Louisiana Wildlife Resources

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LouisianaWildlife Resources
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Why Preserve Wild Species?

• Does it matter if animals become prematurely
  extinct do to humans?
• They are going to go extinct some day anyways?
• This is the questions asked by many today

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Yes

• Ecological
• aesthetic
• recreational
• inherent right to survive...

• Each species has value
• economic
• medical
• scientific

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Economic Importance

• 90 of todays food crops domesticated from wild
  tropical plants
• animal/ insect pollination
• 40 U.S. crops

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Medical Importance

• 80 world population depends on plants plant
  extracts for medicines
• 40 all pharmaceticals-100 billion a year
• mostly tropical plants
• Plant derived anti cancer drugs-30,000 U.S.
• 3000 antibiotics from plants

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Scientific Importance

• Each species contributes to understanding of how
  life has evolved and functions
• Able to predict future evolution
• earth capital-quality and value of life

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Ecological importance

• Food for humans other species
• recycling of nutrients
• generate and maintain soils
• produce oxygen
• absorb pollution
• moderate earth climate

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• Regulate local climates and water supplies
• reduce erosion flooding
• store solar energy
• detoxify poisonous substances
• break down organic wastes
• control pests disease carriers
• make up gene pool for future evolution

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Aesthetic Importance

• Source of beauty, wonder, joy and recreational
  pleasure
• Americans spend 18.2 billion to watch wildlife
• Tourist revenue

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Recreational-ecotourism

• Problems
• potential impact on ecosystem
• tour garbage
• trained naturalists used?
• Respecting local culture
• money going to country/local economy

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Rise and Fall of Species

• Extinction-natural process?
• 99.9 of species who have existed are extinct
• Background or natural rate of extinction
• small species become extinct naturally
• 3 out of every 10 million species a year

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Mass extinctions

• Catastrophic and widespread(25-70 species
  disappear)
• 5 great mass extinctions in earths identified
• 20-60 million years apart
• followed by adaptive radiation-diversity of life
  increases and spreads
• Last 65 million years ago-dinosaurs
• after thriving for 140 million years..

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Mass Extinction now??

• Right now we have limited understanding of roles
  of most species
• Precautionary Principle-Aldo Leopold
• need to prevent premature extinction as result of
  human activities
• 1995-484 animals and 654 plants have gone extinct
  related to human actions

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• 18,000 -73,000 species going extinct each year
• 1000x rate of natural extinction
• Current extinction crisis first one caused by a
  single species
• 40 terrestrial net primary productivity is
  wasted
• Other species getting crowded out...

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• Current extinction taking place in only a few
  decades vs. thousands of years
• adaptive radiation cannot occur that quickly
• empty niches
• Besides species, biologically diverse
  environments disappearing
• coral reefs gone in 50 years...
• keystone species threatened

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Is this really happening?

• Difficult to determine-use of models
• No one sure how many species exist
• difficult to observe an extinction
• not seen for 50 years
• diversity in particular areas differs
• 70 of scientists agree w/current mass extinction

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Definitions of extinction

• Local extinction-no longer found in area once
  located but still found elsewhere
• Ecological extinction-so few left cannot play
  ecological role
• Biological extinction-no longer found anywhere on
  the earth

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• Endangered species -so few in species could
  soon become extinct over all or most of natural
  range
• Threatened species -still abundant but declining
  in and potentially coming endangered

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• 5200 animals currently endangered
• 34 of known fish
• 25 of known amhibeans
• 25 of known mammals
• 20 of known reptiles
• 11 of known birds

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Louisiana Endangered and Threatened Species
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gopher tortoise
Gulf sturgeon
green sea turtle
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brown pelican
red-cockaded woodpecker
bald eagle
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Peregrine Falcon
Manatee
Finback Whale
Louisiana Black Bear
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Fin WhaleBalaenoptera physalus
Federal Status Endangered (June 2, 1970)
State Status Endangered (December 20, 1989)
Description This species is second only to the
blue whale in size and weight. Dark gray or
brownish back underside light to tail sides
unmarked. Dark line from eye to middle of back,
and a light line from the eye to flipper and from
flipper onto side sometimes present. Dorsal fin
about 60 cm (23.6 in) tall, angled steeply
backward, located posterior to the midpoint of
the body. Adults may reach 24 m (78.7 ft) in
total length females slightly larger than males.
Most similar in appearance to the blue whale, but
can be distinguished from that species on the
basis of head and baleen color and dorsal fin
size. Normally travels in small groups of 6-15
individuals but congregations of 100 or more
reported at favorite foraging areas. Generally
inhabits waters between shore and the 1000-fathom
curve. Matures at 6-7 years of age. Mates and
calves November-March females produce one calf
every 2-3 years. Feeds on pelagic crustaceans and
fish. Distribution Found in all oceans and
seas, including polar waters, during the summer.
Present in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the
year, which may indicate a somewhat isolated
population. There are 4 stranding records from
Louisiana, all from the southeast coast. Reason
for decline Overharvest. Conservation efforts
(1) Monitoring of world's population (2)
Determining degree of inter-mingling of various
populations.