Killer Whale Recovery Plan

Carter Chillingworth

Description:

(Size of human Compared to Killer Whale)

The killer whale, also referred to as the orca which means "the shape of a barrel or cask", belongs to the oceanic dolphin family (Wikipedia, Killer Whale). Due to their vicious reputation killer whales are also referred to by the Spanish as Ballena Asesina, meaning "assassin whale" (Marinebio, Orcas). Male killer whales can grow to be about 23-30 ft in length, and females can grow to be about 20-26 feet in length which makes them the largest species that is part of the dolphin family (Marinebio, Orcas). Killer whales are more generalists than they are specialists when it comes to their habitat and their prey. They can be found all over the
world, from frigid antarctic waters to warm tropic waters although they prefer higher latitudes and coastal areas. Unlike most whales, killer whales have teeth that are covered with thick enamel, which allows them to eat a variety of fish and other sea life such as fish, seals, squids, sea turtles, penguins, polar bears, and even other killer whales (Marinebio, Orcas). Killer whales, much like wolves, work together to hunt for food in groups known as pods, and each pod tends to consume more of one prey species than others depending on their location. Killer whales typically live to be around 29 years old on average, but have the potential to live 50-60 years (Wikipedia, Killer Whale). Although similar, there are three genetically distinct classifications of killer whales: resident, transient, and offshore. Although the habitats of these whales overlap, their genetic variance keeps them from interbreeding.

(Marinebio, Orcas)

Geographic and Population Changes:                                    

(Population Spread)
(Marinebio, Orcas)

Besides humans, orcas are the most widely distributed mammal, which explains why they were described as early as 1558 by Konrad Gessner (Wikipedia, Killer Whale). However, studies indicate that the largest densities of killer whales reside in the northeast the Atlantic, north Pacific, the gulf of Alaska, and off the coast of Antartica (Wikipedia, Killer Whale). The current population estimate for killer whales is a minimum of 50,000 individuals, and have had a population decline of 20% from 1996-2001 (NOAA Fisheries, Killer Whale).                                        

Listing Date and Type of Listing:

The killer whale was designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on November 18, 2005, and are still defined as endangered today. Before being listed under the ESA, killer whales were labeled as below optimum sustainable population by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and was flagged as being depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). 

Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Continued Existence:

(Killer Whale Recovery Plan)

Just like many other marine animals habitat destruction and degradation, overfishing, changes in food availability, pollution, climate change, and human disturbance are all factors believed to affect killer whales (Killer Whale Recovery Plan). While it is certain that all of these factors contribute to the population decrease of killer whales, there is not an identifiable main threat to their existence due to their elusiveness and spread throughout our worlds' waters. Although the cause is not solely recognizable killer whales fall under the appropriate requirements to be considered threatened or endangered, "(1) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (2) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or human-made factors affecting its continued existence" (Killer Whale Recovery Plan).

Description of Recovery Plan:

Due to a lack of knowledge on what exactly is causing the killer whale decline it has been difficult to determine the precise needs for conservation and recovery for the population. Because there is no single identifiable cause, the recovery plan addresses multiple problems that will be altered accordingly based on further research by the NOAA and other organizations. The recovery plan identifies four major concerns:

1.) Reduction in quantity or quality of prey

2.) High levels of organochlorine pollution and emerging levels of other contaminants (which can cause immune and reproductive problems)

3.) Sound and disruption from boats

4.) Oil Spills

(Killer Whale Recovery Plan)

While the recovery plan focuses on the above issues, education, outreach, and response to stranded killer whales are also goals. 

FUN FACT: While Killer whales may have an intimidating name, there has never been a report of an attack on a human being.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale#Taxonomy_and_evolution 

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=84

http://www.killer-whale.org/killer-whales-endangered/

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/killer-whale.html

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/whale_killer.pdf

Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Plan

                           Nate Comer

Black Footed Ferret Recovery Plan

      

Description:

The black-footed ferret, also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of carnivorous mammal native to North America. It is roughly the size of a mink, and is in the Mustelidae family, the same family as otters, badgers, weasels, martens, ferrets, and wolverines. Males are typically between 19 and 21 inches long with females being around 10% smaller. The black-footed ferret has a long torso, which contrasts with his short stout limbs and blunt head. The ferret is known for the black fur that covers it’s limbs, tail, and eyes, forming a raccoon like mask. These ferrets are nocturnal animals that often live alone in boroughs in the prairie lands. Female black-footed ferrets tend to stay in the relatively small areas while males tend to travel throughout a larger territory, mating with many females as he travels. Up to 90% of the diet of a black-footed ferret’s diet consists of prairie dogs, which ties the populations together.

