Conservation Spotlight: Amazon River Dolphin

The Amazon River Dolphin, or the boto, is a type of dolphin that dwells in areas in South America. You can find this dolphin throughout the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Perú, and Venezuela. While the populations of this dolphin are abundant in many areas, there are some areas they’re considered particularly vulnerable, for various reasons. They’re a truly unique species, especially with the beautiful color of their skin. Learn more about the Amazon River Dolphin!

What are they?

This species of dolphin is much like other members of the family, except they dwell in rivers. There are other types of river dolphins located throughout the world, but they’re all different in certain ways. The most unique feature of this type of river dolphin is the pink color of their skin. The Amazon River Dolphins comes in shades of pink and gray. This unique coloration occurs because of their individual capillaries, exposure to sunlight, and diet. There are lots of other small features that also set them apart from dolphins around the world.

Why are they endangered?

Various issues contribute to the threatened status of the Amazon River Dolphin. One of the biggest issues is pollution of their rivers. Without proper regulation, large amounts of pollution enters the Amazon River, which affects all the organisms residing there. These dolphins don’t have anywhere else to go, so they’re harmed by this pollution. The contamination itself can hurt them or it can also kill off their food supply.

The boto’s diet mainly consists of catfish, which is in high demand by fisherman in the Amazon River area. As humans harvest much of the dolphins’ food source, it’s more difficult for them to survive. Some people hunt the dolphins themselves in order to use the dolphin parts as bait (often for the dolphins’ own food source - catfish). Though there are currently high numbers of this dolphin, their population has been rapidly decreasing.

How can you help?

It’s likely you haven’t heard of the Amazon River Dolphin before, however, now that you know more about this species, maybe you’re looking for some way to help them. One of the best steps you can take is simply raising awareness. Share information, on social media or with people you know, about the boto. The more people realize the impact their actions have on animals, the better chance we have of saving those animals. You can also choose to donate to causes that support helping out these animals and promoting conservation.

Conservation Success Story: California Condor

Conservation efforts are continuously underway to help out various species of animals that are endangered or treacherously close to extinction. Many times, these animals go extinct anyway and there isn’t much we can do to reverse the damage already caused. However, there are times when a true success story occurs. One of the most well-known is the story of the California condor, pulled back from the brink of extinction over the last few years. Along the way, there were many challenges that had to be overcome, but the condors did it.

The plight of the condors

Not an attractive creature, the California condor is the largest bird in North America, though that almost become an outdated fact. These condors once roamed across the western part of the United States, but as humans destroyed their habitat, hunted them, and indirectly poisoned them with lead, the birds were not doing well. They have wingspans of around 10 feet and majestically soar through the sky. They can even live up to 60 years old and are considered sacred by Native Americans.

In the late 70s, the California condor almost became extinct because only a couple dozen of the birds were left. There are various issues that led to this decline, but it’s difficult to pinpoint one overarching reason for the near extinction of these great birds. Researchers have also learned from fossils that the condor populations were significantly depleted even before Europeans came to the United States, likely because they were running out of abundant food sources. When people first began paying attention to the plight of the California condor, the future looked bleak.

Methods used to save their population

At first, no one was sure what to do to help out the California condor. The condor reproduced only after they were mature around eight years old and had one egg every couple of years. Scientists first began removing eggs from nests to raise in captivity, because the loss of an egg often prompted a condor to lay another that year. Soon, there were programs for breeding in captivity as well and the condor received protection from the Endangered Species Act.

By the late 80s, only around 10 condors remained. That was when drastic measures were taken and all birds were taken into captivity. Within a few years, scientists began reintroducing condors into the wild, though noticed captive born condors didn’t function well in the wild and many birds were still dying. Methods of raising the baby condors had to be drastically changed and mirror more closely how adult condors raised their young. Eventually, scientists saw success.

How condors are thriving today

After hard work, the condors are doing better than they have in decades. Now, there are nearly 500 condors and around half of them live in the wild. California condors have even begun laying eggs and raising chicks in the wild. There is still a long way to go for this species to be completely stable, but through careful attention from experts and concerned citizens, condors should be well on their way to frequenting the western skies once again.

Do Zoos Help Endangered Species?

People have mixed feelings regarding zoos; do they actually help the animals or do they mainly entertain humans without focusing on issues in the natural environment? Zoos donate money to conservation efforts, but how much of this money goes to help the animals? Recent numbers show that zoos “contributed some $160 million to conservation efforts in 130 countries,” but many argue the number could be much higher. Others say zoos may help some animals, but they’re ignoring the real program, which is habitat depletion by humans. Though, any help is good and many zoos continue to improve their efforts, especially as more and more join the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), which requires these institutions to follow strict guidelines on the care and efforts made to help animals.

