Northern White Rhinoceros – On the Brink of Extinction

*Guest post by Monica Choy -one of several posts selected from the graduate EES3001 Scientific Literacy course at University of Toronto-Scarborough.

Photo credit: Elodie A. Sampere, Getty Images

Suni, a 34 year old male northern white rhinoceros, died on October 17, 2014 of natural causes. His death reduced the total number of known northern white rhinos to an alarming six individuals, which has brought his species one step closer to extinction.¹

Suni was born in a zoo in the Czech Republic and was the first of his kind to be born in captivity. Unfortunately, northern rhinos are a finicky species when it comes to breeding and with increasing pressures from poaching, it became critical to provide the animals with a natural, comfortable space.

As a result in 2009, Suni and three others were transported to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in East Africa.  It was believed this change in scenery would most accurately imitate their natural environment.² Rhino conservationists anticipated that the rhinos would then breed naturally and provide a healthy calf that would bring new hope for the waning species.

Even before these desperate attempts to keep the species going however, the history of the northern rhino has been a sad one. At the time of Suni’s birth, his species was on a very slow rebound. Northern white rhinos had been excessively poached for their horns, and their initial population of over 2,000 animals declined to a shocking 15 rhinos by the late ’80s. Conservation efforts were ramped up in the ’90s and it looked as though the animals were making a gradual comeback. Unbelievably, poachers also increased their efforts and knocked the numbers back down to below 10 individuals by the mid-2000s.³

Northern white rhinos were declared extinct in the wild by 2008.

The likelihood that Suni’s species will become extinct in our lifetime has increased significantly with his death. And although the Ol Pejeta Conservancy will continue trying until the bitter end with the use of techniques such as artificial insemination, the precarious position the northern white rhino is in, as stated in their press release, is “a sorry testament to the greed of the human race.” ¹

The extinction of such a charismatic species is a tragedy and should bring awareness to how heavily humans really affect our environments. Although the northern white rhino may be on the brink of extinction, there are still a countless number of other species out there that need our help. It is up to us to work together in order to keep other species as far from the fate of the northern rhino as possible.

More information

¹Ol Pejeta Conservancy press release  - http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/about/news/breaking-news-ol-pejeta-conservancy-loses-one-its-northern-white-rhinos

²Northern white rhino conservation project - http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/sites/default/files/NWR_FAQ_FINAL.pdf

³WWF profile of the northern white rhinoceros - http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/white_rhinoceros/

Giving Turtles a Head Start

*Guest post by Jethro Valido -one of several posts selected from the graduate EES3001 Scientific Literacy course at University of Toronto-Scarborough.

Photo from  Adopt-a-Pond at Toronto Zoo

When I think about turtles, the first things to come to mind are that they are slow and that they’ve been on Earth for forever. So it came to me as a surprise when I found out that most of Ontario’s turtles are actually endangered and at risk of disappearing in Ontario. In fact, seven out of the eight turtle species found in Ontario are threatened

and are in dire need of help in order to maintain populations. The problem with turtles are that they are extremely long-lived (can live up to 70+ years) and that they have a late sexual maturation (20-25 years). This makes it hard for us to study them and pin-point a cause to their decline, especially when action is required immediately.

So what exactly can we do to help their numbers from declining? One way we can help our turtles is through a head-start program. A head-start program is the process in which juveniles (in this case turtle eggs) are raised in captivity until they reach a certain age, and then they are release back into the wild. This is exactly what I am doing at the Toronto zoo; where we are head-starting the Blanding’s turtle.

The Blanding’s Turtle is one of the threatened species of turtles in Ontario. It can be easily identified and differentiated from other native turtles by its yellow throat and jaw. The biggest threats to this species are associated with humans; ranging from habitat loss due to land development, to being hit by cars when trying to cross roads due to habitat fragmentation, to predation from urban wildlife, such as raccoons, coyotes, skunks, etc. Though once numerous, their numbers have drastically declined, and to help restore their numbers, we are implementing a head-start program for this species at the zoo. This will help encourage the young to grow to maturity, where they have a higher success rate at surviving than when juveniles.

