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Profile of an Endangered SpeciesProject SummarySelect a species threatened with extinction from the lists of endangered species in the Appendix of The EndangeredSpecies Handbook, the 2000 IUCN List of Threatened Species or another list mentioned below. Using the list ofnumbered information below as a guide, list its common name, scientific name and other information in that order. Not all of the questions listed below can be answered from available sources, but give an overview with as muchinformation as possible.

Background Species threatened with extinction may be classified in categories such as Critical, Endangered, Threatened,Vulnerable or Imperiled on various lists such as the US Endangered Species Act, the International Union for theConservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) 2000 Red List of Threatened Species, publications of TheNature Conservancy or other organizations listed in the Organizations list in the Appendix. (For definitions of the USEndangered Species Act and the IUCN categories, see the list of Endangered and Threatened Species of Mammals,Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians in the Appendix.) This project seeks to describe species in decline or those on theverge of extinction. The number of plants and animals in these categories has increased in the past few decades. Ofthe many causes threatening species, the disappearance of wild habitats is the most important overall. But for manyspecies, rampant trade and introductions of non-native species are the primary causes. Pollution, pesticides and othertoxic chemicals, thinning of the ozone layer and other environmental problems play roles as well. For some species,several of these factors contribute to their decline.

The attitudes of people toward the environment and wildlife in areas where these species are found are often ofextreme importance in deciding whether habitats are conserved, laws passed to prevent killing and trade and otherconservation measures taken. In some countries, such as Bhutan in the Himalayas, wildlife is held in high regard, andheavy penalties are exacted for destroying the natural landscape or killing animals. In others, high populationpressures, faltering economies and political chaos result in destruction of forests and wildlife for commercialpurposes, in spite of protective laws and many concerned citizens. In the United States, the US Endangered SpeciesAct is supported by the majority of people, but opposed by a large segment, who see it as politically and economicallyintrusive. Thus, the conservation status of species threatened with extinction is a complicated picture.

Legal protection, if not enforced, can leave the species open to poaching, even in protected reserves. In spite of strictlaws, the Tiger, for example, has been killed in national parks and reserves throughout its range, as a result of highprices paid for its body parts in Traditional Medicine. Thus, a species must receive many types of protection, fromhabitat to hunting and sale restrictions, combined with a strong protective attitude by people living within its rangeand elsewhere. Also, funding for research and habitat protection is a major factor that is often lacking for the lesscharismatic species, such as invertebrates and many plants. The reports generated in this project may consist of only apage or a long report, depending on the wishes of the teacher, student or individual participating in this project.

MethodsAnswering as many of the questions listed below as possible concerning an individual species selected is the purposeof the project. It might be easiest to select a native species of animal or plant on the US Endangered Species Act orlisted by state Natural Heritage Programs for information that is readily available, or a species about which books orreports have been written, such as the Gray Wolf, the Tiger or the Whooping Crane. One can contact the state NaturalHeritage offices in care of each state capital, the US Endangered Species Office in Washington, DC, for federallylisted species or the regional offices of the US Fish and Wildfire Service. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has awebsite as well (see the Organizations list in the Appendix). For information on birds threatened with extinction

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worldwide, Threatened Birds of the World, by BirdLife International, published in 2000 by Lynx Edicions, Barcelona,provides status and other background information, illustrations and references on more than 1,000 species of birds. Mammals of the World, by Ronald M. Nowak (1999, Sixth Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press), is anotherreference providing much of the information listed below. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, availablein CD-ROM disk and on the Internet (www.redlist.org), lists animals and plants of the world in various categories ofthreat along with basic background information. It is published by The Red List Programme Officer, 219cHuntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK; e-mail redlist@ssc-uk.org. Additional books and articles can be foundin the Books and Publications Section of the Appendix of this book and in reference lists following each chapter. Within the text of The Endangered Species Handbook are many case histories that might provide backgroundinformation as well. Read Traits of Vulnerable Species in Chapter 2, Vanishing Species, to better understand theimportance of many of the following questions.

ActivitiesAnswer the following questions with the best available information.

Part I. Description and Characteristics of the Species

1. Species common name, scientific name 2. Class and Family 3. Past range: in recent years and historically 4. Present range: country or countries, region or location Does the species have a small breeding range, but a large wintering range? 5. Is the species endemic to a restricted area or region, such as an island? 6. What type of habitat does the species inhabit? (For example, oceans, undammed rivers, lakes, old-growth forests, grasslands, mixed habitat.) 7. What is the approximate size of its territory? For example, Siberian Tigers may require 500 square miles per animal, while a small gazelle might survive in an area of only a few square miles. The territorial needs of a species are crucial to its conservation. 8. Does the species require a specialized habitat or diet? Is it adaptable to a variety of habitats or diets? 9. Does the species show altruism, or the unselfish care for members of its own kind?10. What is the species longevity, if known?11. What is the species rate of reproduction? (How many young or seeds does it produce, at what intervals and what is their survival?)12. What is the species rate of natural mortality? (Does the species have few natural enemies or causes of mortality or do large numbers of the species die each year?)13. Is the species a flightless bird or slow‑moving animal? How does this affect its ability to defend itself against predators--human and animal?14. Is this a large or small animal? The term is relative and denotes size that humans consider large, such as elephants, and other large ungulates, such as antelope, giraffes or rhinoceros, as opposed to small gazelles;

for predators, Tigers are large as compared to Ocelots or Margays.15. Does the species breed in colonies or require large numbers of its own kind for protection, to locate food sources or for other means of survival?

Part B. Status and Conservation

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1. Status: What are the threats to this species' survival? (For example, habitat loss, effects of exotic species, trade or other causes.) Describe them in detail. 2. Population numbers, where known, past (historic) and present. (In most cases this would be general information, such as common and widespread in the past, and small population numbers at present.) 3. Current situation: Is the species in steep decline, making its status Critical, or in gradual decline, making its status Vulnerable. Is its population stable, but threatened because of very small numbers? 4. If in decline, does the present rate of decline exceed annual recruitment by reproduction? If so, by how much? 5. Legal status: Is the species legally protected from killing, capture, sale and harm in all or a portion of its range? If a species is found in many countries, provide as much information as possible. If protected, is the protection enforced? 6. Status of habitat: Are there reserves or national parks protecting the habitat? Is the habitat being destroyed, or is land use compatible with the needs of the species? 7. What are the attitudes of most people who live in the range of the species toward it? Are they aware of its presence and status? If so, do they support its protection or are they neutral or even negative, persecuting it? 8. Adequacy of existing conservation: What is being done, either by governmental or private conservation organizations or individuals, to help the species survive? Is the present program effective? Is adequate funding available for its protection? What would be needed to better ensure its survival? 9. What are the potential threats to the species, such as future habitat destruction from expanding human settlements and government policies of land development? For example, the wildlife of India will be under increasing pressure as the population increases and wild habitat is destroyed. Government policies, such as resettlement of people or development of grassland or rivers for human use, can present major threats to wildlife. China, for example, is gradually resettling millions of people into the steppe grasslands of its far west who are having a negative effect on native wildlife and the environment. Through data in almanacs on the rate of human population growth, calculate the threat of habitat loss in the future.10. Can you think of something that needs to be done for the species, such as research; publicity in the form of articles or a film about its status; increased commitment from government or organizations to its conservation; or a website on the Internet asking for more information and suggestions? Can you think of a way you or your class could help the species?

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BiodiversityProject SummaryBiodiversity is a term used to describe the numbers of species, families and other biological divisions of life forms onEarth. Studies of this subject in various parts of the world will be discussed. Certain regions and countries in theworld harbor very large numbers of plant and animal species, yet these same areas are threatened by habitatdestruction. What is being done to preserve such areas will be explored. The importance of preserving biodiversity tohuman society and environmental balance is a major purpose of the project. A related topic integral to the study ofbiodiversity is the variety of ecosystems and environments that provide habitats for the great diversity of life on Earthand their protection.

BackgroundAs studies of the natural world have blossomed over the past century, scientists have documented Earth's amazingarray of plants and animals, each species interrelated with others in its environment. Although life exists even ininhospitable environments, such as frigid mountain tops and hot springs, certain ecosystems, primarily tropical forestsand coral reefs, harbor the greatest diversity of species. Research on the species of plants and animals in these areas isjust beginning, but remarkable findings have emerged. In a single tree in Peru, for example, Dr. Edward O. Wilson, afamed biodiversity expert and entomologist, found 43 species of ants, a number equal to all the species of ants foundin the British Isles.

Studies of biodiversity have increased in recent years, and one country, Costa Rica, is now carrying out a biologicalinventory of all its species, a massive and important task that may take a century. A study that has gone on since thebuilding of the Panama Canal measures the decline in the number of species living on Barro Colorado Island as thewaters of the Panama Canal rose around it. It has documented the loss of many wide-ranging species as the rangegrew smaller. Such studies add to the understanding of habitat requirements for various species and how the loss ofsome affects ecosystems as a whole. A study in the Brazilian Amazon measured the biodiversity of an extensiverainforest prior to cutting it into parcels of varying size to determine the effects on species (see Lovejoy et al. 1984). As a result of extensive deforestation, especially in tropical countries, many studies of forest fragmentation and itseffects on biological diversity are taking place, finding that losses of even a few species can result in major ecologicaldamage (see Laurance and Bierregaard 1997 and description in the Forests chapter). Biodiversity studies known asRAPs, or Rapid Assessment Programs, last only a few days and seek to identify areas of high diversity that are indanger of being destroyed. "Environmental S.W.A.T Team" is a film about biologists who conduct one of theseRAPS, inventorying a tropical forest for Conservation International, an organization which was able to convince thecountry's government to protect a threatened region based on the results of the study (see Video section).

Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the world's most diverse environments, which once covered millions of square milesalong the southern coast and well inland, has been reduced by 92 percent. Remnants of this forest have been found toharbor the greatest diversity of trees in the world: 476 species in a plot of only 2.5 acres. By contrast, a plot ofsimilar size in a North American temperate forest has fewer than 80 species of trees. This is known as a "hotspot," oran area of great biological diversity. Others include forests in the Andes, Madagascar and Indonesia (see Mittermeieret al. 1999). A vast array of plants and animals can be found in the hot spots, including many extremely unusual andunique examples of evolution that are in imminent danger of extinction. New Caledonia, for example, an island in thesouthwestern Pacific Ocean, is home to a variety of plants and animals of ancient origin. It is a small portion ofGondwana, the southern supercontinent that broke up into pieces some 140 million years ago at the dawn of the age ofbirds. The ancestors of the most primitive avian families originated in Gondwana, and the Kagu, a bird still residenton New Caledonia, is a direct descendant (see Cracraft 2001). Related to cranes, rails and bustards, the elegant, grayKagu is flightless, with a stunning pattern of wing and head crest feathers. It possesses characteristics so unusual thatit has been placed in its own avian family. The Kagu is threatened with extinction along with scores of other ancientspecies on New Caledonia, many of which had survived for millions of years (see Threatened Birds of the World). This hotspot is in grave danger of losing diversity to nickel mining, feral dogs that kill the Kagus and other wildlife,and deforestation.

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The huge growth in human population over the past century, now totaling some 6.5 billion, is responsible forcolonization of previously remote wilderness areas and for providing a market for the decimation of ancient forestsand rare wildlife for commercial purposes. Land is being cleared for grazing livestock and farming, while mining,industry, corporate logging and other development are obliterating species throughout the world. Forests have thelargest number of threatened species of any habitat, although the oceans have scarcely been explored for biodiversity. Tropical forests throughout the world harbor about half the world's plants and animals on only 7 percent of the planet'sland area. Hot spots also exist in temperate regions, such as the Appalachian mountains of the eastern United States,which have more types of salamanders than exist anywhere in the world, now threatened by pollution and logging. Rivers and waterways of the southeastern United States have the greatest number of mussel species in the world, butgovernment dam and water projects have caused hundreds of extinctions. Grasslands, where only a century ago wildantelope, bison and other ungulates roamed in untold millions, have been converted into farms or pastureland forlivestock, the wildlife killed off or driven away. In Earth's history, mass extinctions have occurred on at least fiveoccasions, nearly obliterating the majority of life forms. These were natural events, but the present catastrophicsituation is considered the sixth mass extinction, one that may end in destroying or seriously damaging the remainingrainforests, coral reefs and other precious centers of biodiversity within the next century (see Wilson 1988, Leakeyand Lewin 1995). By some estimates, half of the estimated 5 million animals and plants that now exist, only afraction of which have been scientifically identified, could be gone within a century.

