (20 m), and it has proved impervious to many herbicides. One herbicide used in Auburn, Alabama, actuallymade it grow better! Thanks to the developmentof better chemical treatments, and the use of grazing animals, such as goats, kudzu no longer isperceived as such a great threat. Additionally, various entrepreneurs and scientists have set out tomake use of the vine in weaving baskets or inpreparing foods and medicines. Ground kudzu root, called kuru, has long been used in foods and medications in China and Japan.

One might wonder why Japan is not covered in kudzu and why kudzu is not crawling up the Great Wall of China. The answer is more than a little interesting from a biological standpoint. When kudzu was transplanted to America, it was taken out of its native environment and thus away from the local insects that threatened its growth. In its new home there were no threats to its spread, and with no obstacles in its way, it began to take over the South. (For more about the development of species, see Speciation. See also the discussion of keystone and indicator species in Food Webs.)

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

All Species Foundation (Web site). <http://www.allspecies.org/> .

"Endangered Species on EE-Link." EE-Link (Environmental Education Link), North American Association for Environmental Education (Web site). <http://eelink.net/EndSpp/> .

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), United States Department of Agriculture (Web site). <http://www.it is.usda.gov/> .

Invasive Species, National Agricultural Library, U.S.Department of Agriculture (Web site). <http://www.invasivespecies.gov/> .

Levy, Charles K. Evolutionary Wars: A Three-Billion-Year Arms Race—The Battle of Species on Land, at Sea, and in the Air. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1999.

Schilthuizen, Menno. Frogs, Flies, and Dandelions: Speciation—The Evolution of New Species. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Schwartz, Jeffrey H. Sudden Origins: Fossils, Genes, and the Emergence of Species. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999.

Species 2000 (Web site). <http://www.sp2000.org/> .

Van Driesche, Jason, and Roy Van Driesche. Nature out of Place: Biological Invasions in the Global Age. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000.

Vergoth, Karin, and Christopher Lampton. Endangered Species. New York: F. Watts, 1999.