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You are here: Home / Archives for habitat degradation

habitat degradation

Roads And Chimpanzees | Earth Wise

November 8, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Roads have a major negative impact on chimpanzee populations

The chimpanzee is a species of great ape native to tropical regions of Central and West Africa.  Chimpanzees are highly social animals and can live to be over 50 years old.  In fact, chimpanzees are our closest cousins.  We share about 98% of our genes with chimpanzees. 

According to the African Wildlife Federation, it’s estimated that at most only 300,000 chimpanzees remain in the wild today.  They face a myriad of challenges, including habitat degradation and hunting. 

According to new research from the University of Exeter in the U.K., roads have a negative impact on chimpanzee populations that can extend for several miles.  In the study, which was recently published in the journal Conservation Letters, the researchers analyzed the impact of major and minor roads on wild western chimpanzee numbers in the eight African countries in which they live.  They found that negative impacts extended an average of 10.7 miles from major roads, and 3.4 miles from minor roads.  The researchers found that the density of chimpanzee populations dropped steadily from the edges of these areas to the lowest value alongside the roads.  Only 4.3% of the chimpanzees’ range remains unaffected by roads. 

While the study did not investigate why roads affect chimpanzee numbers, the research team did offer some clues.  In addition to noise and roadkill, roads provide access to unexploited areas for industries that often reduce or remove chimpanzee habitats.  Roads can also restrict chimpanzee movements, and provide easier access for hunters. 

The researchers hope their findings will bring about more effective guidelines to mitigate the impact of roads on wildlife.   

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Roads have far-reaching impact on chimpanzees

Photo, posted August 12, 2014, courtesy of Rod Waddington via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving The Queen Conch | Earth Wise

February 3, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new manual to help save Queen Conch

Queen conchs are large sea snails belonging to the same taxonomic group as clams, oysters, and squid.  They live on coral reefs or seagrass meadows in warm, shallow waters.  Queen conchs are found throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, ranging as far north as Bermuda and as far south as Brazil.

Reaching up to 12” long and living up to 40 years, the queen conch is prized as a delicacy and revered for its shell.  It’s the second most important sea-bottom fishery in the Caribbean region, trailing only the spiny lobster. 

But queen conchs face a challenge.  Their populations are in a steady rate of decline as a result of overfishing, habitat degradation, and hurricane damage.  In some places, the numbers are so low that remaining conchs cannot find breeding partners.  The situation is urgent from both an ecological and economical perspective. 

As a result, Megan Davis, a scientist from Florida Atlantic University who spent more than four decades researching queen conch, has released an 80-page, step-by-step user manual about how to care for the species. Her work was recently published in the National Shellfisheries Association’s Journal of Shellfish Research.

According to Davis, aquaculture, along with conservation of breeding populations and fishery management, are ways to help ensure longevity of the queen conch.  With requests for mariculture guidance pouring in from communities throughout the Caribbean, Davis and her collaborators are expanding their queen conch conservation, education, and restorative mariculture program.

Their desired outcomes include creating protected breeding areas, establishing sustainable hatcheries, and repopulating protected habitats.

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‘Hail to the queen’: Saving the Caribbean queen conch

Photo, posted June 3, 2012, courtesy of Christopher Gonzalez via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Mammals Can’t Seem To Evolve Fast Enough

November 1, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EW-11-01-18-Mammals-Just-Cannot-Keep-Up.mp3

Our planet has been through five upheavals over the past 450 million years.  During each one, the environment on earth changed so dramatically that most plant and animal species became extinct.  After each of these mass extinction events, evolution slowly filled the gaps in the environment with new species. 

[Read more…] about Mammals Can’t Seem To Evolve Fast Enough

Endangered Bees

October 27, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/EW-10-27-16-Endangered-Bees.mp3

It’s no secret that pollinators around the world are under threat.  According to a U.N. sponsored report released earlier this year, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction.  And since approximately 75% of the world’s food crops depend on pollination, the decline of these pollinators poses a major threat to food worldwide. 

[Read more…] about Endangered Bees

Fungal Diseases And Wildlife

February 18, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/EW-02-18-16-Fungal-Diseases-and-Wildlife.mp3

Since the late 1990s, there has been an unprecedented global wave of virulent fungal infections that has been decimating whole groups of animals from salamanders and frogs, to snakes and bats.

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Global Extinction Rates And Biodiversity

October 2, 2015 By EarthWise

Tiger

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/EW-10-02-15-Global-Extinction-and-Biodiversity.mp3

Many ecologists believe that the sixth mass extinction is underway.  Whereas previous mass extinctions have been associated with cataclysmic events like asteroid strikes, this one is said to be associated with the impact of humanity on nature.

[Read more…] about Global Extinction Rates And Biodiversity

What Would Our Planet’s Sixth Mass Extinction Mean For Us? 

August 12, 2015 By EarthWise

Hustle and Bustle

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EW-08-12-15-Mass-Extinction-2.mp3

A new study by researchers from three U.S. universities echoes an earlier report out of Duke University indicating that earth is in what appears to be the beginning of its sixth mass extinction – the first in some 65 million years.  Large animals face the highest rate of decline, and their losses could affect other species, including us.

[Read more…] about What Would Our Planet’s Sixth Mass Extinction Mean For Us? 

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