Just as the diversity and ecological roles of species are beginning to be seen as components of an immense andbeautiful living tapestry, the strands of this tapestry are unraveling. The disappearance of even a single species canresult in extinctions of others dependent on it. For example, elephants and hornbills are the primary dispersers ofmany forest plant seeds, upon which a host of animals rely. Both are now in danger of extinction, threatening entireecosystems. Thus, biodiversity is not an abstract concept, but a blueprint of the Earth's life forms. It is vital that itsmany parts be preserved. Once destroyed, many ecosystems, such as old-growth forests and other key environments,may never regenerate. In most such cases, our knowledge of diverse systems is inadequate to gauge just how manyspecies--or which species--could disappear from an ecosystem before it collapses. Nor do we know how much geneticdiversity a species can lose through loss of individuals before it can no longer adapt to changes in its environment.Drastic changes caused by human activities are outpacing research on such situations. The healthy functioning ofecosystems is key to human survival. Although the majority of biologists consider the loss of biodiversity to be thegreatest problem facing humanity, few members of the public are even aware of this critical situation. Ignoring theseexperts' opinions of the precarious status of our planet's health, upon which our lives depend, is the equivalent ofignoring the opinion of a team of eminent doctors recommending urgent action to remedy an emergency medicalcondition.

Steps are being taken to preserve many critically important regions. Through acquisition of habitats andreintroductions of species, entire ecosystems are being saved. In a growing trend, countries are setting aside large newnational parks and reserves. Suriname, for example, has established a national park that encompasses the central coreof the country, covered in virgin rainforest and teeming with wildlife. Bolivia has set aside massive parks in areaswith high biodiversity and unusual types of forests. Brazil, with the help of conservationists from around the world, isnow working to save the last 8 percent of its Atlantic Forest in the southeast. Several countries in southern Africa areestablishing international parks that greatly enlarge protected areas and allow migratory species, such as AfricanElephants and other ungulates, to move freely across borders. Corridors for wildlife to move from one area to anotherare also being established in the Americas. These prevent isolation of small populations of animals that would likelydwindle to extinction. Education is key to the future of preserving biodiversity, which is vital in maintaining theplanet's ecological stability. Studies on this and related subjects are now being taught in an increasing number of highschools and colleges so that future generations will not squander the planet's true wealth, its natural heritage. Appreciation of the sheer beauty of the natural world and its wealth of species is an important facet of this project.

Activitieso Biodiversity study. Organize a group of students or interested persons to conduct biodiversity studies in your

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area. Ecosystems should range from low to high diversity. To study forest diversity, for example, you might select: (1) a small city park; (2) a suburban back yard or tree farm, and 3. a woodland, preferably old-growth. To studyaquatic ecosystems, you might select: (1) a city creek or river; (2) a suburban pond, and (3) a sizeable naturalwetland. The complexity of the project will depend on the experts available for identifying and recording species. The object will be to list as many species as possible from each area and provide a general description of the habitat. If there are rare, threatened or endangered species in any of the areas, these should be described and, if seen, carefullynoted. Invite employees of the state's Natural Heritage Program to help in selection of sites and, if possible,accompany the group. A biodiversity day in the Boston area attracted many scientists, including botanists,ornithologists, herpetologists and mammalogists, who educated interested members of the public at various sites. Experts in birds do not have to be ornithologists but can be proficient bird-watchers, knowledgeable in bird song aswell as sight identification. If the field trip is taken during bird migration, note which species breed in the area andwhich are migrating through. Mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish (if in an aquatic environment) are less readilyseen, and specialists in the latter animals might demonstrate methods of live-trapping or locating these animals byturning over rocks or netting. The identification of trees and plants, including ferns, mosses and lichens, will providebasic information about the habitat. If experts in some or all of these fields are available, or the team leaders are ableto provide basic information, the group can be divided into subgroups, each of which will choose a type of life form,such as plants, invertebrates, birds or mammals. Once back in the classroom or environmental center, the variousgroups can meet and provide lists of the species they have seen in each area. Any rare, endemic or endangered specieswill be singled out and described in detail. This one-day project will not provide a complete picture of thebiodiversity of an area but can give a general picture that is valuable. The effects that development has on nature andthe need to protect wilderness and natural areas will become apparent through such a study. In general, biologicaldiversity increases the farther one gets from large cities and suburban areas. Keep in mind, however, that someextremely rare species, especially plants and insects, have managed to survive in small pockets of wild habitat inunexpected places. Weedy growth next to railroads, for example, has been found to harbor many rare plants andinsects. Such areas, never cleared for development, have remained natural. Open space, even with low biologicaldiversity, is preferable to asphalt, and students may contribute ideas on making city parks and suburban backyardsmore diverse by planting trees and shrubs and allowing brushy areas to grow. More advanced students can participatein the CD-ROM biodiversity study listed below (see Wilson and Perlman 1999).

o Bird feeding. Another project involves appreciation of biodiversity with the potential for making a contribution toornithology. Backyard bird feeders can provide an eye-opening education in biodiversity that is also extremelyenjoyable. Bird feeders attract many common seed-eating birds. Adding suet and fruit can bring woodpeckers,orioles and other fruit-eating birds. The number of species that come to bird feeders is related to the habitat andsurrounding area. Feeders in remote habitats or located on bird migratory flyways will attract more species than thoseplaced in the city, which are likely to attract pigeons, sparrows and starlings, all European in origin. Sometimes, arare species comes to the bird feeder to feed or is attracted as a predator on the birds. Bird feeders can provideimportant data on bird diversity and population trends. Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology (159 Sapsucker WoodsRoad, Ithaca, NY 14850-1999 (Tel: 607-254-2473) conducts a program that enrolls volunteers to keep track of thebirds that visit their feeders. By providing a wide variety of seed and other food, one can learn much about diets, howthe birds feed, their behavior and plumage changes throughout the year. Books about bird feeding are sold in mostbook stores, and local chapters of the National Audubon Society provide information on feeders and feed. Televisionadvice is given by Don and Lillian Stokes in their PBS series.

o Bird-watching. Bird-watching trips are important in learning about the majority of species that do not come to birdfeeders or live in suburban backyards. Insect-eaters, such as warblers, flycatchers, vireos and other songbirds, can beseen only on migration or in their natural environments. During migration, especially in the spring, the beauty ofthese colorful birds, called "living jewels" by many naturalists, can be appreciated by using binoculars. Excursions tovarious habitats to see birds will also teach the diversity of environments, threats to them, and which types harbor thegreatest diversity of birds. Local bird clubs, National Audubon Society chapters and naturalist clubs are sources ofinformation on the best birding spots and times of year when one is likely to see the greatest number of birds. Manyof these organizations conduct birding trips, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Declines in avian

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diversity and in population numbers will become evident after participation in several of these trips. Sources ofinformation on such trends include trip guides who have been conducting tours or breeding bird surveys of the USFish and Wildlife Service or the National Audubon Society over a period of years in the same habitat. Ask them forinformation on species that have declined or disappeared altogether as a result of environmental changes, pollution orother causes. Note the species of birds seen on the trip and find out from the guide or other authority, such as the USFish and Wildlife Service or National Audubon Society, whether these species have declined over recent years. Forexample, shorebirds seen on coastlines or in the Mississippi River region have suffered dramatic losses of up to 90percent in some species over the past 30 years. The causes are diverse, from overfishing of food sources, disturbanceof beach nesting areas, loss of habitat in wintering or nesting grounds to killing on their wintering grounds. On the listof species seen, note population trends and their causes in the area visited.

o Worldwide perspective. Learning about biodiversity from a worldwide perspective is key to understanding thesubject. Dr. Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University coined the word "biodiversity" in the 1988 book of that titlethat he edited. His other book on the subject is also a primary resource. Both give overviews of the world's wealth ofspecies and risks to them. Another important basic reference, Conserving Biological Diversity, by Jeff McNeely andother authors, is a 1990 overview of the problem, with key species and regions described. This leads to Hotspots,written a decade later in 2000 by Dr. R.A. Mittermeier and others. This book identifies hotspots as the world's mostendangered high-biodiversity areas and discusses each in terms of geography; habitat; which species are native,especially those that are found only that in particular area (endemic species); statistical biodiversity for each area;threats to the area; and what is being done to conserve them. Clive Ponting's A Green History of the World helpsexplain why past civilizations have died out as a result of ignorance and overexploitation of their environment and thenative wildlife upon which they depended. Michael J. Novacek of the American Museum of Natural History edited a2001 book, The Biodiversity Crisis. Losing What Counts, a collection of essays by prominent scientists andconservationists who discuss the increasing rate of extinctions and give case history examples of areas at risk andwhat strategies are working to help protect them. The other references listed below provide additional information.

- Write an essay on the problem of the loss of biodiversity, emphasizing the reasons why it is important to the futureof human society, as well as for the sake of conservation. - List ways that consumers in the United States who buy tropical hardwoods and other goods, use large amounts ofnon-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, affect the loss of biodiversity. - Choose a country or area that has high biodiversity, such as Colombia, Madagascar or Indonesia, and describe thegeography, climate, type(s) of biological diversity, threats, unique species of plants and animals, conservationprograms, and whether they are successful. Calculate the losses of species should the present rate of deforestation orother destruction continue, using references such as Hotspots and Threatened Birds of the World.

o Species in danger. Learning about threatened plants, birds, mammals and other species will provide in-depthknowledge of what is at stake. Threatened Birds of the World examines the 1,100 species whose future survival is indanger. This book illustrates each species with range maps, status and other background information. Many of thesebirds are illustrated in The Life of Birds, a book by David Attenborough, and in a 10-hour film series based on it seenon PBS. The Video section describes other films about threatened species. Other threatened animals and plantssurveyed by the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are not described in depth by the International Union forthe Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), which sponsors this list. The IUCN no longer publishes"Red Data Books," which gave background information on each species. The Internet site (www.redlist.org) providessome information, such as distribution and basic status category, but few listings give causes of the status and otherrelated data. Such information gaps are filled in part by publications such as Walker's Mammals of the World, atwo-volume, in-depth examination of mammals by Dr. Ronald Nowak, regularly updated and last issued in 1999. TheIUCN Species Survival Commission sponsors many individual specialist groups that gather information on elephants,rhinos, whales, primates and many other categories. These groups issue newsletters and have websites. (Contact theSSC Red List Programme Officer, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK; e-mail redlist@ssc-uk.org). Select a group of species, such as salamanders, frogs or orchids, and describe their general status. How many speciesare threatened? What are the general causes? What areas of the world do they inhabit? What will be the effect on

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other animals or plants in their ecosystems should they disappear? What should be done to preserve them?

Books and PublicationsVideo

Biodiversity: Books and PublicationsAttenborough, David. 1979. Life on Earth. A Natural History. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA, 319 pages.Attenborough, David. 1984. The Living Planet. A Portrait of the Earth. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA, 320 pages.Attenborough, David. 1998. The Life of Birds. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 320 pages. (Extensive discussion of various endangered species, including island endemics.)Ayensu, Edward S., Vernon H. Heywood, Grenville L. Lucas and Robert A. Defilipps. 1984. Our Green and Living World. The Wisdom to Save It. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 255 pages.Baskin, Yvonne. Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment. 1997. The Work of Nature. How Diversity of Life Sustains Us. Island Press, Washington, DC, 282 pages.Birdlife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Bishop, James, Jr. 1995. Mixing Birds and Business. Nature Conservancy (magazine of The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA), Jan./Feb. (ecotourism, local businesses and bird preservation).Cohen, Joel E. 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support? W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 532 pages.Cracraft, Joel. 2001. Gondwana Genesis. Natural History, Dec./Jan., Vol. 110, No. 10, pages 64-73.Daily, Gretchen C. (eds.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC, 412 pages.Darwin, Charles. 1858. The Origin of Species or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Various editions available.Dobson, A.P. 1996. Conservation and Biodiversity. Scientific American Library, New York, 264 pages.Ecotourism Society. Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers. (P.O. Box 755, North Bennington, VT 05257; Tel.: 802-447-2121).Ehrenfeld, D.W. 1972. Conserving Life on Earth. Oxford University Press, New York.Fiedler, Peggy L. and Peter M. Kareiva (eds.). 1997. Conservation Biology For the Coming Decade. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 2nd edition, 533 pages.Gillis, M. 1986. Non-Wood Forest Products in Indonesia. Department of Forestry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.Goddard, Donald (ed.). 1995. Saving Wildlife. A Century of Conservation. The Wildlife Conservation Society. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and The Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, 286 pages.Grove, Noel. 1992. Preserving Eden. The Nature Conservancy. Harry N. Abrams,

