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biodiversity Durango Herald Population

Describe your Favorite Species

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

Describe your Favorite Species

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

            Walking along the shore of Navajo Lake I saw lots of motion around the blue flowers of lupines (Lupinus angustifolius). At first they appeared to be humming birds, but they didn’t hum. Once I realized what species of animal they were, I became intrigued how their tiny brains could guide their complex behavior.

            These little animals flew from flower to flower, stopping to drink from each one. They hovered in front of flowers and carefully inserted their tiny straws to get the nectar. Even when a breeze blew and the flowers rocked in the wind, the creatures were able to maintain precise positions in front of flowers. When all of the blossoms on one plant had been emptied, the little wizards went on to the next plant.

The behavior of this tiny creature has fascinated me so much that I am still studying it after more than five years. Fortunately I don’t have to go to Navajo Lake to find them; they come right into our front yard. I have learned much about them and their invertebrate cousins. It is amazing how they fit into the complex web of life.

Perhaps you can guess what species this is. If not, its name will be in my November column.

            This introduction is to inform you how I became interested in one species. If you also have a favorite species, I would like to know about it. In fact, I am so eager to know that I am running a contest!

            Here are the rules. The contest is open to people of any age who live in southwest Colorado. Prizes will be given in two age categories—kids (12 and under) and adults (older than 12). Prizes are kindly supplied by For the Birds, a store that encourages studying back yard nature and enjoying our feathered friends. In each age group the first prize is a gift certificate for $15; the runner-up will get a gift certificate for $10. Only submit one entry per person, please.

            We all like cats and dogs, horses, cows, goats and sheep; domesticated animals and pets do not count for this contest. The species of animals entered into this contest have to be wild. Chose a single species; writing that you like jays isn’t exact enough. Describing the gray jay (Perioreus canadensis) because of its boldness would be much better.

            Each entry has to have the common name for the species as well as the scientific name. Did you ever wonder why scientists use names such as Felis concolor? Well, the mountain lion has lots of different common names such as puma, catamount and cougar. If two scientists got into a conversation about a large wildcat and used different names, could they be sure that they were talking about the same animal? The scientific name is precise.

            Entries must include the conservation status of the animal. Most animals in this area are in the “least concern” category, but some are endangered. You can learn this from the Red List at www.iucnredlist.org. This status is also easily available if your animal is listed in Wikipedia.

            Most important is to write why the species is your favorite. This should be a short essay of 200 words or less. It can include personal experiences, significance to nature or anything that would help me understand why your species is important to you—and why it should be important to me. Please include your name, age (if you are entering in the kids’ category) and address.

            There are several criteria I will keep in mind when judging the essays. Personal experience with the animal is important, as is its importance to the web of life. Everyone values the warm, furry megafauna (like giant pandas [Ailuropoda melanoleuca]); I will give extra weight to lesser animals. There are many unsung heroes in the animal world, such as dung beetles. Where would we be if poop didn’t get recycled by these lowly creatures? Unsung heroes get extra credit.

            Finally, all submissions have to be by e-mail to contest@population-matters.org. The deadline for submission is 11-11-08. Decisions of the judge are final. All entries will become the property of the Durango Herald. The winners will be announced in the Population Matters! column on 12-28-08, and excerpts from the winning essays will be published.

            Please select the species that has special significance to you, and to nature. Enter this simple contest and perhaps you might win a valuable gift certificate to For the Birds.

Categories
Action Carrying Capacity Environment Global Climate Change Population

Stop Wildfires

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

Stop Wildfires

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

Only you can prevent forest fires

Smokey Bear

 

            Prevention and control of wildfires are big concerns as the summer progresses. For years we had thought that their increased size and numbers were caused by management practices over the past century. Strong evidence supports another theory.

            Our Forest Service tried to maximize the productivity of National Forests by suppressing fire. Their theory, starting a century ago, was that saving forests from fire would make them more fruitful—more board feet of lumber could be harvested. Biologists now recognize that fire is actually beneficial to the ecology of forests. For instance, a fire in a southwestern ponderosa pine forest is usually down low and burns the undergrowth while sparing the trees themselves. Small plants that would sap the water and minerals in the soil are reduced so that he trees can grow better. Furthermore, fire creates an ideal seedbed for ponderosa seedlings by consuming dead organic matter on the soil surface.

            Moreover, suppression of fire can cause problems. The underbrush and dead wood build up. When lightening does strike, there is so much fuel waiting to blaze that an inferno can result.

            An article published in Science magazine reported a detailed study of wildfires in the western United States over the past 35 years. The authors compared this database with information about forestry practices and climate/precipitation. They found that large wildfire activity increased markedly starting in the 1980’s. They also found that the increase in fires correlated best with increased spring and summer temperatures and with earlier spring snowmelt.

            Even if snow pack at the end of the winter were adequate, it would melt off earlier than in the past. This lack of moisture, combined with higher temperatures during spring and summer, make for a long, dry fire season.

            It seems that we are seeing an effect of global climate change close to home.

            Gardeners may have already noted a change. Most seed packages have information about where it is appropriate to grow the plants. For instance, La Plata County is in plant Hardiness Zone 5 or 6, determined by the lowest winter temperatures. The National Arbor Day Foundation has revised its zone map to reflect a warming of the climate from 1990 and 2006. Find more information about this, including a map showing where the zones have changed, in Wikipedia.

            Another example of an effect of climate change is found in the Bay of Bengal, at the delta of the sacred Ganges River. Warming has caused a significant rise in the sea level, submerging islands there. The island of Lohachara was the first to be abandoned, leaving 10,000 landless refugees. Unfortunately, there are many more islands to follow. Two locals, Nick Manning and Tyler Quintano, documented this tragedy in their movie “Between the Tides.”

The whole country of Kiribati is threatened by flooding. Citizens of this collection of 33 low coral atolls peppered in the South Pacific are preparing abandon their homeland as it is gradually being inundated. They may be followed shortly by residents of other Pacific nations, including Tuvalu and Vanuatu. So far, no other country is willing to house these environmental refugees, who may number more than 300,000 people.

Yes, Southwest Colorado had a colder-than-usual winter last year with great snowpack.  No, global climate change does not mean that all parts of the planet are getting warmer, or that there isn’t variation from year to year.

Climate change models predict an increase in average temperature and

greater variation in temperature than we are accustomed to. Models also predict more extreme weather events, such as severe hurricanes. The weight of the evidence is that our climate is changing for the worse—and we are the cause. What can we do about it?

Dr. Chris Rapley, head of the Science Museum in London, has come up with the cheapest and most obvious answer to slow global climate change. We need to improve access to contraception by education and healthcare. “I am not advocating genocide” said Rapley. He does advocate reducing the birthrate—fewer people on the planet will mean less carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere. “To achieve this goal you would only have to spend a fraction of the money that would be needed to bring about technological fixes…. However, everyone has decided, quietly, to ignore the issue.”

            Everyone, that is, other than readers of the Durango Herald. Many of us have recognized that human population growth is the basis of countless problems that we face today.