Research projects

The biggest advocates of zoos often mention the amount of research that occurs at zoos and that they’re responsible for funding. The money zoos give to research on animals often leads to us learning much more about those creatures, which can also help us learn how to protect them and keep them healthy. Jane Goodall herself, who did extensive research on wild gorillas, views modern, accredited zoos in a positive light. This research also contributes to increasing the public’s knowledge about endangered animals and efforts to help them. Through visiting zoos and learning about the animals in them and the zoo’s research, patrons may feel more inclined to search out other ways to help endangered species. In order for zoos to be successful, this research must continue to be conducted in a responsible way that works toward reaching the goal of sustaining wild habitats.

Captive breeding

A program conducted by zoos that gets the most attention is captive breeding. Commonly, zoos livestream the birth of new animals, especially if they’re an endangered species. Zoo attendance typical hikes up after the arrival of the newborn, because everyone wants to see a cute baby animal. Some zoos even let visitors pay to vote on the new animal’s name and then donate related funds to conservation efforts, but how many zoos actually follow this same principle? How many captive breeding births directly help sustain the species’ numbers in the wild?

Reintroduction programs

Alongside captive breeding sits the re-introduction programs, where animals raised in captivity are introduced back into the wild once they’re old enough to fend for themselves. Once again, people have mixed views about this particular strategy to helping endangered animals. You have a few success stories, such as the California condor, though their introduction back into the wild faced plenty of obstacles. However, there are also many stories of how the animals couldn’t function once they were in the wild; most larger animals remain in captivity their entire lives. If done properly and combined, captive breeding and reintroduction programs can help a species, but it’s unclear how feasible the process is for the majority of endangered species.

While zoos have lots of benefits, there are downsides as well, especially when a zoo doesn’t care for its animals in the way it should. Continue doing research into different zoos and the programs they support and provide; you can decide for yourself whether or not zoos are helping endangered creatures!

The Importance of Helping Endangered Species

Some people wonder why we need to worry about different species going extinct when there are so many other types of animals in the world. It may not seem like a big deal if a few kinds of insects or mammals are no longer around. People argue that creatures have always gone extinct and it’s the natural order of life. Unfortunately, research shows that extinctions are happening at a rate that is not natural and most likely directly related to human activities. It’s up to us to help sustain the environment around us and make sure the other creatures that inhabit our planet continue to exist. By helping endangered species, we’re upholding a balanced ecological web; this goal is important for many reasons.

Balanced biosphere

Likely the most important reason we need to work to protect endangered species is that they help balance our biosphere. The biosphere is the combination of all ecosystems that exist on Earth. For an ecosystem to remain balanced, all species contributing to that ecosystem need to be present and doing their jobs. For example, without predators in a forested area, deer populations usually swell to outrageous numbers, causing property damage and car accidents, along with other issues such as overgrazing native plants. Most species have much smaller influences in ecosystems, many of which we still do not understand. It’s important to help this balance remain as much as possible to avoid any serious consequences.

Medical advancements

Many organisms have made incredible contributions to medical advancements and helped us develop technology that saves human lives. Penicillin was created from a simple fungus that people paid little attention to until it’ medical value was revealed. Toxins from various plants have been proven to possess great medicinal value and help with certain illnesses. We’ve learned incredible treatments from small species and there are millions more left to discover. For example, only 5 percent of the oceans have been explored and water covers 70 percent of the Earth. There are likely many more species we have yet to find that can contribute to medical advancements and possibly cure serious diseases.

Healthy agriculture

In order to produce agriculture, healthy ecosystems are vital. Insects such as bees pollinate the plants, which would have to be done by hand if these insects go extinct. When there’s less variety in a type of agriculture and the plant or animal contracts a disease, it can wipe out the entire species. Multiple types of plants or animals contribute to genetic diversity, which allows them to adapt and often prevents diseases from destroying their entire populations. By having various types of a single plant, for example, scientists are more likely to be able to find traits from one strain of plant that can be used to create more sustainable, higher producing, or disease resistant crops

How Different Organisms Affect the Ecosystem

An oft repeated statement in the conservation movement is that all animals are important to an ecosystem and each species plays its own role within that ecosystem. I’ve even mentioned it before in my post on “The Importance of Helping Endangered Species.” However, I’ve noticed that people don’t usually explain what this statement means and how exactly different species contribute to the ecosystem they reside within. Different types of organisms contribute to their ecosystem in unique ways and I’d like to give a basic idea of how they accomplish this, so you can understand the importance of focusing on helping all different kinds of species!

