Endangered Species Walk/Run set for Saturday on Katy Trail

 News Tribune

Hundreds of people will trek the ninth annual Endangered Species Walk/Run Saturday on the Katy Trail starting from the Jefferson City Pavilion.

From birds to animals, fish and flowers, “the list is quite big of the species that are endangered,” said Linda Martin, administration staff assistant with the Missouri Conservation Department.

The fundraiser helps restore habitats, conduct research and support education projects. The event will highlight the bottomland hardwood forests and swamps, which harbors 10 percent of Missouri’s rare and endangered species.

“We don’t want to lose any of the species we have and if we don’t protect them, that’s what will happen,” Martin added.

Race packets will be distributed 8-9 a.m. Participants can choose from three race options: a 5K walk, a 5K run and a 10K run. Rain or shine, the walk begins at 8:45 a.m. and the runs start at 9 a.m.

For safety reasons, no headphones or pets will be allowed on the trail. Strollers and joggers are welcome, but must stay at the end of the lineup when starting.

The race route is certified by the USA Track and Field and races will be chip timed. Awards will be given to winners by age class. There also will be a raffle with the event.

Last year, the race hosted 400 walkers and runners, but so far Martin said more than 500 people have signed up to participate.

“We have walkers from all over the state,” Martin said. “Everyone has a good time with it. … I think people are very interested in helping protect our habitat and endangered species.”

Online registration costs $25. Paper registration costs $27.

Registration includes a long-sleeved T-shirt with artwork created for the occasion by Conservation Department artist Mark Raithel. Non-participants can purchase the shirt for $25.

Youth teams are encouraged to participate with a reduced registration fee. Youth age groups start at 10 and younger and go through 11-14 and 15-19. Ages for adults range by decade – 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and a group for 70 years and older.

The Conservation Department is also holding a statewide youth postcard contest in conjunction with the walk/run. The contest deadline has expired, but postcards will be displayed in the Capitol through Oct. 15 and at the race.

“People can come by and vote on their choices and we have lots of great entries,” Martin said.

The event is co-hosted by the Missouri departments of Conservation, Natural Resources and Health and Senior Services; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry.

Gov. Matt Blunt will proclaim the week leading up to the event, Oct. 7-13, as Missouri Endangered Species Awareness Week.

For registration and other information, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/ed_walkrun or call (573) 522-4115 ext. 3150.

The Impact of Wildlife Extinction and the Importance of Biodiversity

Associated Content (Sarah Ganly)

Biodiversity is all of the different varieties of species that inhabit the planet. Genetic differences within a species can mean differences in shape, size, smell, and color. Diversity of populations are “measured in both the number of individuals within a local group–the size of the loon population in northern Wisconsin–and the distribution of a species’ geographic range–the presence of loon populations from Alaska to Maine” (How Do Scientists Define Biodiversity). The variety of species within a natural community means all the various species in a particular habitat. “A wide array of natural communities and ecosystems throughout the world, from tropical rainforests to tall grass prairies to boreal forests” make up the biodiversity of the world. Biodiversity is the natural make up of plants and animals of the world, and it should be valued highly. (How Do Scientists Define Biodiversity)

Humans play a tremendous role in wildlife extinction. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are the leading factors that cause wildlife extinction to occur. The second largest threat is from introducing nonnative species into ecosystems. Many species are accidentally introduced. Many are introduced because of their value as a food source and as pest control. The problem with these nonnative species is that they have no “natural predators, competitors, parasites, or pathogens” that control their population.(Sustaining Biodiversity). Poaching and hunting is another cause of wildlife extinction, but it is a very lucrative business so it is popular. Predator control is also causing extinction. “Since 1929 U.S.ranchers and government agencies have poisoned 99% of North America’s prairie dogs because horses and cattle sometimes step into the burrows and break their legs” (Sustaining Biodiversity). The market for exotic pets and plants are also a cause of wildlife extinction. “About 25 million U.S. households have exotic birds as pets, 85% of them imported. More than 60 bird species, mostly parrots, are endangered or threatened because of this wild bird trade” (Sustaining Biodiversity). The reason that pollution and climate change also impacts species and causes extinction because of pesticides and rapid climate change. “According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each year in the United States, pesticides kill about one-fifth of the country’s beneficial honeybee colonies, more than 67 million birds, and 6-14 million fish. They also threaten about one-fifth of the country’s endangered and threatened species” (Sustaining Biodiversity). Humans are causing wildlife extinction to happen a lot faster than it should.

The impact of deforestation on wildlife extinction is severe. Deforestation is “the greatest eliminator of terrestrial species.”(Sustaining Biodiversity) As shown in the last slide habitat loss is the greatest factor in wildlife extinction and habitat loss is caused by deforestation. When deforestation occurs many species lose their natural homes and food supplies. It happens so rapidly that they do not have time to adapt and species are lost. These areas are industrialized, commercialized, urbanized, and used for agriculture. Deforestation not only causes many plants and animals to become extinct it also causes soil degradation which causes more habitat loss and extinction.