Geographic and Population Changes:

Black-footed ferret’s have always had relatively small and restricted populations. They were first discovered in 1851 by Audubon and Bachman. Their historical territory stretched over much of the American Great Plains. However, there population shrank rapidly during the 20^th century was even thought to have disappeared entirely until 1979. Since 1979, when a dead black-footed ferret was found in the mouth of Lucille Hogg’s dog, work has been done to bring back the ferret population. It has now been re-introduced in selected areas of the Great Plains and populations are rising steadily.

Listing Data/Type of Listing:

The black-footed ferret was first listed an endangered species in 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act and then re-listed in 1974 under the same classification. However, soon after that it was believed to be extinct. It was then listed again as critically endangered. In 1986 they were extinct in the wild but now their status is only endangered.

Cause of Listing and Main threats to its continued existence:

The biggest threat to the continued existence of the black-footed ferret is the war against the prairie dogs. Prairie dogs are over 90% of the diet for these ferrets so they can’t afford to have prairie dog populations drop. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Prairie lands were converted to croplands and farmers started to kill prairie dogs because they are known as pests. The prairie dog population was also reduced with the Sylvatic plague. All these factors greatly reduced the population of prairie dogs which in turn greatly reduced the population of black-footed ferrets.

Description of Recovery Plan:

The recovery plan for the black-footed ferret has been relatively successful to this point. The plan itself is a captive breeding plan where they force captured ferrets to breed so they can raise more ferrets and introduce them into the wild. As of today, it is estimated that 1,200 black-footed ferrets roam the Great Plains.

Sources:

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/20131108%20BFF%202nd%20Rev.%20Final%20Recovery%20Plan.pdf

http://www.blackfootedferret.org

Giant Garter Snake Recovery Plan

The Giant Garter Snake Recovery Plan

By Nick Bultman

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/tgigasrp6134.jpg

The giant garter snake is the largest of the garter snakes, which is the common name given to harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus, Thamnophis (Wikipedia, Garter Snakes). Giant garter snakes are endemic to the Central Valley wetlands of California, which stretches from the Northern Sacramento Valley to the Southern San Joaquin Valley. They thrive in small ponds, lakes and streams and feed primarily on small fish and amphibians such as bullfrogs by ambush. They are most active between April and November, where they typically bask, hunt, and perform mating rituals most frequently. By November, most giant garter snakes have found their way underground to escape the cold winters. Giant Garter Snakes exhibit wary behavior and are always on high alert. This is most likely due to the fact that the Central Valley doesn’t provide an abundance of cover such as trees, rocks, logs and bushes, which makes them very accessible for predators such as raccoons, skunks, possums and birds. It was also observed that all Giants observed in the wild possessed scars from a predatory encounter. When the Giant garter snake feels threatened, it will dive into water or slither into nearby bushes.

TOP PICTURE - a rice field that are providing better biological resources for the snake.  

BOTTOM PICTURE - the ideal habitat for the snake, which has become fragmented throughout the Central Valley over the past decades. 

Destruction of habitat and wetlands in their habitat has been so frequent that the giant garter snakes have naturally sought out land that meet its biological needs. Snake populations show to thrive in the northern part of California’s Central Valley because man made rice fields have provided a better habitat. These rice fields have created canals, water marshes, and cover from predators which are all ideal characteristics for allowing giant garter snakes to prosper. Other essential geographic features for the snake include flat, grassy basking areas and highly elevated upland habitats for flood protection during the snake’s inactive winter season. Many populations have been documented throughout the Central Valley, however recent trends continue to show that the ecosystem available by man-made rice fields provide the ideal habitat for populations to grow.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The giant garter snake was listed as threatened twice: first in 1971 by the state of California and next in 1993 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s currently listed as priority number 2C, meaning the snake has a   high degree of threat, full species in danger, and high potential for recovery.

The abundance of the giant garter snake has significantly reduced in the past two decades. Several factors threaten the giant garter snake’s continued existence. Habitat loss and fragmentation, flood control activities, changes in agricultural and land management practices, predation from introduced species, parasites and water pollution are the main causes for the decline of the species. Habitat loss and fragmentation itself has completely removed the snake from the majority of its original historic range which used to cover all of California’s Central Valley. In fact, according to population results, 98% of giant garter snakes previously living in the Southern San Joaquin Valley are now absent from the habitat.

The goal of this recovery plan is to delist garter snake from the endangered list by stabilizing the population. Though it will cost over 62 billion dollars to prevent the snake from going extinct or continuing to rapidly decline, the activities benefit both the giant garter snake and surrounding organisms such as tri-colored blackbird and white-nose ibis. Specific recovery strategies include updating management strategies for habitats on public and private lands, conducting continuous population update surveys and Researching more thoroughly on the giant garter snake itself.  The Loss of habitat remains the greatest risk to the species’ survival and can be corrected using the stated practices than do not interfere with the ecosystem; rather they benefit the ecosystem and all organisms living within it. Perhaps, if the recovery plan is successful, the giant garter snake may begin to establish populations in the Southern San Joaquin Valley where an abundance of these snakes roamed happily decades ago. 