Photo from  Adopt-a-Pond at Toronto Zoo

The head-start program starts off with looking for Blanding’s turtle nests in at-risk locations. These locations are areas such as crop fields, where the eggs they would not have a good chance for survival. These eggs are then transported to the Toronto zoo where they are raised in captivity until they are 2 years old. The reason for this is to prevent predation. At birth, the turtles are very small and are easy prey for animals such as raccoons. By raising them until they are 2 in what could be called a “safe haven” for the turtles, they can grow to a sufficient size to deter predation once released. By deterring predation, their chances for survival is increased.  Once released, the turtles are tracked by radio-tracking devices and monitored.

The really interesting part about this all as a research student working at the Toronto zoo, is that there a lot of questions around the idea and process of head-starting. Although head-starting has been successful for sea turtles, its success is unknown for these freshwater turtles we have in Ontario; including Blanding’s turtle. The Toronto zoo is invested in this project long term, especially since the Blanding’s turtle has a late maturation, thus this project will be heavily research-based to understand the effects head-starting has on these turtles and whether the protocols are well-suited for the turtles. Because of this, there is a huge range of flexibility in adjusting or improving protocols and it is really something that can be applied to other turtle species around the world.

Photo from  Adopt-a-Pond at Toronto Zoo

The Adopt-a-Pond Program at the Toronto zoo is heavily involved with this project and they are quite determined to restore our Blanding’s turtle populations. With the release of these two year old turtles, Adopt-a-Pond is as well restoring their habitat; wetlands. Not only will these turtles receive help but they will act as an umbrella species to protect other threatened wetland species as well. Though we are not 100% certain whether head-starting will restore the Blanding’s turtle populations, this project is just a step in aiding declining turtle populations. From this, hopefully we can gain and discover answers to many of the questions concerning its decline, and eventually manage a long-term solution. Though rare today, hopefully one day, I can walk around the Rouge Park and bump into a yellow-throated turtle.

Here are some additional links:

-       Adopt-a-Pond Blog http://adoptapond.wordpress.com/ - Here, you can follow the Adopt-a-Pond team on their blog. They post up plenty of blogs following the status of their turtles (including Blanding’s turtles) and their releases

-       Earth Rangers Blog http://www.earthrangers.org/blog/ - Here, you can follow the Earth Rangers blog (Earth Rangers are in partnership to head-start the Blanding’s turtle). The website is mostly for children but they have posted up head-starting blogs. 

Could today’s oil rigs be tomorrow’s biodiversity hotspots?

*Guest post by Bryan Flood -one of several posts selected from the graduate EES3001 Scientific Literacy course at University of Toronto-Scarborough.

New research by Jeremy Claisse and colleagues at Occidental College in Los Angles have discovered that secondary fish production at oil and gas platforms off the coast of California is up to an order of magnitude higher than other marine ecosystems. This includes reefs and estuaries, normally considered some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet.

Photo from: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - http://www.data.boem.gov/homepg/data_center/other/imagecate/imageview.asp?ID=292

The authors measured the total productivity at oil and gas platforms and divided by the platform’s footprint to get a per-square-metre productivity. Herein lies the secret: The authors attribute these phenomenal productivities to the large hardscape (physical surfaces of the rigs) to seafloor ratio.

Having a structure that spans the total water column creates a range of habitats for a diverse variety of species and life stages, as well as creating a complex structure with large surface area which translates directly into habitat. This habitat attracts many species including rockfish larvae, invertebrates and planktonic food resources. These form the base of the food web, subsequently attracting adult fish and other organisms.

These results have important implications for the future of the more than 7500 oil and gas platforms around the world that will need to be decommissioned at the end of their service life. Should they be dismantled, or left as artificial reefs? Should future platforms and wind turbines be designed with an afterlife as an artificial reef in mind? Could these structures one day dot the seas with aquatic metropolises?

Claisse, J., Pondella, D., Love, M., Zahn, L., Williams, C., Williams, J., & Bull, A. (2014). Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111 (43), 15462-15467 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1411477111