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Inc., Publishers, New York, 176 pages.Gustanski, Julie Ann and Roderick H. Squires. 2000. Protecting the Land. Conservation Easements Past, Present, and Future. Island Press, Washington, DC, 450 pages.Hanson, Jeanne K. and Deane Morrison. 1992. Of Kinkajous, Capybaras, Horned Beetles, Seldangs, and the Oddest and Most Wonderful Mammals, Insects, Birds and Plants of Our World. Harper Perennial, Division of Harper Collins, Publisher, New York, 285 pages.Hardin, Garrett. 1993. Living Within Limits. Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos. Oxford University Press, New York, 339 pages.Hoose, P.M. 1981. Building an Ark: Tools for the Preservation of Natural Diversity Through Land Protection. Island Press, Covelo, CA, 212 pages.Howes, Chris. 1997. The Spice of Life. Biodiversity and the Extinction Crisis. Blandford, A Cassell Imprint, London, UK, 192 pages.Huston, M.A. 1994. Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species on Changing Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Karliner, Joshua. 1997. The Corporate Planet. Ecology and Politics in the Age of Globalization. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 298 pages.Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin. 1995. The Sixth Extinction. Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind. Doubleday, New York, 271 pages.Laurance, W.F. and R.O. Bierregaard, Jr. (eds.). 1997. Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Lovejoy, T.E., J.M. Rankin, R.O. Bierregaard, Jr., K.S. Brown, Jr., L.H. Emmons and M.E. Van der Voort. 1984. Ecosystem Decay of Amazon Forest Remnants. In: Extinctions. Ed. by M.H. Nitecki. University Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.McNeely, Jeffrey, Kenton R. Miller, Walter V. Reid, Russell A. Mittermeier, and Timothy B. Werner. 1990. Conserving the World's Biological Diversity. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, World Resources Institute, WWF, Gland, Switzerland.McNeill, J.R. 2000. Something New Under the Sun. An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 421 pages.Meyers, Norman. 1983. A Wealth of Wild Species. Storehouse for Human Welfare. Westview Press, Boulder, CO,272 pages.Miller, K.R. 1980. Planning National Parks for Ecodevelopment. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.Mittermeier, Russell, Norman Myers, Patricio Robles Gil and Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier (eds.). 1999. Hotspots. Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Foreword by Harrison Ford. Cemex, S.A., Mexico City, Conservation International, 431 pages.Munn, Charles A. 1992. Macaw Biology and Ecotourism or "When a Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand." In: New World Parrots in Crisis. Ed. by S.R. Beissinger and N.F.R. Snyder, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, pages 47-72.National Geographic Society. 1989. Nature's Wonderlands. National Parks of the World. Washington, DC, 304 pages.National Geographic Society. 1995. Animal Kingdoms. Wildlife Sanctuaries of the World. Washington, DC, 200 pages.National Geographic Society. 1997. Earth Almanac National Geographic, May.Norris, Ruth. 1994. Paying for Parks--Funding Mechanisms for Protected

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Areas. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland.Noss, Reed F. and Allen Y. Cooperrider. 1994. Saving Nature's Legacy. Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity. Island Press, Washington, DC, 443 pages.Novacek, Michael J. (ed.). 2001. The Biodiversity Crisis. Losing What Counts. An American Museum of Natural History Book, The New Press, New York, 224 pages.Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Ponting, Clive. 1991. A Green History of the World. The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. Penguin Books, New York, 432 pages. (How civilizations have died out after they destroyed their environments.)Peters, C.M., A.H. Gentry and R.O. Mendelsohn. 1989. Economic valuation of an Amazonian rainforest. Nature, 339:655-656.Peters, R.L. and T.E. Lovejoy. 1992. Global Warming and Biological Diversity. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Pickett, Steward, Richard S. Ostfeld, Moshe Shachak and Gene E. Likens (eds.). 1997. The Ecological Basis of Conservation. Heterogeneity, Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 432 pages.Prance, G.T. (ed.). 1982. Biological Diversification in the Tropics. Columbia University Press, New York.Proctor, Michael, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack. 1996. The Natural History of Pollination. Timber Press, Portland, OR, 479 pages.Rich, Bruce. 1994. Mortgaging the Earth. The World Bank, Environmental Impoverishment, and the Crisis of Development. Beacon Press, Boston, MA, 376 pages.Soulé, M.E., and B.A. Wilcox (eds.). 1980. Conservation Biology: An Evolutionary-Ecological Approach. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, 395 pages.Soulé, Michael E. (ed.). 1986. Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.Terborgh, John. 1999. Requiem for Nature. Island Press, Shearwater Books, Washington, DC, 234 pages. (Examines Manu National Park, Peru, and others as examples of the failure of present land protection programs to preserve biodiversity, and proposes alternative solutions.)Turner, B.L. II, William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, John F. Richards, Jessica T. Mathews and William B. Meyer (eds.). 1990. The Earth as Transformed by Human Action. Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 713 pages.Wilson, Edward O. (ed.). 1988. Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 521 pages.Wilson, Edward O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 424 pages.Wilson, Edward O. and Dan L. Perlman. 1999. Conserving Earth's Biodiversity. Island Press, Covelo, CA. (Interactive CD-ROM that teaches conservation biology and environmental science; teachers may view demo at www.Islandpress.org/wilsoncd/ and register for an examination copy.)Wolf, Edward C. 1987. On the Brink of Extinction: Conserving the Diversity of Life. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC.

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Biodiversity: Video"Biodiversity: The Variety of Life" explains what biodiversity is and why we should protect it. This film uses maps,diagrams and examples to introduce new terms and concepts, including fragmentation, linkage, and viable population,to explain how ecosystems are dynamic and varied. It focuses on the North Cascades ecosystem, but presents generalconcepts.

"State of the Planet" is a 3-hour BBC Bristol film on the biodiversity crisis made for Discovery Communications in2000. It examines the rise in extinctions and endangered species and causes such as "islandization" or isolation ofhabitat surrounded by development; it profiles Hawaii as leading the world in extinct and endangered species, itsbeautiful natural heritage being destroyed by exotic species and disappearance of native forests. The final hour of thisfilm series, "The Future of Life," makes clear that if we do not act soon, great natural treasures will be lost.

"Natural Connections," produced by Howard Rosen for PBS in 2000, is a one-hour examination of the failure of theUnited States and other developed countries to protect nature. It links extravagant and unthinking lifestyles with theloss of biodiversity and proposes changes that will have direct effects in terms of preserving species.

Bats: Ecologically Important MammalsProject Summary Learning about bats and threats to them is the major purpose of this project, as well as understanding the importanceof bats to the environment as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect-eaters. An endangered bat species will be selectedas the subject of a report. Conservation of bats through the protection of their habitats and building of bat houses willbe an important facet of this project.

BackgroundBats comprise almost one-fourth of all mammals--nearly 1,000 species--yet they have not received the attention andcredit they deserve as major insect-controllers and pollinators in ecosystems worldwide. Many species are becomingendangered, and others are declining from destruction of their nesting caves, direct persecution from ignorance,closure of mines which many bats had colonized, and indiscriminate use of pesticides.

Until recently, bats were routinely poisoned by commercial pest control companies in the mistaken idea that all batspose the threat of rabies transmission. Only one-half of 1 percent of bats contract rabies. Over the past 45 years, only20 people in the United States and Canada have contracted the disease from bats, according to Bat ConservationInternational, an organization dedicated to the conservation of bats and education about their ecological roles. Mostproblems involve people carelessly picking up obviously sick bats found out in the open or on the ground in thedaytime. These should always be avoided, according to Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, Founder and Executive Director of BatConservation International. Pest control companies in the United States are now adopting new and more informedpolicies regarding the removal of unwanted bats from buildings. The journal Pest Management, in its May 1992edition, published several articles on how to "bat-proof" buildings without use of lethal means, and the usefulness ofbats in controlling insects.

A single Brown Bat, one of North America's most common species, is capable of capturing 600 mosquitoes in an hour(see Tuttle and Smith referenced below). One colony of 20 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats in central Texas eats aquarter of a million pounds or more of insects each night, according to Bat Conservation International. Repercussions

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have occurred when bats have been destroyed. In Israel, a campaign to eradicate fruit bats instead killed almost 90percent of the country's insectivorous bats; moths that were formerly controlled by the bats proliferated and becamemajor agricultural pests (Tuttle and Smith). To control these pests, huge amounts of pesticides were used, furthereliminating natural predators of insects and beneficial insects.

Nectar-feeding and fruit bats pollinate more than 130 genera of plants. The co-evolution of many bats and plants, thelatter evolving prominent, odoriferous large flowers blooming at night with copious nectar and pollen, and the formerspecialized tongues and muzzles for flower-feeding and acute senses of sight and smell, is a fascinating study initself. The statuesque Century Plant of southwestern deserts has co-evolved with a pollinating bat, and this plantblooms at rare intervals, using nectar to attract its pollinator (see Howell referenced below). Among plants that batspollinate are valuable fruits, nuts and spices: plantain, bananas, breadfruit, mangos, guavas, avocados, almonds,cashews, cloves, vanillin, carob and figs. In Southeast Asia, a bat that pollinates the Durian tree, which produces fruitmarketed for $120 million per year, is being killed for food and its caves quarried for limestone. Few people in theregion are aware of its economic importance and the need to conserve it. Fruit bats throughout the world are killed forfood, and a growing number are becoming endangered.

Many US bats are listed on the US Endangered Species Act as Endangered or Threatened or on the 2000 IUCN RedList of Threatened Species. The Indiana Bat's entire population winters in only a few caves in the United States. Approximately 95 percent of the entire known Gray Bat population hibernates in only nine caves with more than halfin a single cave in northern Alabama. The threatened Rafinesques Big-eared Bat is found only in Indiana, but itreceives no federal protection from the US Endangered Species Act. The Nature Conservancy and many state NaturalHeritage Programs have been instrumental in purchasing numerous caves to protect these species.

The following bats are either listed on the US Endangered Species Act or on the 2000 IUCN Red List of ThreatenedSpecies. Some experts estimate that approximately 40 percent of US bats are declining or already endangered. Manyspecies recognized by mammalogists as threatened or endangered and listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable, a highcategory of risk, have not been listed on the US Endangered Species Act.

Threatened United States Bats(Includes territories)

Key:E = EndangeredNT = Near ThreatenedT = ThreatenedV = VulnerableX = Extinct

For definitions of these categories, see the list of Endangered and Threatened Mammals, Birds, Reptiles andAmphibians in the Appendix of this book.Species Distribution US ESA IUCN Red List

Big Long-nosed BatLeptonycteris nivalis

US, Mexico, Guatemala E E

Brazilian Free-tailed BatTadarida brasiliensis

sw US to S. America NT

California Leaf-nosed BatMacrotus californicus

US, Mexico V

c. & se US E E

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Gray BatMyotis grisecens

Hairy-legged Vampire BatDiphylla ecaudata

US, Mexico to Peru NT

Hawaiian Hoary BatLasiurus cinereus semotus

US (Hawaii) E

Hog-nosed BatChoeronycteris mexicana

US, Mexico, C. America NT

Indiana BatMyotis sodalis

e. & Midwest US E E

Lesser Long-nosed BatLeptonycteris curasoae

US to S. America V

Sanborn'sL.c. yerbabuenae

E

Little Mariana Flying FoxPteropus tokudae

Guam E X

Marianas Flying-foxPteropus mariannus

SW Pacific E

GuamP.m.mariannus

E

Mexican Long-nosed Bat, see Big Long-nosed Bat

Rafinesque's Big-eared BatPlecotus rafinesquii

US (Indiana) V

Townsend's Big-eared BatPlecotus townsendii

US V

OzarkPlecotus townsnedii ingens

E

VirginiaPlecotus townsendii virginia

E

Underwood's Mastiff BatEumops underwoodi

US to Central America NT

In addition, each state Natural Heritage Program has a list of threatened or rare mammals, many of which includebats. The major threats to bats in North America are similar to those in foreign countries. They include the cutting ofold-growth forests that provide habitat, pesticide use, deliberate poisoning and destruction of caves where many batswinter.

Activitieso Find out which bats live in your area. For distribution information, consult guide books such as North AmericanMammals, published by the National Audubon Society. Use reference books such as Bats, by M. Brock Fenton(1992), America's Neighborhood Bats, by Merlin D. Tuttle (1988), and Walker's Mammals of the World, by RonaldNowak. Bat Conservation International has published a beautiful brochure, "Bats: Gentle Friends, Essential Allies,"and a fact sheet, "Important Bat Facts." Different species of bats can occupy the same general area, yet have different

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diets and habitats. How do the bats in your area differ in these ways? What do they eat? Contact the NaturalHeritage Program of your state and ask them if there are important bat habitats, such as caves, that are endangered andhow your class or local organization can help save these habitats.

o Select a threatened species of bat and write a report on its status, life history, threats and what is being done for itsconservation. Consult the references below and your state's Natural Heritage Program.

o Discuss the ecological importance of bats. What fruits and other plants important to humans are pollinated bybats? What would be the effect on insect populations if bats disappeared? Bats in Question, by Don E. Wilson, listedbelow, is a very useful book for information on this subject.

o Help dispel the image of bats as dangerous, rabid creatures who should be eliminated. Humane means of keepingbats from entering buildings exist, and local animal control officials and public health officials should be providedwith such information, available from Bat Conservation International. Also, letters to the editor of your localnewspaper can be helpful, especially if an article about rabies or vampire bats has been printed. Point out that bats areextremely beneficial and vital to the survival of many plants.

o Build a bat house as a class project. The instructions for construction and placement are given in "The Bat HouseBuilder's Handbook" from Bat Conservation International and a video that gives instructions and general information. This pattern prevents mortality to bats from improper design, materials and placement. Once constructed, calculatethe number and species of bats that will occupy the house(s) and the number of insects they will consume.

o Bats have many highly unusual characteristics. Many have echo-location sonar far more sensitive than thatdesigned by humans. Others are able to hunt unusual prey, such as fish or frogs. Their abilities are so finelydeveloped that they are only beginning to be understood. They also are intelligent and devoted to one another. Theyare among the few species who aid one another during the birthing process, as "animal midwives." Consult the booksand films listed below and write a paper on a particular trait that you find fascinating.

