Article
Summary:
Rising temperatures threaten to drive American wolverines to extinction. The wolverines have adapted to cold weather, to the point that there very survival as a species depends on it. Besides having numerous cold-weather adaptations, such as special fur to keep them warm and paws well-suited to snowy terrain, wolverines shelter their newborns in dens built from snow. Shifting climates could eliminate the spring time snow, causing a sharp drop in the reproduction rates of the wolverines, causing a sharp drop in their population. Some conservationists are talking about reintroducing wolverines into the wild to help keep the population up. Computer simulations report that if global warming continues at it's current pace, or even a more moderate one, American wolverines would have to rapidly adapt to very different conditions or face extinction.
Opinions:
Honestly, I didn't even know that wolverines lived in America, there are so few left. This really goes to show how our lazy attitude towards climate change is having serious consequences, and it's really just the beginning. How many other species could be facing similar fates due to climate change? And the extinction of the wolverine could cause ripple effects throughout it's community, causing populations of other organisms to chance, and possibly bring other species down with it. I think we really have to step up our game.
Questions:
1) Why aren't more steps being taken to prevent or reverse climate change?
2) Do you think the extinction of the wolverine would wreak havoc on its community?
3) What steps do you think we could take to help save the wolverine?
4) Do you think wolverines will disappear from the American wild?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how big of an effect global warming is having on different species of animals. It’s scary, honestly, to think that just around the corner an animal very important to the environment could just become extinct. This would seriously disrupt the ecosystem, and all the other animals in the wolverines’ habitat would be affected as well.
I thought it was really cool how the wolverines learned to adapt to their cold weather climate habitat. They even use dens made of snow as shelters for their newborn! However, global warming is threatening to change how far the wolverines have come. If the wolverines die out, it will all be because of humans. I personally feel that people should just take the time to be more aware of what they are doing the environment. Maybe then global warming would slow down, at least for the time being.
I completely agree with what you said about the climate affecting species other than just the wolverines. It’s scary that first the wolverines are being affected, then more animals will be, and then even more! The whole ecosystem is going to be turned upside-down if the wolverines go extinct, and I can imagine that many other systems will too if other animals start dying out.
Answer the questions:
#2: I honestly believe that if the wolverine went extinct, it would definitely wreak havoc on its community. There would be a ripple effect, and so many animals would be hit by this drastic change. For instance, the wolverines’ prey animals’ populations will increase due to the fact that the wolverine is not hunting them for food anymore. This could lead to overpopulation, however. Also, animals that eat wolverines for food will start to die out as well, because their source of energy and protein will be gone. These animals themselves may become extinct.
#4: I do think that wolverines will disappear from the American wild. People nowadays are so careless with what they do, especially when it comes to not harming the environment. I agree that the fact about wolverines living in America is not common knowledge because there are only a few still left. This basically just goes to show that if Americans keep up their careless behavior, then the wolverine will for sure go extinct.
Ask more questions:
1) If the wolverines do go extinct, what other animals will it affect? Will it have a ripple effect?
2) How many animals will be affected by the global climate change?
3) How long will it be before the wolverines go extinct?
4) If lots of animals begin to go extinct because of the global climate change, will people finally realize what they’re doing to the environment and how they’re contributing to global warming?
1) In my fairly uninformed opinion, I think that wolverine extinction will definitely have a ripple effect. However, it probably won't be as bad as I originally thought. I did a quick wikipedia search [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine#Behavior ], and I was very surprised to learn that the wolverine, viscous as it is, is actually more a scavenger than a hunter. Apparently North American wolverines (as opposed to their Frendoscandinavian counterparts) don't do an awful lot of their own hunting because their is much competition from other predators. Instead, they have adapted to steal kills from other predators. They also eat carrion (animal carcases) left behind by wolves wolves. So I think North American wolverine extinction would initially affect the population of decomposers more than that of primary and secondary consumers, although the loss of the wolverine would eventually trickle throughout the cycle. Also, adult wolverines don't have any predators (they are quite viscous, which makes them more trouble than they're worth, I guess), so they are pretty much top of the food chain.
ReplyDelete2) All wild animals will be affected by the global climate change, I think. Since climates worldwide are changing, all the animals within them (from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef) will, if they have not already, be forced to adapt in order to survive. It's really a do-or-die situation.
3) It depends what measures we take. The original article stated that, in a worst case scenario sort of situation, springtime snow cover would be completely gone in the American wolverine's habitat by 2050, which is 39 years from now. However in the best-case scenario situation, snow cover remained at present day levels. According to the aforelinked Wikipedia article, deforestation, trapping, and habitat fragmentation (basically parts of the habitat changing into a different habitat, be the cause human or natural) also threaten the wolverine, and those are things entirely cause by humans and things that we could easily stop, and in some cases reverse, immediately.
4) Some people will never realize, and some do and just don't care.
Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting. I remember hearing something about wolverines a long time ago, but I never knew about this. I think more people should be informed of this so we can bring this issue to light. (I suggest we start with Hugh Jackman and Sir Ian McKellen and then anyone who likes X-Men.)
Responses to Kate's Questions
1) As long as Exxon-Mobil, Sunoco, and all the other oil companies have Congress in their pockets, we'll rarely, if ever, see any drastic improvements in climate change policy out of Washington, which is really the only force that can have any significant influence.
2) Like you said, Kate, the extinction of the wolverine (or any other species) would have a ripple effect across the globe. ("What is, 'The Butterfly Effect,' Alex?" LOL) The Taoists are right when they say everything is connected (mainly because of migratory birds like those bloody Canada geese that poop on my car.)
