Species Project

1. Species Project By: Deneshia Sanders

2. Endangered Species Contents include: California Freshwater Shrimp

3. California Freshwater Shrimp • The California Freshwater Shrimp is only two inches long. http://wildequity.org/species/27 http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/04/07/sticking-up-for-the-little-guy-the-california-freshwater-shrimp/

4. California Freshwater Shrimp • California Freshwater Shrimp plays a vital role in the aquatic ecosystems, living in lowland streams and feeding on decomposing plants. California Freshwater Shrimp are highly adapted to the environment and employs a number different techniques to survive. It is nearly transparent. When caught the shrimp will jab the top of its spine into the roof of the fish’s mouth to escape. It only gets one chance to reproduce, and doesn’t produce nearly as many eggs as other species of shrimp do. Female shrimp swim with her eggs stuck onto her legs in the winter and spring months so the eggs won’t wash away in a flood. I the summer, when water levels decrease and water temperatures rise, the juvenile shrimp will feast on the carcasses of fish that have suffocated in that environment. • California freshwater shrimp still survive but on private land, and the population is threatened by landowners. • The degradation of the riparian zone around these streams force the shrimp to lose their habitat. Keeping aquatic systems in tact and minimizing the waste of water.

5. Extinct Species Contents Include: Saber Tooth Tiger

6. Saber Tooth Tiger

7. Saber Tooth Tiger • The Saber Tooth Tiger is a (K)strategist and has a low reproductive rate. And because of the overhunting of their large prey there was less food and the population of the saber tooth tiger began to dwindle. And they could not live without the source of food. The saber tooth tiger also had problems with living in the new environment. • This classic saber tooth tiger roamed in Western North America (California) and South America (Argentina). It had a short tail, and a huge pair of teeth on the upper jaw were serrated along their back edges, allowing it to easily pierce the flesh of its prey more easily. With its muscular shoulders and neck, it most likely feed on slow moving large prey in which it could sink its large teeth into. http://www.ehow.com/about_6113344_did-tooth-tiger-go-extinct_.html http://marinebio.org/oceans/conservation/moyle/ch2.asp

8. Invasive Species Contents Include: Purple Star Thistle

9. Purple Star Thistle This is where it could be found. This is the Purple Star Thistle

10. Purple Star Thistle • A native of southern Europe, purple star thistle produces prolific seeds and often invades floodplains, dry forests and grasslands. This plant is common in many western states and may occasionally be found in some Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic States. The best way to prevent these invasive species is to recognize the species before it becomes installed into the habitat. Also you can revive the site of the land that the plant is. Since it has no natural predators it wont be easy to control the way that this species grows. http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/purplestarthistle.shtml http://www.invasiveweeds.com/canido/welcome.html

11. Indicator Species Contents Include: Florida Wood Stork

12. Florida Wood Stork

13. Florida Wood Stork • The Florida Wood stork indicates if most of the small fish in waters are dying off from changes in mercury levels to rising temperatures in the water. • Storks are birds of freshwater and estuarine wetlands, primarily nesting in cypress or mangrove swamps. They feed in freshwater marshes, narrow tidal creeks, or flooded tidal pools. Particularly attractive feeding sites are depressions in marshes or swamps where fish become concentrated during periods of falling water levels. • The generally accepted explanation for the decline of the wood stork is the reduction in food base (small fish) necessary to support breeding colonies. The reduction of wetland habitat as well as to changes in water levels from draining wetlands and changing water flow by constructing levees, canals, and floodgates. • To protect these animals flooding may be necessary to stimulate nesting and prevent predators from destroying nests. Periodic drying also may be necessary to prevent trees from dying and to allow recruitment of new trees. http://environmental-matters.org/Wood_Stork_Paper_Updated.pdf http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Species-Accounts/Wood-stork-2005.htm

14. Keystone Species Contents Include: Beavers

15. Beavers http://www.hww.ca/en/species/mammals/beaver.html http://www.beaversolutions.com/beavers_keystone_species.asp

16. Beavers • Beavers are keystone species because they benefit everything around them, even humans. • Beavers produce food for fish and other animals .Support biodiversity, including 43% of our endangered species, create vital habitats, preserve open space, maintain stream and river flow, and provide greater opportunities for : Wildlife observation, Hunting and trapping, Fishing, and Photography. They also lesson erosion, raise the water table by the building of dams. http://www.beaversww.org/beavers-and-wetlands/about-beavers/

17. Threatened Species Contents Include: Ptunarra Brown Butterfly

18. Ptunarra Brown Butterfly http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/25/2525451.htm?site=northtas http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2009/image/901/index.php

19. Ptunarra Brown Butterfly The Ptunarra brown butterfly is threatened because its natural habitat is disappearing. It is a Tasmanian endemic species which means it is only found in Tasmania. It lives in our native grasslands and grassy woodlands in the Midlands, and Northwest Plains. Loss of this habitat through land clearing, grazing by stock and the introduction of exotic pasture grasses have caused the numbers of butterflies to decline. “The recovery plan requires good habitat management for this species. This requires such strategies as deliberate burning of grassland areas to encourage fresh growth and maintain grassland species diversity whilst reducing invasion by shrub species. These actions are taking place in consultation with timber companies, forestry and private land owners. Areas of grassland have been set aside from plantations to provide grassland and butterfly conservation. Also in specific areas, plant species which promote and encourage the Ptunarra brown butterflies are being planted.” http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1104