Books and PublicationsAllen, Glover M. 1962. Bats. Dover Publications, New York.Fenton, M. Brock. 1992. Bats. Facts on File, New York.Fenton, M. Brock. 1998. The Bat. Wings in the Night Sky. Firefly Books, New York.Howell, Donna J. 1976. Plant-loving Bats, Bat-loving Plants. Natural History (magazine of the American Museum of Natural History, New York), Feb.Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World (Volume I), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. (Walker's Bats of the World, another reference by the same author, is derived from the latter volume.)Tuttle, Merlin D. 1988. America's Neighborhood Bats. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.Tuttle, Merlin D. and Eileen C. Smith. 1992. Bats: Nature's Own PCO. Pest Management, May, Vol. 11, No. 5, pages 10-13.Wilson, Don E. 1997. Bats in Question. The Smithsonian Answer Book. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (Source book with questions and answers about bats and superb photography by Merlin D. Tuttle; addresses of organizations concerned with bat conservation are listed at the end of the book along with a list of all bats with their conservation status.)

Films"Korup. An African Rain Forest." A Cameroon forest where bats are seen pollinating flowers at night.

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"The Secret World of Bats." Overall view with the role of bats as pollinators and insect-eaters is stressed, and unusual species, such as fish-eating and threatened fruit bats, are seen."Wet Side Story." Central American rainforest with bats as a focal point. The sensitivity of their sonar is beautifully filmed."Private Life of Plants." Includes pollination by bats of several species of plants and describes how plants and bats co-evolved."Castaways of Sulawesi." An Indonesian island is the scene of cruel capture of flying foxes for sale as food by young boys using hooks on kites that entangle them in flight.

The films above are described in detail in the Video section of this book.In addition, other films that focus on bats include "Phantom of the Night" (bats of Central America); "Beneficial Bats"(Wild America series); "Land of the Giant Bats" (Comoros flying foxes); "Life Upside Down" (Quebec Governmentfilm emphasizing Canadian bats and their ecological role); "Night Stalkers" (bats of Belize--National GeographicExplorer TV program).

Slide Show"Bats of America," by Bat Conservation International.

Further InformationBat Conservation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716; website: www.batcom.orgUS Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Endangered Species, Washington, DC 20240State Natural Heritage Programs

Internet: e-mail discussion "Batline"--batline@unmvma.unm.edu

Conserving the Wood ThrushProject SummaryLearn about the life history, distribution, ecology and conservation of the Wood Thrush, a songbird in steep decline. Using written materials and sources listed below, write a report on the threats it faces and what is needed to help itsurvive. For those who live in areas where the Wood Thrush is not native, select another declining songbird andfollow the same suggestions.

BackgroundThe Wood Thrush (Catharus mustelinus) is one of the most melodious songbirds in the world. Its beautiful, flutedsong echoes through eastern North America's woodlands. In the words of Arthur Cleveland Bent, author of a series ofauthoritative life history studies of American birds: "The nature lover who has missed hearing the musical bell-likenotes of the wood thrush, in the quiet woods of early morning or in the twilight, has missed a rare treat. The woodsseem to have been transformed into a cathedral where peace and serenity abide. One's spirit seems truly to have beenlifted by this experience."

The Wood Thrush is also useful to forest ecosystems, consuming vast amounts of insects. Unfortunately, itspopulations have declined in recent years from 40 to 80 percent, depending on the area. Major causes include thedestruction of both its nesting and wintering forests, combined with parasitism on its nests by the Brown-headed

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Cowbird, a bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. These eggs tend to be larger than the eggs laid by theWood Thrush, and the aggressive chicks crowd out the thrush chicks. Wood Thrushes are closely related to thefamiliar American Robin, a common denizen of suburban yards and forests. Unlike the Robin, however, the WoodThrush is not common in suburbs and backyards. Although the species was occasionally seen near homes and villagesin the first half of the 20th century, today it breeds only in undisturbed forest tracts. Its forest habitats have becomefragmented into smaller and smaller blocks, causing the species to disappear from many areas. Wood Thrushes migrate to Mexico and Central America each winter. They seek out old-growth rainforests fromsouthern Mexico through Panama. Within the past 40 years, their forests have been logged and often converted intograzing land or agricultural fields. Researchers tracking these birds to their wintering grounds have discovered thatthey stay in the same area, even though it has been destroyed, and usually die within a short period from starvation orpredation. The decline in this species' population was discovered through Breeding Bird Surveys conducted annuallyby the US Department of Interior. The Wood Thrush is close to endangered status, and conservation is critical toprevent its decline to extinction.

Other North American songbirds that migrate to tropical areas have declined as well. These birds, known asneotropical migrants, include tanagers, orioles, warblers, thrushes and vireos. These colorful birds brighten ourforests and orchards, consume harmful insects and play important ecological roles. Almost all are in decline, some farmore precipitously than others.

Activitieso Find out about the Wood Thrush, using the text in this book (see index), sources listed below and those available inyour library and through computer on-line searches.

o Write a report answering as many of these questions as possible: - What does the Wood Thrush look like? - How large is it? - Are males and females different in size or appearance? - What is its diet? - What type of woods does it prefer (for example, dry, old-growth forest or cool, damp forest near streams)? - Does it build its nest on the ground, in bushes, or on tree branches? - How large a territory does it establish? - When does it sing? Describe its song (see reference on obtaining recording). - How long does it live? - What are its breeding and wintering ranges? - How did early naturalists, such as John James Audubon, describe Wood Thrushes in the 19th century? (See Audubon and Coues book below.) - How serious is the threat from Brown-headed Cowbirds who lay their eggs in Wood Thrush nests? (This was noted even in the 1930s by Bent (1964), and later by other authors such as Rappole et al. (1989), and Terborgh (1989.) - How can people contribute to protecting both the breeding and wintering habitat of the Wood Thrush?

o Field study: If you live east of the Mississippi River in the range of this species, visit an area where WoodThrushes live. First, listen to the recording of their songs (see below). Often they are more easily heard than seen. Donot approach a nest or disturb birds by playing recordings of their songs. Photograph the woodland setting where youhear the Wood Thrushes and try to observe them quietly from a distance. Describe what wildflowers, trees and otherbirds you see. If you live outside their range, see films listed below and listen to recordings or select another speciesof thrush or songbird found in your area that is in decline as a result of habitat loss, especially forests. Consult your

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local Audubon Society, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, your state's Natural Heritage Program or the bird countprograms listed below.

o Conservation project: Find out if there is a woodland near your home where Wood Thrushes breed. The localNational Audubon Society or birding organization can provide this information. If so, is it protected from logging? Can your class or school help in protecting a woodland where they breed?

o Participate in a survey of native birds through programs sponsored by local Audubon or birding organizations. TheAmerican Birding Association publishes an annual guide, "Volunteer Opportunities for Birders," which lists day-longprograms and more extensive studies. Available for $2 from Volunteer Directory, ABA Sales, P.O. Box 6599,Colorado Springs, CO 80934; 800-634-7736. For further ideas, see Nickens reference below.

o Why are some species rare and others common? Compare the Wood Thrush with the American Robin byanswering the following questions: Does the Robin migrate? If so, where does it migrate? Are there dangers in itswintering ground, such as deforestation? Where does the Robin nest? Is there more habitat for American Robins orfor Wood Thrushes? Explain why. Are there threats to the American Robin?

Books and PublicationsAdams, George. 1994. Birdscaping Your Garden. A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants that Attract Them. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. (On page 87, the Wood Thrush is profiled, providing information about migration, breeding range, nesting, feeding, garden bushes and fruiting plants that it will eat, as well as the woodland habitat it prefers.)Audubon, Maria R. and Elliott Coues. 1986. Audubon and His Journals. Vols. I and II. Dover Publications, New York. (First published in 1897, Audubon's journals were collected by Maria Audubon with notes by the distinguished naturalist Elliott Coues. Wood Thrushes are mentioned many times.)Bent, Arthur C. Life Histories of North American Thrushes, Kinglets, and Their Allies. First published in 1949 and reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 1964, pages 101-122.Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. 1977. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (A photo guide.)Cherry, Lynne. 1997. Flute's Journey. The Life of a Wood Thrush. A Gulliver Green Book. Harcourt Brace and Company, San Diego, CA; New York.DeGraaf, Richard M. and John H. Rappole. 1995. Neotropical Migratory Birds. Natural History, Distribution, and Population Changes. Comstock Press, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (This book has range maps of all North American breeding birds that migrate to Latin America and several pages of discussion of each species.)Farrand, John Jr. (ed.). 1983. The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding. (Has color photo of adult at nest with chicks and a color painting of the juvenile.)Forbush, Edward Howe and John Bichard May. 1959. A Natural History of a Bird of Eastern and Central North America. Bramhall House, New York, pages 377-378.Geffen, Alice M. 1978. A Birdwatcher's Guide to the Eastern United States. Barron's, Woodbury, NY. (This and the Pettingill book below list major parks, refuges and public lands by state; under each is a list of birds to be seen.)Hagan, John M. III and David W. Johnston (eds.). 1992. Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. Smithsonian Institution

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Press, Washington, DC. (This book is not indexed. It is a collection of papers from a 1989 symposium, containing much information on the problems of songbirds, including the Wood Thrush, especially an article on destruction of its habitat in Veracruz, Mexico, on pages 337-344.)Harrison, Colin. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. The Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, VT; Lexington, MA. (This book describes the nest and nestlings and gives the nesting dates; a color photo shows the egg.)Keast, Allen and Eugene S. Morton (eds.). 1980. Migrant Birds in the Neotropics: Ecology, Behavior, Distribution and Conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (Papers submitted at a symposium. Many discuss the threats that migrant songbirds, including Wood Thrushes, face on their wintering range. The introduction gives an overview of the songbird decline.)Kricher, John C. 1988. A Field Guide to the Ecology of Eastern Forests. North America. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. (This book contains information on hundreds of species of plants and animals, many of which are illustrated with color photos.)National Audubon Society Nature Guides. North American's Eastern Forests and Wetlands. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Nickens, Eddie. 1997. Beyond the Life List. Wildlife Conservation magazine, July/August. (Wildlife ConservationSociety, Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY 10460.) (This article describes the work of volunteers who participate in surveys, banding, birdfeeder studies and other projects relating to North American songbirds; it provides addresses and phone numbers of various organizations.)Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to the Birds. A Complete Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. (This classic guide has excellent illustrations, breeding range map and descriptions.)Pettingill, Olin Sewall, Jr. 1977. A Guide to Bird Finding East of the Mississippi. Oxford University Press, New York. (Although many of the areas described in this indexed book have changed since it was first written, many are protected sanctuaries, parks and reserves.)Rappole, John H., Eugene S. Morton, Thomas E. Lovejoy III and James L. Ruos. 1983. Nearctic Avian Migrants in the Neotropics. US Fish and Wildlife Service and World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC. (This publication is not indexed, but is a well-organized report on North American songbirds, their ecology and threats. Range maps show breeding range as well as wintering range of all migratory species.)Sibley, David A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (Considered one of most inclusive guides because it includes information on subspecies, varieties and other aspects not covered in most guides.)Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1996. Stokes Field Guide to Birds. Eastern Region. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA. (Color photos.)Terborgh, John. 1989. Where Have All The Birds Gone? Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. (Many mentions in the text, see index; this is a landmark book on the decline in North American songbirds, exploring their problems on both the breeding and wintering grounds)Yoon, C.K. 1994. More Than Decoration, Songbirds Are Essential to Forests' Health. The New York Times, Nov. 8.

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Organizations and GovernmentsNational Audubon Society, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. (212-979-3000); or local chapters.Conservation International, 1015 18th St., NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036.Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (Breeding Bird Censuses), 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850-1999 (607-254-2473).Institute for Bird Populations, P.O. Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956; (415-663-1436).The Nature Conservancy, 1815 North Lynn St., Arlington, VA 22209 (and field offices throughout the country).Natural Heritage Programs in every state in Department of Wildlife or Fish and Game.US Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203.Breeding Bird Survey, Biological Resources Division, US Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Rd., Laurel, MD 20708.Fish and Wildlife Reference Service, 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110, Bethesda, MD 20814 (800-582-3421).

RecordingsThe Peterson Field Guide Series. A Field Guide to Bird Songs of Eastern and Central North America, recorded by theCornell Laboratory of Ornithology. 2nd edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. 1983. Two tape cassettes. (WoodThrush on Side 3, Band 4). Other recordings, such as the Stokes audio guides, are also available.

Films"On a Wing and a Song." This Canadian Broadcasting Company film gives an overview of the songbird decline in Eastern North America, illustrating the vast areas of boreal forest where many of these birds nest in Canada, which has been logged. It addresses the loss of habitat in their tropical wintering grounds; the millions killed by colliding with skyscrapers and antennas during migration; and the parasitism by cowbirds."On a Wing and a Prayer." A similar title to the above film, this film focuses on an Illinois woodland and the decline in songbirds, primarily Wood Thrushes. The parasitism by cowbirds is dramatically shown: Wood Thrush chicks starve to death next to huge, fat cowbird chicks. This film also has a teacher's guide.(See Video section for more detail and distributor list.)