3) Going back to my first response, we need to get our Congress out of the pockets of oil company lobbyists so they can't try to hold us back, and then make some significant improvements in both domestic attempts to promote, "green" industries and in international efforts to get other countries to follow suit. In the wolverine's case, Canada's aid would be particularly helpful.
4) If we do that, then I think the wolverines have a fighting chance. If not, then not as much. It wouldn't be impossible, but it definitely won't be a cakewalk, either.
Responses to Lauren's Questions
1) See Response 1 for Kate
2) (I can't find a way to insert an infinity symbol so just turn your head sideways) 8
3) Kate already answered that question, but I'll just add that it may happen a bit before 2050 if one year's snowfall just isn't enough to build dens with.
4) If people don't realize what they're doing to the environment and how it'll bite them in the butt before tons of animals are wiped out, then it'll probably be too late to save our sorry butts.
Questions of My Own
1) First of all, I'd like to ask that aren't the Frendoscandinavian wolverines at the same risk because they live in the same latitudes near the North Pole?
2) What are the current annual snow levels in the wolverine habitats and how many wolverines are there in existence at last estimates?
3) How does deforestation affect them? I may be making a false assumption based on the whole snow-den thing, but don't they live in the open tundra?
4) Who traps wolverines and why? (Do they line their bones with adamantium? :P)
1) I think the wolverine species in Fenno-Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Finland, in case anyone's lost) are in a far colder climate. Also, I don't think they face the same deforestation/trapping/habitat fragmentation issues as the wolverines in NA. Those silly Euros really get it. They are far more conscious of how human actions affect the environment and do far more to protect it than we do. In fact, in one of those countries (or maybe it is Denmark?), the law requires that a tree must be planted whenever one is cut down.
ReplyDelete2) According to the article, while there are about 15,000 wolverines roaming Canada, there are just a few dozen to a few hundred wolverines remaining in the continuous US, although an unknown number reside in Canada. A large number of wolverines remain in Fenno-Scandinavia (though they used to also be further South in Europe as well), and Wikipedia lists wolverines as having a "least concerned" conservation status, so I think wolverines are doing pretty well, world wide. It's just the continuous US-dwelling wolverines that are in danger of extinction, for the moment. I haven't been able to find snow levels.
3) Is there any tundra in the Lower 48? Besides, if they lived in tundra, they wouldn't have a problem (yet), because I'm pretty sure tundra keeps its snowcover year-round. And most of the pictures I found ( http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=667&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=wolverine+animal&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq= ) had at least some green in them.
4) Nah, they've got unobtainium. Or furs. One of the two. I think that may have been more of an issue historically rather than currently though, as I don't think the trapping industry is real big these days.
Reflection
ReplyDeleteI was also unaware that Wolverines even existed in America. I also think it is really cool that they have adapted to the point that they not only can survive the cold but depend on it. Now I am not sure about this, yes we should save it but could this also be a case like that of the Wooly Mammoth? Probably not but either way we should stop global warming but I still don't think that is the only thing contributing to this.
Answer to Kates Questions
1) The reason is because not everyone believes that global warming even exists. They think it is just a cycle of heat that the earth is going through. I also don't fully believe that the extinction of every spieces is due to global warming but it is something we shouldn't risk. But since people don't beleive in it they aren't willing to spend millions to help it with our goverment in debt.
More answers to come.
2) yes it would wreak havoc because while I am not sure what wolverines eat,what type of enviroment they live in, etc. I do know that they are probably terrtiary consumers with their extinction every animal they hunt would probably over produce, thus destroying the population of the animals below them, and the effect would just keep repeating until either the ecosystem recovered which would take many years, or the ecosystem was destroyed.
ReplyDelete3) we could attempt to fix the enviroment by cutting down on pollution but considering that a scientist said that they would need a near sudden adaption of the new heat to survive it would probably not be quick enough. What we have to do I think is put a good number of the wolverines into a population saving program in a zoo and keep them there to keep them alive either until the temp cools back down or we fix the climate problem.
4) I honestly don't know. I want to say that we would take the same actions we are taking in saving the polar bears because both are going extinct for pretty much the same reason which is increasing heat in their ecosystems but to be honest the goverment spends so much on saving the polar bears that they will probably evaluate how much the wolverine means to its ecosystem, what would happen should it go extinct, things like that, and if they deem that the wolverine could go extinct without too much damage to the ecosystem and the overall ecosystem then they will probably put nowhere near as much time and money, if any, into saving the wolverines then they do saving the polar bears.
Questions
1) what do you think the cause is here? Is it global warming or just some bizarre out of the blue heat spike?
2) do you think the wolverine can survive on their own?
3) do you think the ecosystem of the wolverine is unsaveably doomed if the wolverine goes extinct?
ReplyDelete4) do you think we should spend more or less on the wolverine to save it then we do on saving the polar bear? Why?
Once again global warming is messing crap up. While I do think it is a good idea to put wolves back into the wilderness, I think the problem of global warming should be taken care of first. A fisherman would rather have a fishing pole than a bunch of fish. Once global warming has been taken care of we can reintroduce the wolverines. This could take a while, so it would be a good idea to keep some in captivity until the right time comes.
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.setonhill.edu/MoiraRichardson/wolverine1.jpg
Responding to question 2, I do think it would have an affect on the community. Nothing would happen right away, but taking a species out of an ecosystem can stem a whole bunch of problems and in the long run yes, it would mess up the community.
New questions
1. If the wolverines were to go extinct, would the other species be able to survive, and if not, how long would they last?
2. How long will it take until this problem is averted?
3. How many people are going to listen to this problem and forget about it?