Fun Fact: A unique characteristic of the aquatic snake is the secretion of fluids when alarmed. When picked up, they attempted to smear ‘musk’ on themselves and the captor in order to make the snake seem distasteful. If you try to catch these snakes, you might want to bring gloves :) 

Resources used: 

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfilespcode=C057

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_garter_snake

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/california-bounty-of-pears-and-rice-the-california-pear-and-rice-industries-have-long-been-a-part-of-a-farm-to-table-history-the-golden-state

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C057

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Ilio Holo I Ka Uaua: Dog That Runs In Rough Water
CJ Covington

The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the rarest species of marine mammal in the world. They have existed in the subtropical waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for the last 600 years. Six main subpopulations are found on six different NWHI but there are many sightings and even some births occurring on the main Hawaiian Islands.  The seals eat fish and crustaceans from the ocean and use the sandy beaches to rest and breed. Since the arrival of western civilization onto the Hawaiian Islands, monk seal populations began diminishing from reasons such as severe overhunting and habitat degradation. By 1976, the Hawaiian monk seal was placed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

http://www.kauaimonkseal.com

Hawaiian monk seals are fairly docile and when they show up on popular beaches they’re hard to miss. Hawaiian monk seal females can grow up to 2.4m (7.8ft) and weigh as much as 270kg (600lbs). Unassumingly, males measure up slightly smaller reaching up to 2.1m (6.8ft) in length and weighing around 170kg (375lbs). The seals can live for up to 25 years and females can begin reproduction at about the age of 5. Monk seal offspring are born at 16-18kg and measure about 1 meter.

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/

The pups are born with black fur that begins to turn gray around maturity. Adults are usually dark gray to brown on their backs and light gray or light brown on their bellies. About once a year, Hawaiian monk seals experience a molt, where they shed their top layer of skin and fur. Seals can sometimes look green because of algae that grows on their fur, so the molt helps them gain a shiny new silver coat every year.

http://www.learnersonline.com/

The Hawaiian monk seal resides in an ever-changing habitat. The Hawaiian Islands sit on oceanic plate that is constantly moving northwest. Over time, dozens of islands have been created, altered, and destroyed by erosion and the tectonic plates. Most of the monk seal populations reside in six separate subpopulations among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They commonly frequent Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysen Island, and French Frigate Shoals. Although the Hawaiian monk seal is managed as a single population by the US National Marine Fisheries Service, it consists of different meta-populations. Research shows that the islands present a patchy habitat with some populations being highly independent and others that often emigrate and immigrate. Between 1958 and 1996, beach counts of the main populations decreased by 60%. The still declining population has dwindled to about 1200-1300 animals.

http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov

On November 23, 1976 the Hawaiian monk seal was listed as endangered on the Endangered Species Act. The monk seal is also listed as Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The Hawaiian monk seal faces a mountain of threats towards its survival.Threats include: ingestion of pollution or toxic substances, incidental capture in fishing gear, decrease in food availability, human disturbance, habitat loss, shark predation, and slow reproductive rates.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/

The US Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan laid out these steps to maintaining and recovering Hawaiian monk seal populations:

1. Investigate and mitigate factors affecting food limitation

2. Prevent entanglements of monk seals

3. Reduce shark predation on monk seals

4. Minimize the risk of exposure to or spread of infectious disease

5. Conserve Hawaiian monk seal habitat

6. Reduce Hawaiian monk seal interactions with fisheries

7. Reduce male aggression toward pups/immature seals and adult females

8. Reduce the likelihood and impact of human interactions

9. Investigate and develop response to biotoxin impacts

10. Reduce impacts from compromised and grounded vessels

11. Reduce the impacts of contaminants

12. Continue population monitoring and research

13. Create and implement a main Hawaiian Islands Hawaiian Monk Seal

Management Plan

14. Implement the Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian Monk Seal

Works Cited

"Recovery Plan For The Hawaiian Monk Seal." US Fish and Wildlife Service. Environmental Conservation Online

     System, 22 Aug. 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/hawaiianmonkseal.pdf>.

The Monachus Guardian. Monachus-guardian.org., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.monachus

     guardian.org/factfiles/hawai01.htm>.

"Hawaiian Monk Seal Natural History." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Web. 12 Mar. 2015

     <http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/hawaiian_monk_seal/natural_history.php>.

"Hawaiian Monk Seal (Neomonachus Schauinslandi)." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 6 Jan.

     2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/seals/hawaiian-monk

     seal.html>.