North America in the Year 1400Project Summary and BackgroundNorth America has changed radically since 1400, prior to the arrival of Europeans. It was then a continent withoutroads, skyscrapers, massive farms and other signs of modern life. This project involves research to discover what thecountry looked like at this early date, how areas such as the eastern forests, prairies and western forests have changed,and what species of animals and plants disappeared or became threatened as a result of changes to their environmentor losses in their populations from other causes.

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Activitieso Read the section in this book entitled "Epitaphs for North America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter1.

o Using this and other sources mentioned in the reference list and in local libraries, select an area somewhere in NorthAmerica. Some possible choices are the following: Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Chesapeake Bay; eastern old-growth forests; long-grass prairies of the Midwest; short-grass prairies of the West; Sequoia or Redwood forests ofCalifornia; or the Mojave Desert in California. If there are parks in the area you choose, contact the park directors,conservation organizations and museums for natural history information.

- Describe the landscape as it was prior to the arrival of Europeans, without roads, modern buildings or other signs ofthe 20th century. What was the habitat like? Was it forest, mountain, grassland, desert, wetland, river or acombination of these? Were there beautiful vistas or dense woodlands with tangled vegetation? Describe a typicalscene in the area you have chosen. For example, in a short-grass prairie, a herd of American Bison graze while, in thebackground, Pronghorn antelope run in close formation. On a distant hilltop, a pack of Gray Wolves watches thescene while a Grizzly Bear ambles through the low shrubs, looking for ripe berries. Overhead, flocks of WhoopingCranes soar, trumpeting to one another; and near a prairie dog town, grouse display in an open area, issuing boomingcalls.

- What species of mammals live here? If there are herds of deer, what species are they? Are there American Bison,Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep or Pronghorn? What kind of predators prey on these animals?

- Describe what bird species inhabit the area and whether they are abundant or rare. Are there Passenger Pigeons orCarolina Parakeets?

- What other kinds of animals are native? What reptiles, amphibians and fish, for example, inhabit the area? Applythe same questions about life history, habitats, reproduction and feeding.

- How do these animals interact ecologically? For example, if a western short-grass prairie were chosen, the prairiedog colony has abundant wildlife living underground in the burrows, including Black-footed Ferrets, Burrowing Owls,snakes and tortoises. Bison and other grazing animals feed on the grasses above, made greener by the cropping of theprairie dogs. Which species are the predators, and which the prey?

- Is there a tribe of Native Americans who live in this area? What is the name of the tribe? Are they nomadic, orhave they established a permanent settlement? Are they hunters, fishers or farmers? What animals do they hunt orfish, or which crops are grown? What are their beliefs about the natural world and wildlife?

o Based on these descriptions of a past landscape, become acquainted with the present landscape and discuss thefollowing:

- How has the natural environment changed? How does it appear today?

- What species no longer live here? Which ones are extinct altogether? (Check the list of extinct species in theAppendix and publications in the Books and Publications section on extinctions and extinct species accounts.)

- What do you think has been lost that should have been protected?

- Are there parts of this area that have not changed and remain as they were 600 years ago?

- Are there people or organizations working to preserve or restore parts of the original landscape and wildlife? How

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can you participate in this?

Note: This project can be applied to foreign countries or used by teachers outside of North America. As a general rule,it is easier if the area selected is local because information is easier to obtain. As a class project, students might divideinto groups, each selecting a species or group of species, such as mammals. This project may be shortened and partsdeleted if time is limited, concentrating, for example, on a single species of the region or the general changes in thelandscape. It may also be broadened to explore, in detail, the plants and animals of the region by contacting theNatural Heritage Program of your state in the Wildlife Department.

Sources"Epitaphs for North America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter 1 of this book has extensive referenceslisted. Also the �Grasslands, Shrublands and Deserts,� �Aquatic Ecosystems� and �Forests� chapters providedetails on these ecosystems and changes in them since settlement. See the �Persecution and Hunting� chapter for thetreatment of native predators and the effect of their disappearance on ecological systems.

Books and PublicationsThe following list contains many out-of-print books that may be difficult to obtain, as well as many in-print editions,covering a wide variety of habitats and species of plants and animals. Conduct searches for these and other books inyour library and through the Internet.

Ambrose, Stephen E. 1996. Undaunted Courage. Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, New York.Audubon, Maria R. 1897. Audubon and His Journals. Vols. I and II. Dover Publications, Inc., New York edition, 1994.Beard, Daniel. 1942. Fading Trails. The Story of Endangered American Wildlife. Macmillan Co., New York.Blaugrund, Annette and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. (eds.). 1993. John James Audubon. The Watercolors for the Birds of America. Villard Books, Random House/New York Historical Society, New York.Brower, Kenneth. 1990. Yosemite. An American Treasure. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Chadwick, Douglas. 1990. The Kingdom. Wildlife in North America. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Cokinos, C. 2000. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds. Warner Books, New York.Davidson, Art. 1989. Alakshak. The Great Country. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Devall, Bill (ed.). 1993. Clearcut. The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. Sierra Club Books/Earth Island Press, San Francisco, CA.DiSilvestro, Roger L. 1989. The Endangered Kingdom. The Struggle to Save America's Wildlife. Wiley Science Editions, John Wiley & Son, New York.Douglas, William O. 1968. My Wilderness, The Pacific West. Pyramid Books, Salem, MA.Dunlap, Thomas R. 1988. Saving America's Wildlife. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Feduccia, Alan (ed.). 1985. Catesby's Birds of Colonial America. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC; London, UK.Fisher, Ron. 1984. Our Threatened Inheritance. Natural Treasures of the United States. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Forbush, Edward Howe and John Bichard May. 1959. A Natural History of American

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Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Bramhall House, New York.Frome, Michael. 1974. Battle for the Wilderness. Praeger Publishers, New York.Fuller, Errol. 2001. Extinct Birds. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.Geist, Valerius. 1996. Buffalo Nation. History and Legend of the North American Bison. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Gleason, Herbert W. 1971. Thoreau's Cape Cod. Barre Publishers, Barre, MA.Goudie, Andrew. 1982. The Human Impact. Man's Role in Environmental Change. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Grey Owl (Wa-Sha-Quon-Asin). 1937. Tales of an Empty Cabin. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York.Grove, Noel 1992. Preserving Eden. The Nature Conservancy. Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York.Gunter, A.Y. 1972. The Big Thicket. A Challenge for Conservation. Chatham Press Inc., Riverside, CT.Hanley, Wayne. 1977. Natural History in America. From Mark Catesby to Rachel Carson. Quadrangle/New York Times Books, New York.Hawke, David (ed.). 1970. Captain John Smith's History of Virginia. A Selection. Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.Haynes, Bessie Doak and Edgar Haynes (eds.). 1979. The Grizzly Bear. Portraits from Life. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.Highwater, J. 1995. Native Land. Barnes & Noble, New York.Hornaday, William T. 1913. Our Vanishing Wild Life. New York Zoological Society, New York.Josselyn, John. 1972. New-England Rarities Discovered (reprint of 1672 book), Massachusetts Historical Society.Kopper, Philip. 1991. The Wild Edge. Life and Lore of the Great Atlantic Beaches. 2nd edition. The Globe Pequot Press, Chester, CT.Kricher, John C. 1988. Ecology of Eastern Forests. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Laycock, George. 1990. The Hunters and the Hunted. The Pursuit of Game in America from Indian Times to the Present. An Outdoor Life Book, Meredith Press, New York.Madson, John. 1993. Tallgrass Prairie. A Nature Conservancy Book, Falcon Press, Helena, MT.McMillan, Ian. 1968. Man and the California Condor. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York.Middleton, David. 1992. Ancient Forests. A Celebration of North America's Old-growth Wilderness. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Mowat, Farley. 1986. Sea of Slaughter. Atlantic Monthly Press and Bantam Books, New York.Peck, Robert McCracken. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York. (See Selected Bibliography in this book, page 282.)Ponting, Clive. 1991. A Green History of the World. The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. Penguin Books, New York.Schorger, A.W. 1955. The Passenger Pigeon. Its Natural History and Extinction. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.Seton, Ernest Thompson. 1899. Wild Animals I Have Known. 1966 edition, Grosset & Dunlap, New York.Seton, Ernest Thompson. 1911. The Arctic Prairies. 1981 edition, Harper & Row, New York.

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Teal, John and Mildred Teal. 1969. Life and Death of the Salt Marsh. Audubon/ Ballantine Book, New York.Thomas, Bill. 1976. The Swamp. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.Thoreau, Henry David. Walden or Life in the Woods (many editions).Van Doren, Mark (ed.). 1955. Travels of William Bartram. Dover Publications, New York.

ForestsProject SummaryThis project involves learning about the types of forests that grow on Earth and selecting one type of forest to describein detail in terms of the climate, what types of trees grow there and what species of native plants and animals arethreatened. It also involves learning about the ways in which this type of forest is being conserved or destroyed.

BackgroundAs described in the Forests and Madagascar and Other Islands chapters, forests harbor the largest number ofendangered species of all habitats. Uncontrolled logging, especially of old-growth forests, has threatened the survivalof thousands of native plants and animals. Forests are a crucial factor in maintaining the planet's oxygen supply andsupplying moisture to the atmosphere. By absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, forests reduce pollution andglobal warming. Their roots also anchor soils, preventing erosion, and store moisture that gradually seeps into riversand streams so that they flow year-round, even in droughts.

The world land area covered by forests has been retreating for centuries. Although there are still extensive borealforests in northern Canada and Siberia, and tropical forest still covers most of the Amazon, forests are being logged ata fast pace. The increase in human populations has resulted in growing numbers of people cutting forests for firewoodor to clear land for agriculture. In many parts of the world, forests with extraordinary diversity of life have beennearly eliminated or are in the process of being destroyed. Central Africa's ancient rainforests are being logged for thelargest trees, hundreds of years old, and their wildlife, including endangered chimpanzees and Gorillas, is beingslaughtered to sell in bushmeat markets. Tropical rainforests, especially those growing in lowland areas, are the mostthreatened type of forest. These forests harbor the largest diversity of wildlife and plants and are, therefore, most inneed of protection. In the United States, entire forest ecosystems have become endangered, and many species ofnative trees have become threatened, some from diseases of foreign origin, others from logging and development. Examples of threatened forest ecosystems in North America are the native pine forests of the Southeastern UnitedStates, the old-growth temperate rainforests of the Northwest and the old-growth forests of the East.

Many species of trees, including the stately American Elm and the American Chestnut, have been decimated by exoticspecies of fungi. These trees once numbered in the billions. The American Elm has declined and disappeared frommany parts of the East, and the American Chestnut is almost extinct throughout its range in eastern North America. Itonce made up a large portion of the eastern hardwood forests. The wildlife of these forests has lost much of itsdiversity, as the Gray Wolf, Red Wolf, Mountain Lion, and their prey, the Elk, Eastern Bison and, in northern woods,the Caribou were all hunted to the last animal. Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, with their towering AmericanRedwoods and Sequoias, Western Hemlock, Red Cedar and other conifers, have been reduced to about 5 to 10 percentof their original range as a result of logging and development. Their wildlife, likewise, is under siege, and manyspecies, including the Grizzly Bear, Fisher, Lynx, Gray Wolf, Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet, are absentor extremely rare.

Endangered trees and wildlife of temperate forests in South America include the massive Chilean Larch or Alerce,which can grow for 4,000 years and reach sizes almost as great as the Sequoias of California, the world's most

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massive trees. Alerces have been decimated, cut for their valuable wood, along with other trees in theseforests--species which grew on Earth prior to the appearance of dinosaurs. Vast forests of beeches, for example, andprimitive conifers covered millions of square miles in Chile and Argentina, but only a fraction remain, the rest loggedto make way for agriculture and livestock. The wildlife of these forests, from the world's smallest deer, the Pudu, tothe Andean Bear, is threatened. Likewise, the temperate rainforests of New Zealand and eastern Australia have beengreatly reduced, threatening kiwis of several species and other unique wildlife.

Tropical forests of many types, from lowland rainforests to dry deciduous forests and, in higher elevations, montanecloud forests, grow in a belt around the Earth's tropical latitudes. They teem with millions of species of insects, birds,mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The last 5 percent of Brazil's Atlantic coastal forest harbors South America'sgreatest primate diversity, with species ranging in size from tiny lion marmosets, weighing only a few ounces, to theMuriqui, or Woolly Spider Monkey, the continent's largest primate. All are now threatened with extinction. Madagascar's tropical forests echo with the calls of 33 species of lemurs, charming and fascinating primates that existnowhere else but in these forests that are being cut for farm plots and charcoal. In Amazonian and Indonesianrainforests, literally hundreds of kinds of colorful parrots fly in noisy flocks, each with its own ecological niche offood type and habitat. Almost one-third of all parrots are now threatened.