Wildlife extinction has a large impact on our world that most people are not aware of. “it will take at least 5 million years for speciation to rebuild the biodiversity we are likely to destroy during this century!” (Sustaining Biodiversity) The instrumental value of some species should be taken into consideration. “Species provide economic value in the form of food crops, fuelwood and lumber, paper, and medicine” (Sustaining Biodiversity). The genetic information in species is also very important to mankind. The information is used to create new crop types, as well as food, medicines, and vaccines. The plants and animals of the earth are also important because of the recreational pleasure they provide us with. More people in America spend time watching wildlife than they do watching movies or sports. “Eco-tourism, generates at least $500 billion per year worldwide” (Sustaining Biodiversity) There are many ways wildlife extinction has an influence on the world.

“Biologists conservatively estimate that the current rate of extinction is at least 1,000 to 10,000 times the rate before we arrived. This amounts to an annual extinction rate of 0.1% to 1% per year.” These estimated extinction rats are startling and noteworthy. “1% extinction rate at least 20% of the world’s current animal and plant species could be gone by 2030 and 50% could vanish by the end of this century.” (Sustaining Biodiversity)At these rates the amount of extinction will damage the world so drastically that it will take twenty times the amount of time it took to damage it, to fix it. The worst part is the rate of loss is likely to increase over the next “50- 100 years”. (Sustaining Biodiversity)

Land life zones are categorized as desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. They are the home to many species and are constantly threatened. Climate change and pollution is affecting these biomes and the species that inhabit them. Deforestation is happening constantly and this is extremely harmful to all of these biomes. Without some sort of protection many land life zones will be lost.

Aquatic life zones are categorized as freshwater and marine. Aquatic life zones are a major natural resource and should be respected and taken care of. These biomes are the most complex and also the most threatened. At “34%” fish are the most endangered species in the world (Sustaining Biodiversity). Freshwater life zones suffer terribly from pollution, and “runoff containing fertilizer and other wastes and industrial dumpings enter into rivers, ponds, and lakes and tend to promote abnormally rapid algae growth” (The world’s biomes). Overfishing is also ruining these biomes. Aquatic life zones support so many of the species of this planet, and they should be treated as important as they are.

Aquatic Diversity Management Areas will help preserve Aquatic biodiversity because they manage and protect the biodiversity in given areas. Another method of preservation is Marine Reserves; these reserves are spaces within the sea that fishing is banned in. Bioregional Management is a strategy for the entire ecosystem that balances conservation, and social and economic needs in order to protect biodiversity. A list of threatened and endangered species is compiled in order to alert people of the species possible extinction. These lists help protect these species.

References

Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach, Living in the environment. (2005)

How Do Scientists Define Biodiversity. (n.d.) Retrieved July 15, 2007 fromhttp://www.biodiversityproject.org/bdscientists.htm

The world’s biomes. (n.d.) Retrieved July 15, 2007 from, http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php

Antarctic Penguin Colony Nears Extinction

Global Warming Life

William Fraser remembers when the ice floes and rocky outcrops near this U.S. outpost were thick with Adélie penguins and the constant, almost deafening roar of their calls made it impossible to hold a conversation.

“You could not go anywhere without seeing hundreds to thousands of Adélies,” says the ecologist.

Today, the Adélies outnumber people in this icy patch of the world by 100 to 1. The ratio sounds impressive until Fraser notes that the penguin population has shrunk by 80 percent since he began studying it in 1974, and that he expects the knee-high birds to be extinct in eight years.

What’s to blame? Fraser, president of the Polar Ocean Research Group, says global warming is part of the problem because it has made it harder for the penguins to forage and breed.

When he first arrived at Palmer Station, Fraser says, the climate was cold and relatively dry. Now it is warmer and wet, “a bit like southeast Alaska,” he says. “That environment did not exist at Palmer 30 years ago.”

Peninsula problem
Palmer Station, the smallest of three permanent U.S. research bases on the continent, is near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, a finger-like piece of land that points at South America.

The region is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. Winter temperatures have risen by between 9 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit since recordkeeping began about 50 years ago, and the annual sea ice that covers the ocean near Palmer Station lasts 25 percent to 30 percent fewer days than it did in the 1970s.

Adélie penguins spend 90 percent of their lives at sea, swimming or huddled on ice floes in one of the world’s harshest climates.

In 1974, about 15,200 breeding pairs nested each summer on a handful of windswept islands near Palmer Station.

In 2003, there were 5,635 breeding pairs. “Right now, you can walk on some of these islands and it is completely silent,” Fraser said at the time. “It’s sad.”

During the 2005 breeding season, Fraser could find no breeding pairs on a rocky outcrop called Litchfield Island. It marked the first time in at least 700 years that, according to paleontological evidence from an excavation, Adélie penguins hadn’t nested there.

The latest breeding season ended early this year. Speaking from his home in Montana, Fraser said his team counted only 3,393 pairs of Adélies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in July that it is considering listing 10 species of penguins as possibly facing extinction, also citing global warming as part of the problem. Adélie penguins are not on the agency’s list, however, because large colonies in other parts of Antarctica are thriving.

Fraser says the birds near Palmer Station are struggling to have families.

Adélies arrive at the islands in the area each October, soon after the snow melts during the southern hemisphere’s spring. They build pebble nests big enough to cradle a basketball in colonies with up to several thousand adults.