A lot of these terms and information you probably learned about in middle or high school biology, but likely haven’t heard them much since then. Ecosystems are much more complex than the information I’m giving, but I think it’s important that people have a basic understanding of how ecosystems work, especially in our efforts for conservation. There are three main roles, or niches, in every ecosystem, so I’ll address these and give some information on their roles and the organisms that would be found in these niches.

Producers

A producer is the organism that creates the primary energy used within an ecosystem. Almost always, producers are plants. These organisms use sunlight for photosynthesis, which is how they get their energy in order to grow. Eventually other animals will eat them and the producers pass on their energy as chemical energy. Over time, energy leaves the ecosystem as heat and goes back into the rest of the biosphere. Producers are incredibly important to this process of creating and passing on energy because they’re the first source of energy; without them, an ecosystem couldn’t survive at all. However, producers are often overlooked in conservation efforts in favor of animals.

Examples of producers are moss, seaweed, bamboo, orchids - pretty much any kind of plant that you would find in the environment. People don’t often mention them, but there are endangered plants, such as the Arizona Agave or the Rafflesia Flower. Some of these plants are endangered due to encroachment on their environment, since they can’t move like many animals can. Others are disappearing because of their health benefits to humans (whether real or imagined) and aren’t being replanted at the same rate.

Consumers

Consumers eat producers and use the plants to generate energy. Some consumers also eat other consumers for energy or other consumers and producers (like humans do). The main types of consumers are herbivores (eat only plants), carnivores (eat only meat), and omnivores (eat both). A larger amount of producers are required to provide enough energy for consumers. Most ecosystems are more like pyramids, with producers making up the base.

Generally, conservation efforts are focused on consumers, because they’re the best-known and easiest to identify. Animals like tigers, deer, frogs, snakes, and nearly all other animals are considered consumers.

Decomposers

Decomposers are the final group in an ecosystem and responsible for consuming dead matter. These organisms do not have a very glamorous job, but they’re vital to keeping an ecosystem clean and balanced. As decomposers do their jobs, the remaining energy leaves the ecosystem as heat, moving back into the atmosphere.

Examples of decomposers are worms, fungi, and snails, along with bacteria and various other types of organisms.

The Disappearance of Bees

For the past few years, concern has increased over the apparent lack of bees. One species has officially been placed on the endangered creature list and scientists are searching for ways to stop them from disappearing. While researchers disagree at the rate of the bee population decreasing, many agree that it is occurring and something we should watch. Educate yourself on the facts about the importance of honey bees and what you can do to help!

Why are bees important?

The biggest reason bees are so important is their assistance with pollination. While bees are not the sole pollinators for the Earth’s plant life, they’re the largest players. Bees pollinate most plants and help cultivate food. Agriculture heavily depends on bees to successfully pollinate crops. The honey industry is also thriving and must continue to do so, though captive bees are not as affected by the decline in population as wild bees. Without bees, we’d have to find other ways to pollinate crops, either by hand or using machines, which would be incredibly difficult. Since it is currently nearly impossible to simulate the amount of work bees do when it comes to pollination, we’d likely face a huge food shortage if bees were to fully disappear.

Bees also contribute to biodiversity, which is incredibly important to the ecological health of the planet. If a single species declines significantly in population or becomes extinct, it severely impacts that environment. Since bees play such a large role throughout the world, it’s even more important that we pay attention to their numbers.

Why are they disappearing?

There has been a lot of conjecture on why bees are vanishing in countries across the globe. One of the first theories was that the invasive species of Africanized honey bee was killing off wild honeybees in the United States and Europe, but not performing the same amount of pollinating native bees did. Since Africanized honey bees have a tendency to act aggressively, many people want to kill them, which could lead to killing native bees that look similar to the Africanized honey bees.

Now, scientists have determined that the main cause is colony collapse disorder (CCD), though it’s still unclear exactly what causes this issue. Most likely, it’s a combination of various factors, but mainly due to the use of pesticides and herbicides. Even though many of these chemicals are illegal, a lot are still used and have a negative impact on the bee population.

What can we do?

One of the best ways to combat bees disappearing is through growing plants native to your area, along with a small garden. Since bees are being harmed by pesticides and herbicides, not using these on your plants will attract the bees and provide them with a food source, so their colony can thrive.