A large percentage of tropical forests have been destroyed over the past century, with some areas, such as thePhilippines, Thailand, West Africa, Andean countries, the Caribbean and, most recently, parts of Indonesia,experiencing almost total deforestation. The losses here have been dramatic, as Orangutans, Tigers, rare birds and twospecies of primitive rhinos add to these countries' endangered lists. The countries with the largest numbers ofendangered birds, Indonesia and Brazil, have lost, or are in the process of losing, large tracts of tropical rainforest. Entire ecosystems are collapsing in the process. The great variety of fig trees of Southeast Asia depend on hornbills todistribute their seeds, but these birds are fast disappearing. Pollinating species like bats, small primates and birds arealso in sharp decline as the rainforests are destroyed. Many are found only in a limited area, surviving in the remnantsof these forests.

On the positive side, many large preserves have been set aside in South America to protect this diversity, andconservationists are working in other parts of the world to protect parks and help establish new reserves to preventmassive extinctions in these forests. Paper recycling and using substitutes for wood-based products are alsoconserving trees.

Activitieso Examine as many of the books listed below, showing the great beauty and diversity of forests, as possible. Theseinclude Jungles; The Rainforests, A Celebration; The Life and Mysteries of the Jungle; The Living Wild; Hotspots.Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions; North America's Rainforest. TheEndangered Paradise; Living Planet. Preserving Edens of the Earth; Ancient Forests. A Celebration of NorthAmerica's Old-growth Wilderness; and The Enchanted Canopy. A Journey of Discovery to the Last UnexploredFrontier, the Roof of the World's Rainforests. Also, read books on particular forest species, such as butterflies, birds,primates, bats or insects. Many are listed in the Books and Publications section. See films listed below and in theVideo section of this book on forests, particularly threatened ones in Madagascar and other parts of the world, as wellas films of endangered forest wildlife. This introduction is intended to create enthusiasm and curiosity as well as anappreciation of the wealth of plants and animals that are at stake as old-growth forests are destroyed.

o Select a forest from the list below to study its status and threatened trees and wildlife. - United States southeastern Long-leaf Pine forests - North American eastern hardwood forests - North American temperate rainforests - South American temperate rainforests - Brazilian forests of Atlantic coast - New Zealand or Australian temperate rainforests

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- Madagascar tropical rainforest - Hawaiian tropical rainforest - Mascarene tropical forests - West African tropical rainforests - Andean tropical rainforests and cloud forests - Central American cloud forests - Colombian rainforests - Caribbean tropical forests - East African tropical forests - Indonesian rainforests - Philippine rainforests - Indian montane forests of the Ghat region - Himalayan forests - Chinese tropical forests

o Read about this type of forest in The Endangered Species Handbook and in references listed in the Forests chapterand the Books and Publications section. Also consult the Internet.

o Describe the original extent of this forest several hundred years ago, and the present extent. (Collins 1990 andMittermeier 1999a, cited below, are excellent references.) Explain how it has become threatened. For example, someforests have been gradually whittled away by cutting for firewood or land clearance, while others have been cut bycorporate logging companies or government programs to establish large-scale agricultural farms. Still others havebeen officially conserved but, through failures in enforcement or misguided policies, their wildlife and trees have beenlost.

o What species of wildlife and plants or trees have become endangered as a result of the destruction of these forests? Which species are unique to that forest region? Describe them.

o Select an animal or plant species that is threatened with extinction and write a short report about it, using the criteriain the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of butterfly, orchid, ant, bird or mammal, forexample. Write about the species in the context of its forest habitat, whether its habitat is being protected, and otherthreats to it that may include pollution, trade or competition with exotic species. As source material, consult thisbook, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World, and other references cited here or in the Booksand Publications section of this book.

o By consulting books, such as Hotspots and other books listed below, list the threats to the forest you are describingand what is being done to protect the forest and its wildlife.

o Read the Forests chapter for information on the use of plants, such as kenaf, to make paper and building houseswith little or no lumber. Discuss the role these measures could have in conserving forests. Write organizations, suchas Earth Island Institute, for information.

Books and PublicationsFilms

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Forests: Books and PublicationsAyensu, Edward S. (ed.). 1980. The Life and Mysteries of the Jungle. Crescent Books, New York.Berra, T. 1998. A Natural History of Australia. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.Bielski, V. 1996. Shopper, Spare That Tree! Sierra. The Magazine of the Sierra Club, July/August, Vol. 81, No. 4, pages 38-41.Biondo, B. 1997. In Defense of the Longleaf Pine. Nature Conservancy, Sept.-Oct., Vol. 47, No. 4, pages 10-17.Bohan, V. de, N. Doggart, J. Ryle, S. Trent and J. Williams. 1996. Corporate Power, Corruption & The Destruction of the World's Forests. The Case for A New Global Forest Agreement. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Bowermaster, J. 1995. Take this Park and Love it. The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 3, pages 24-27.Collar, N.J. and S.N. Stuart. 1985. Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, Part I. International Council for Bird Preservation and International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Cambridge, UK.Collins, M. (ed.). 1990. The Last Rain Forests. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Collins, M., J.A. Sayer and T.C. Whitmore. 1991. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests. Asia and the Pacific.Simon & Schuster, New York.Currey, D. 1996. The Political Wilderness. India's Tiger Crisis. The Environmental Investigation Agency, London,UK; Washington, DC.Devall, E. (ed.). 1993. Clearcut. The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. Sierra Club Books/Earth Island Press, San Francisco, CA.Dietrich, W. 1992. The Final Forest. The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Simon & Schuster, New York, 303 pages.Dorst, J. 1967. South America and Central America: A Natural History. Random House, Inc., New York.Durrell, L. State of the Ark. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY.Ellis, G. and K. Kane. 1991. North America's Rain Forest. The Endangered Paradise. NorthWord Press, Minocqua, WI.Emmel, Thomas C. 1975. Butterflies. A Borzoi Book. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York.Fragoso, J. and K. Silvius. 1995. Spirits of the Forest. Wildlife Conservation, Nov./Dec., Vol. 98, No. 6.French, H.W. 1996. An African Forest Harbors Vast Wealth and Peril. The New York Times, April 3.Franklin, N., Bastoni Sriyanto, D. Siswomartono, J. Manansang and R. Tilson. 1999. Last of the Indonesian Tigers: a Cause for Optimism. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger conservation in human-dominated landscapes. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Frid, Alejandro. 1997. Apocalypse Cow. Wildlife Conservation, Sept./Oct., Vol. 100, No. 5. (South Andean Huemul.)Galster, S. 1996. Russia's Final Roar. Criminal Threats to the Siberian Tiger and Local Communities: An Inside Look at a New Fight for Survival. Investigative Network, Washington, DC.Geatz, R. 1996. Cut Carbon, Not Forests. Nature Conservancy, Vol. 46, No. 2.

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Geatz, R. 1999. Great Rivers of Yunnan. Conservation in a Changing World. Nature Conservancy, May/June, Vol. 49, No. 3.Grove, N. 1999. Living Planet. Preserving Edens of the Earth. Crown Publishers, New York.Harcourt, C.S. and J.A. Sayer (eds.). 1996. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests. The Americas. International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Simon & Schuster, New York.Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, UK.Ji, Zhao (ed.). 1990. The Natural History of China. McGraw‑Hill Publishing Co., New York.Kennedy, M. (ed.). 1990. Australia's Endangered Species. The Extinction Dilemma. Prentice Hall Press, New York.Kingdon, J. 1989. Island Africa. The Evolution of Africa's Rare Animals and Plants. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdom Field Guide to African Animals. Natural World Series, Academic Press, New York.Laman, T. 1997. Borneo's Strangler Fig Trees. National Geographic, April, Vol. 191, No. 4, pages 38-55.Lanting, Frans. 2000. Jungles. Ed. by Christine Eckstrom. Terra Editions. Taschen, Koln, London, UK.MacKinnon, J. 1996. Wild China. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Malcolm, B. and N. Malcolm. 1989. The Forest Carpet. New Zealand's Little- Noticed Forest Plants--Mosses, Lichens, Liverworts, Hornwortsk, Fork- ferns and Lycopods. Craig Potton, Nelson, New Zealand.Martin, C. 1991. The Rainforests of West Africa. Ecology--Threats-- Conservation. Birkauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland. (Translated from German.)Matthiessen, P. 2000. Tigers in the Snow. North Point Press, a Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.McFarlane, R.W. 1992. A Stillness in the Pines. The Ecology of the Red- cockaded Woodpecker. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.McNeely, J.A., K.R. Miller, W.V. Reid, R.A. Mittermeier and T.B. Werner. 1990. Conserving the World's Biological Diversity. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Bank, World Resources Institute, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund.Middleton, D. 1992. Ancient Forests. A Celebration of North America's Old- Growth Wilderness. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Mitchell, A.W. 1986. The Enchanted Canopy. A Journey of Discovery to the Last Unexplored Frontier, the Roof of the World's Rainforests. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York.Mittermeier, R.A., N. Myers, P.R. Gil, C.G. Mittermeier. 1999a. Hotspots. Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Cemex, S.A., Mexico City; Conservation International, Washington, DC.Mittermeier, R.A., A.B. Rylands and W.R. Konstant. 1999b. Primates of the World: an Introduction. In: Walker's Mammals of the World, by R. Nowak, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Moffet, M.W. 1997. Tree Giants of North America. National Geographic, Jan., Vol. 191, No. 1.Mydans, S. 1996a. Resettled Indonesians Find Hard Life. The New York Times,

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Aug. 25.Nash, N.C. 1994. Vast Areas of Rain Forest Are Being Destroyed in Chile. The New York Times, May 31.NGS (National Geographic Society). 1993. Saving the Big Trees--a League of Their Own. National Geographic, Nov.Nature Conservancy, The. 2000. International Conservation Program: Greater China. Nature Conservancy, July/August, page 34.Newman, J.A. Ruwindrijarto, D. Currey and Hasporo. 1999. The Final Cut. Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Newman, J., D. Currey and S. Lawson. 2000. Illegal Logging in Tanjung Puting National Park. An Update on The Final Cut Report. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.The New York Times. 1997. Asia's Forest Disaster, Sept. 27 (editorial).Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Nyhus, P., Sumianto and R. Tilson. 1999. The Tiger-human dimension in southeast Sumatra. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in human- dominated landscapes. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Oates, J.F. 1999. Myth and Reality in the Rain Forest. How Conservation Strategies are Failing in West Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.O'Neill, T. 1996. Irian Jaya. Indonesia's Wild Side. National Geographic, Feb.Parfit, M. 2000. Australia. A Harsh Awakening. National Geographic, July.Paul, S.M. 1998. After the Blaze. Animals, Sept./Oct. (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.)Peck, R.M. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York.Peters, R.L. and T.E. Lovejoy. 1990. Terrestrial Fauna. In: The Earth as Transformed by Human Action. Ed. by B.L. Turner II et al. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Preston-Mafham, K. 1991. Madagascar. A Natural History. Facts On File, New York.Russell, C. 1994. Spirit Bear. Encounters with the White Bear of the Western Rainforest. Key Porter Books, Toronto, Canada.Schafer, K. and M. Hill. 1993. The Logger and the Tiger. Wildlife Conservation, May/June, Vol. 96, No. 3, pages 22‑29.Schaller, G.B. 1993. The Last Panda. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Silcock, Lisa (ed.). 1992. The Rainforests. A Celebration. Foreword by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. The Living Earth Foundation. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Strier, K.B. 1992. Faces in the Forest. The Endangered Muriqui Monkeys of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York.Whitten, T. and J. Whitten. 1992. Wild Indonesia. The Wildlife and scenery of the Indonesian archipelago. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Wilford, J.N. 1994. Australians Find Trees of Dinosaur Vintage. The New York Times. Dec. 15.Wolfe, Art. 2000. The Living Wild. Ed. by Michelle A. Gilders, with essays by William Conway, Richard Dawkins, Jane Goodall, John C. Sawhill and George

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B. Schaller. Wildlands Press, Art Wolfe, Inc.Yates, S. 1992. The Nature of Borneo. Facts On File, New York.

Forests: FilmsThe films below are reviewed in the Video section, which gives information on their distributors and more detail ontheir content. Also, films on individual forest species, such as Tigers, are reviewed, along with additional films onmany of the subjects and regions above.

General films on rainforests: "Rain Forest" and "Exploring the High Frontier," both by National Geographic Society.Temperate rainforests in US: "Ancient Forests,� �Last Stands of the Giants"Temperate pine forest of US southeast: "Remnants of a Forest"US National Forests: "Our Vanishing Forests"Regional: "Amazonia: A Burning Question;" "The Decade of Destruction" (Amazon rainforest); "Korup--An African Rain Forest" (Cameroon); "Spirits of the Forest" (Madagascar); "Forest Primeval" (Part 3 of "Heart of Africa") (Democratic Republic of the Congo & area); "Animalai, India's Elephant Mountain" about the Indian Ghats; "Monkeys on the Edge" (Brazil's Atlantic forest); "Song of Protest," "Land of the Kiwi," and "Mountains of Water" (New Zealand).

GrasslandsProject SummaryThe purpose of this project is to learn about the wild grasslands of the world, their wildlife and threats to them. Oneparticular region will be selected and its original extent, wildlife, and present status will be described. The ways inwhich this grassland is being conserved or destroyed will be a major focus.

BackgroundJust a century ago, grasslands covered much of central North America, from southern Canada through Texas tonorthern Mexico, and from west of the Rockies east to Midwestern and northeastern states. Tall-grass prairie, withgrasses up to 12 feet in height, grew from Ohio west to the Mississippi River area. This savannah grassland hadgroves of oak and other trees. It had extremely rich soil and was plowed by American settlers into farmland. Today,less than 1 percent of the original extent remains, making it an extremely endangered natural ecosystem. West of thetall-grass prairies, a mixture of tallgrass and short-grass prairies existed, and further west, short-grass dominated. Theshort-grass and mixed prairies have also been plowed for crops, but some sizeable areas remain, primarily kept aspasture for cows. These grasslands have been greatly altered, leaving few examples of the original ecosystems. Vastherds of American Bison once grazed throughout these grasslands, with prairie dog towns covering millions of acresin the short-grass prairies.

The savannahs of East Africa, grazed by a great diversity of hoofed animals, represent a classic example of grasslandsthat are still in natural, intact condition. Although under stress from growing human populations, large reserves andnational parks protect much of this region. By contrast, the dryer grasslands of southern Africa have been severelydamaged by the introduction of large numbers of domestic cattle and the fencing off of wildlife from waterholes and

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prime grasslands to prevent the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease to cattle. This has resulted in a large decline inoverall numbers of both herbivores and carnivores. This is a repetition of the overuse of the Sahara and Sahel regionsto the north, centuries before, by great herds of domestic camels and sheep, turning grasslands into sandy desert. Ethiopia, Somalia and countries to the north and east of the Serengeti in East Africa's horn were once covered in lushgrasslands. Wildlife species found only in this region became threatened when Europeans introduced livestock, whichinfected wild ungulates with rinderpest and other diseases, causing massive mortalities.

In vast steppes that once stretched from the Black Sea to western China, livestock now far outnumber nativeungulates, such as the Saiga antelope, a species that once thundered in herds of millions. Overgrazing and plowing ofthis dry land for crops has further degraded it, causing massive dust storms, similar to those that resulted from plowingthe American prairie in the 20th century. South America has extensive grasslands in Venezuela and south-centralBrazil, many of which become wetlands during rainy seasons. In Argentina and Chile's Patagonian grasslands, rheas,deer, Guanacos and other wildlife once abounded. After centuries of overgrazing by sheep and cattle, this wildlife hasdeclined greatly, and the grasslands are turning to desert. Australia's grasslands have also been converted to use bylivestock, displacing the varied marsupials and rodents that once thrived here.

Preservation of grasslands and their wildlife is now taking place in many parts of the world, including the UnitedStates, southern Africa and Australia. Reserves of remnant grasslands, with their great diversity of wildflowers,grasses and other plants, are being set aside and native wildlife reintroduced. This trend may spread to parts of Asiaas well, but the pressures of human populations requiring farmland and grazing for livestock may prevent restorationin most areas.

Activitieso Read "Epitaph for America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter 1 to learn about the travels of Lewis andClark through these prairies early in the 19th century, followed by the extermination of the great herds of bison, deerand Pronghorn. Read the Grasslands, Shrublands and Deserts chapter with references cited for more information onNorth American and other grasslands around the world and their endangered species. Write a short paper describingthe changes in grasslands in North America since colonial times and the effects on wildlife.

o Select a grassland from the following list to study its wildlife and present status:

- North America's Tallgrass Prairie - North America's Short-grass Prairie - Central Asia's Steppes - Australia's Grasslands and Drylands - Saharan and Sahel Drylands - East Africa's Serengeti - Southern Africa's Grasslands - Horn of Africa's Grasslands - South America's Pampas - South America's Patagonia

* What species of wildlife, plants or trees have become endangered as a result of the destruction of this region'sgrasslands or affected by related activities, such as grazing and meat hunting, by herdspeople? Which species areunique to that grassland region? Describe them.

* Select an animal or plant species native to this region that is threatened with extinction, and write a short reportabout it, using the criteria in the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of wildflower, tortoise,butterfly, bird or mammal, for example. Write about the species in the context of its grassland habitat, whether itshabitat is being protected, and other threats to it that may include pollution, trade or competition with exotic species. As source material, consult this book, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World, and other

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references cited here or in the Books and Publications section of this book.

* By consulting books such as those listed below, describe the threats to the particular grassland or dryland you haveselected, and discuss what is being done to protect the natural habitat and its wildlife?

o Use this project as a model to study the status of shrublands and deserts, as described in the Grasslands, Shrublandsand Desert chapter of this book, with the emphasis on desertification of drylands into desert through grazing,firewood gathering and other activities. See the reference list of the latter chapter for further reading.

o If you live within the range of these habitats, participate in a project to restore native plants to a grassland. Grassland birds have undergone drastic declines in the past decade, mainly through loss of habitat. Identify thegrassland birds in your area and help in a project to obtain habitat for them, improve existing habitat or grow seeds ofnative plants for planting. Several source books supply information on mail-order nurseries that sell native plants andseeds. Noah's Garden has chapters entitled, "In Respect of Grass" and "To Plant A Prairie," which give very specificinformation about these habitats. The National Wildflower Research Center (2600 FM 973 North, Austin, TX 78725)supplies native plant bibliographies for each region and lists native plant associations. A book written by Lady BirdJohnson, who founded this center, and Carlton B. Lees, Wildflowers Across America, is a dazzling showcase of nativewildflowers as well as an excellent source of information on these ecosystems. If you live near a shrubland or desert,plant native flowers and plants in your garden instead of grass to restore the ecosystem and conserve water. See thelist of books below for instructions on planting desert and dryland gardens.

o If you live in an area where grasslands are mowed for hay, begin a public relations campaign to convince farmers towait until after bird nesting season is over to mow. This would be in late July or August for most species of grasslandbirds. Consult reference books to determine the nesting times of grassland birds in your area. Such measures wouldbe of great help to certain birds that have lost most of their natural grassland habitat. Make up posters that illustrateone or more of the following birds, and text describing their decline and need for undisturbed nesting habitat. In theEast, the Bobolink, Grasshopper and Henslow's Sparrows and Bluebird, among others, will benefit. In the West,various species of Lesser and Greater Prairie Chicken, Sage Grouse and other bird species mentioned in theGrasslands, Shrublands and Deserts chapter are among these. Ask farmers and landowners to help preserve thesebirds and other wildlife by mowing practices. Have signs made that landowners could post on their property saying,for example, "Grassland Birds Protected Here." Publicize the campaign through letters to the local newspapers andspeeches at local organizational meetings.

o Construct nesting boxes for Bluebirds and Purple Martins to be donated to landowners in grassland with scatteredtrees or bordered by woods. Instructions on how to make and maintain Bluebird houses can be obtained from theNorth America Bluebird Society, P.O. Box 6295, Silver Spring, MD 20906. The Complete Birdhouse Book, by Donand Lillian Stokes, also gives instructions on building and upkeep for both the Bluebird and Purple Martin houses.Films made by Don and Lillian Stokes include advice on planting for birds by species, such as hummingbirds andgrassland birds; advice on how to construct, place and maintain bird nesting boxes is also given (CPTV Offer, P.O.Box 82, Hopkinton, MA 01748). The placement and maintenance of bird nest boxes should be long-term so that theymay provide permanent nesting homes. It is important to keep records on the occupancy and breeding success of eachbox.

o Help native butterflies by planting wildflowers of species that are needed for their life cycle. The MonarchButterfly, for example, requires Milkweed plants for feeding and laying its eggs. Learn about the species of butterfliesand other pollinating insects in grasslands in your area, especially those in decline. For species listed on the USEndangered Species Act, all conservation projects should be coordinated with the US Fish and Wildlife Service andyour state Natural Heritage Program (affiliated with the Department of Game or Wildlife in each state). Roadsidesnext to highways or in median strips and along country roads or railroads provide important habitat for butterflies,especially in areas where grasslands are disappearing. Contact your state and local transportation departments toobtain permission to plant wildflowers in these areas. The North American Butterfly Association (909 Birch St.,

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Baraboo, WI 53913) provides information about helping butterfly habitat and butterfly watching, a new andfascinating activity for which there are guide books. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future, byPhil Schappert, is a primary source of information about butterfly life histories, habitats, conservation and threats. Italso contains beautiful photography of hundreds of butterfly species worldwide. More information can be obtainedfrom Dr. Schappert via the Internet: www.aworldforbutterflies.com. Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic inYour Garden, published by the Sierra Club, was compiled by the Xerces Society, a conservation organization fornative American butterflies, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution. Be careful not to use commercialwildflower seed mixes that include species not native to your area or even to the United States. Certain exoticwildflowers, such as Purple Loosestrife, a European plant, are spreading in the United States, drying up marshes andcrowding out native wildflowers.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Grasslands: Books and PublicationsAjilvsgi, Geyata. 1984. Wildflowers of Texas. Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, TX.Art, Henry W. 1990. The Wildflower Gardener's Guide: California, Desert Southwest. Storey Communications, Inc., Pownal, VT.Brown, L. 1985. Grasslands. National Audubon Society Nature Guides, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Craighead, John J., Frank C. Craighead Jr. and Ray J. Davis. 1963. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Dannen, Kent and Donna. 1981. Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Tundra Publications, Estes Park, CO.Dodge, Natt N. 1985. Flowers of the Southwest Deserts. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, Tucson, AZ.Emmel, Thomas C. 1975. Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Feltwell, John. 1992. Butterflies of North America. Smithmark Publications, Inc., New York.Hook, Patrick. 1999. The World of Butterflies. A Fully Illustrated Guide to These Delicate Jewels of Nature. Gramercy Books, New York.Knopf, Jim. 1991. The Xeriscape Flower Gardener. Johnson Books, Boulder, CO.Johnson, Lady Bird and Carlton Lees. 1993. Wildflowers Across America. Abbeyville Press, New York.Madson, J. 1993. Tallgrass Prairie. Nature Conservancy. Falcon Press, Helena, MT.Martin, Laura C. 1986. The Wildflower Meadow Book. East Woods Press, Charlotte, NC.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. A Guide for Nature- Lovers. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.National Wildflower Research Center. 1989. Wildflower Handbook. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX.New England Wildflower Society. Nursery Sources: Native Plants and

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Wildflowers. (Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701).Niehaus, Theodore F. 1984. A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Niering, William A. and Nancy C. Olmstead. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Nokes, Jill. 1986. How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX.Phillips, Harry R. 1985. Growing and Propagating Wildflowers. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.Pyle, Robert M. 1994. National Audubon Society Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Schappert, Phil. 2000. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.Scott, James A. 1992. The Butterflies of North America. A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, New York.Spellenberg, Richard. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Sperka, Marie. 1984. Growing Wildflowers: A Gardener's Guide. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stein, Sara. 1997. Planting Noah's Garden; Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1985. A Guide to Enjoying Wildflowers. Little, Brown & Co., New York.Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1993. The Wildflower Books. From the Rockies West and East of the Rockies. An Easy Guide to Growing Wildflowers. Little Brown and Co., New York. (Companies that sell wildflower seeds are listed.)Stokes, Donald and Lillian. The Hummingbird Book

The Complete Birdhouse Book The Bluebird Book The Bird Feeder Book.

Little Brown & Co., New York.

Grasslands: FilmsAll films mentioned below are reviewed in the Video section.

"Crane River" is a celebration of the huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes that migrate across North American prairies."Durrell in Russia" is a 12-part series which includes films on the Saiga, European Bison and grasslands of Russia."Emas. High Plain of Brazil" centers on this large grassland, surrounded almost entirely by agriculture that serves as an island for Brazil's unique grassland animals, including the Giant Anteater and Maned Wolf."Grasslands," a Canadian Broadcasting Company documentary, describes the biodiversity and ecology of North American grasslands and their destruction.

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"Land of the Eagle," a series, concerns North America as it was prior to settlement by Europeans, with segments on the prairies and their wildlife."Mysterious Black-footed Ferret" focuses on this extraordinary and highly endangered prairie native, filming its graceful, sinuous movements and rapid leaps while hunting prairie dogs. "Nature of Australia" explores the natural history of the continent in six parts, from its grasslands to drylands, how native wildlife has been affected and what ecological harm has been done by humans."The Saiga of Kazakhstan" chronicles the decline in the herds that numbered more than 1 million animals as a result of hunting, fencing off of grasslands and loss of habitat. They have disappeared from the center of their original range in Central Asia."Sea of Grass" (segment of "The Living Planet") is one of the parts to this BBC series that describes the evolution of various ecosystems of the Earth."The Tiny Carnivores" introduces one to Australia's small marsupials, many of which are nocturnal and endangered, driven from their habitats in grassland, savannah and desert by human activity."Vanishing Prairie," a Disney classic, shows the inside of a prairie dog burrow and the wildlife that teems in this habitat."Varmints" documents the decline of prairie dogs in the American West through systematic poisoning programs by federal, state and local authorities, placing them in endangered status, and explains their important role in prairie ecosystems."Wildebeest Race for Life" follows the trail of 1 million of these odd- looking ungulates as they migrate in a large circle around the Serengeti.

Aquatic EcosystemsProject SummaryAquatic ecosystems are the most varied of all ecosystems, ranging from freshwater ponds to rivers, lakes, saltmarshes,coasts, mangroves and coral reefs to open ocean. Although a single type of ecosystem will be chosen for the project,it is hoped that the reports will be presented to the class to acquaint students with the characteristics of as many ofthese habitats as possible. The project will consist of selecting a particular type of aquatic ecosystem that isthreatened in a geographical area listed below. This ecosystem, the threats to it--whether through pollution, damming,diversion or other activity--will be described, including its wildlife. Also certain aquatic species that are in sharpdecline will be among the subjects listed for special attention. The ways in which this aquatic ecosystem, species orgroup of species is being conserved or destroyed will be a major focus.

Background

The aquatic ecosystems of the world have never been more stressed and degraded. The rise in human population tomore than 6 billion people by the end of the 20th century placed strains of overuse and pollution on the limitedsupplies of fresh water, leaving billions of people without adequate clean water supplies and creating rising tensionsover water rights. In these conflicts, wildlife pays a high price, losing pristine habitat and becoming contaminatedwith toxic chemicals and oil spills that are killing wildlife around the world. Dams have endangered numerous fish byimpeding their migrations, and developing countries have been damming their rivers at an increasing rate. Rivers thatflowed swiftly become still ponds after damming, an alteration to which many fish cannot adjust. Many of these fishare also declining as a result of the introduction of non-native fish, which are out-competing them. The Nile Perch

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was introduced as a food fish in Lake Victoria, and it has virtually eliminated hundreds of species of native cichlidfish, colorful and ancient species. The Colorado River of the US west has many dams on it, which have totally alteredthe river's flow patterns and temperature, endangering many fish that had evolved in the swift-flowing, silt-ladenwater. The most dramatic example of a dam endangering a wide variety of plants and animals, and dislocating 1million people, is the Three Gorges Dam being built on the Yangtze River of China. It will almost certainly result inthe extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin, a very ancient freshwater species, the Yangtze Sturgeon and numerousplants that will be inundated by the waters. Although far upstream, it will also have the effect of drying up wetlandsdownriver and at the delta. With inadequate provision for sewage treatment for the millions of people and industryliving alongside the new lake formed by the dam, the Yangtze is expected to become extremely polluted. Large damsinundate vast areas, displacing thousands of people from their homes and drowning rare trees, plants and wildlife.

Diversion of rivers for agriculture or water supply has left many riverbeds and deltas dry, causing entire ecosystems tocollapse. An increasing problem with rising temperatures has been violent storms which cause severe flooding ofrivers, made worse by the deforestation that robs hillsides and riverbanks of protective trees that absorb rainfallthroughout the year and hold the soil in place. Lakes and spring ponds that dry up in the summer are also being filledin by developers and government projects, eliminating habitat for myriad aquatic creatures, from frogs andsalamanders to turtles and water birds.

Overfishing, pollution and destruction of ocean environments have reached crisis proportions, with 70 percent of allfish caught commercially in depleted status or worse, including some of the most ecologically importantspecies--sharks, tuna and others at the top of their food chain. Toxic chemical pollution has increased, especially incolder waters, where whales and other cetaceans are dying from massive build-ups of chemicals such as PCBs(Polychlorinated Biphenyls), pesticides, heavy metals and other toxins. Along the pristine coast of Washington state,Killer Whales are dying from these toxic chemicals, as are white Beluga Whales in the St. Lawrence River. A SpermWhale that died recently of toxic chemicals had to be disposed of as highly toxic waste. Other waste in the oceans iskilling wildlife. Abandoned driftnets drown thousands of birds, seals, sea lions and sharks, and fishing line entanglesendangered Northern Right Whales and other wildlife, drowning them. Plastic sheeting, balloons, plastic fromsix-packs and other trash are killing seabirds, such as the long-lived and declining albatross, which unknowingly feedthis trash to their chicks, killing them, or swallow the items themselves, later dying of blocked intestines. Collisionswith ships and motor boats are causing large numbers of deaths in Florida Manatees and whales.

Coral reefs, the most beautiful and biologically diverse ocean ecosystems, are dying from many threats. Dynamiteand cyanide used to kill and capture fish destroy the entire reef. Overfishing, pollution and silt that washes off nearbylands from agriculture and development can combine to kill a reef. Global warming causes coral bleaching that isaffecting a growing number of reefs. More than one-third of all coral reefs are now dead or dying.

Wetlands have declined in the United States by 50 percent. This has resulted in more destructive floods and losses infisheries production. Wetlands filter pollutants, and their reduction has lowered water quality. Elsewhere in theworld, similar declines have taken place. Both fresh and saltwater marshes provide important benefits in cleaningwater through a natural filtration system. In fact, the worldwide value of this benefit to the Earth and human societyhas been calculated at $1.7 trillion. Marshes also provide important flood controls by absorbing large amounts ofwater from nearby sources or rainfall, as well as a multi-billion dollar benefit of serving as nurseries for fish, shellfishand other wildlife. Traditionally, however, they are filled in for development, airports, seaports and other commercialuses which are considered to be far more beneficial to society. It is important to reexamine such an approach,especially in view of the tremendous costs of flooding in human lives and property and the decline in fish andshellfish harvests.

An atmospheric phenomenon caused, apparently, by CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, chemicals used in refrigerationand for other industrial purposes, is thinning the ozone layer, a protective shield that filters the sun's raysbefore they strike Earth. Large holes have developed over the Poles, especially the South Pole, allowing hugeamounts of ultraviolet rays from the sun to enter the atmosphere, causing many cases of skin cancer in humans and

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having unforeseen effects on animals with sensitive skin like frogs and salamanders. Frog species are disappearing ata catastrophic rate, especially those that lay their eggs in the open, exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Frogs arealso suffering grotesque birth defects, which may be caused by pesticides or virus outbreaks. Frogs� decline may be awarning sign that serious problems exist in the aquatic ecosystems of the world that will soon begin to affect humanbeings.

Activitieso Read the Aquatic Ecosystems chapter, which describes many of these problems in detail and parts of the worldwhere large numbers of animals and plants are endangered. The references cited will provide more information.

o Select a species of wildlife or plant that has become endangered as a result of the destruction of aquatic ecosystemsor related activities. Describe its status, threats to its habitat and what--if anything--is being done to prevent itsextinction.

o Select an aquatic area from the following list to study its wildlife and present status:

- United States� Colorado River - Florida's Everglades swamp - Rivers and wetlands of the US East and Southeast - Russia's Lake Baikal - Central Asia's Aral Sea - East Africa's Lake Victoria - Southern Africa's Okavango Delta - Brazil's Pantanal wetlands - Amazon River and its dams - China's Yangtze River - Australia's Great Barrier Reef - Mississippi River Delta and adjacent waters

All are described in the Aquatic Ecosystems chapter. See also Video and Books and Publications sections.

o The following wildlife has become endangered as a result of the destruction of these aquatic ecosystems or relatedactivities. Select one and discuss threats, species involved and conservation programs:

- albatross and other large seabirds - frogs - whales and dolphins - sharks - sea turtles - penguins

o Select an aquatic animal or plant species that is threatened with extinction and write a short report about it, usingthe criteria in the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of fish, frog, turtle, aquatic insect (suchas a dragonfly), bird or mammal, for example. Write about the species in the context of its aquatic habitat, whether itshabitat is being protected, and other threats to it, which may include pollution, trade or competition with exoticspecies. As source material, consult this book, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World andother references cited here or in the Books and Publications section of this book.

o Make comparisons between natural means of flood control, including marshes, beaver ponds and heavily forestedstream and riversides, and artificial means, such as levees, dikes and canals. Water, A Natural History, listed below,

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is helpful in pointing out the differences. Compare the cost and success of natural means of controlling pollution,such as sewage through marshes that filter waste, and artificial means through sewage plants. Individual homes insuburban and rural areas use septic tanks and cesspools to store sewage. In times of heavy rain, however, they oftenoverflow into rivers, as do urban sewage plants. In many parts of the world, no sewage treatment exists, causingrivers and waterways near cities to become severely polluted. Some cities in California and elsewhere haveconstructed artificial marshes to filter sewage water, creating, in the process, wildlife havens. New types of toilets,known as compost toilets, are another less-polluting innovation. Read Chapter 9, "Aqueducts and Toilet Bowls" inWater, A Natural History, and write a short report on improvements needed in the present systems.

o Grassroots organizations throughout the world have been successful in restoring rivers and other aquaticecosystems. Using a book, such as How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action, select a river, wetland, pond(including beaver ponds), lake or vernal pool (temporary wetland that dries up in the summer) to help preserve orclean up from pollution. Small projects can be of importance in conservation. For example, some high school classesin the Midwest sampled a nearby marsh for the types of frogs found there and discovered that the majority weredeformed, having five or more legs, misplaced eyes or other grotesque malformations. The situation was givenpublicity, and research began on the causes. Pesticide contamination was considered the most likely cause, sincewater from the marsh used to grow frogs in captivity produced similar deformities. One organization, The RiverlandsConservancy, has helped purchase river habitat in Oregon, Missouri and Washington totaling 17,174 acres since1993. Measuring pollution in local waterways is an excellent class project that can lead to environmental action onthe part of state or federal authorities. Save Our Streams program, run by The River Network, headquartered inPortland, Oregon, and its sister organization, The River Clearinghouse, provide information to activists throughout thecountry on an 800 "hot line," using a database of volunteer experts who provide advice. The River Watch Networkhas been instrumental in helping communities monitor water quality in order to restore and protect rivers. (See Howto Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action for more information and other organizations, which includeAmerican Rivers, the International Rivers Network and Riverkeepers, working to preserve aquatic ecosystems.) Using these examples, propose a class project to help conserve a local aquatic ecosystem.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Aquatic Ecosystems: Books and PublicationsBolling, David M. 1994. How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action. Island Press, Washington, DC.Barlow, M. 1999. Blue Gold. The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World's Water Supply. International Forum on Globalization, San Francisco, CA.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.Blakeslee, S. 1997. New Culprit in Deaths of Frogs. The New York Times. Sept. 16.Blaustein, A.R. 1994. Amphibians in a Bad Light. Natural History, Oct.Bolling, D.M. 1994. How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action. Island Press, Washington, DC.Browne, M. 1996. Dams for Water Supply Are Altering Earth's Orbit, Expert

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Says. The New York Times, March 3.Bryce, R. 1995. Aid Canceled for Gold Project in Indonesia. The New York Times (International Business), Nov. 2.Carson, Rachel. 1955. The Edge of the Sea. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Carter, J. 1997. Crown Jewel of the Caribbean. Wildlife Conservation. July/ August, pages 36-41, 64.Chadwick, D.H. 1999. Coral in Peril. National Geographic, Jan., Vol. 195, No. 1, pages 30-37.Clancy, P. 1997. Feeling the Pinch. The Troubled Plight of America's Crayfish. Nature Conservancy, May/June, Vol. 47, No. 3, pages 10-15.Colborn, T., D. Dumanoski and J.P. Myers. 1996. Our Stolen Future. Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story. A Dutton Book, New York.Collins, M. (ed.). 1990. The Last Rain Forests. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 1995b. Freshwater Mussels Facing Mass Extinction. The New York Times, Oct. 3, pages C1, C7.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 1996a. Clinton Backing Vast Effort to Restore Florida Swamps. The New York Times, Feb. 18, pages 1, 26.Daily, G. (ed.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC.Douglas, M.S. 1947. The Everglades: River of Grass (reprinted in 1992, Mockingbird Books, CA).Dugan, P. (ed.). 1993. Wetlands in Danger. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Dugger, C.W. 2000. Opponents of India Dam Project Bemoan Green Light from Court. The New York Times, Oct. 20.Earle, S.A. 1995. Sea Change. A Message of the Oceans. Fawcett Columbine, New York.Eckholm, E. 2000. China Plans to Divert Rivers to Thirsty North. The New York Times, Oct. 17.Eckstrom, C.K. 1996. Pantanal. A Wilderness of Water. Audubon, April, Vol. 98, No. 2, pages 54-67.Hedges, C. 1993. In a Remote Southern Marsh, Iraq is Strangling the Shiites. The New York Times, Nov. 16, pages A1, A10.Hilts, P.J. 2000. Dioxin in Arctic Circle is Traced to Sources Far to the South. The New York Times, Oct. 17.Lanz, K. 1995. The Greenpeace Book of Water. Sterling Publishing Company, New York.Lewis, P. 1993. U.N. Finds Baghdad is Gaining in South. Iraqi Marshland is Drained for a Military Campaign. The New York Times, Nov. 24.Lewis, P. 1996. U.N. Report Warns of Problems Over Dwindling Water Supplies. The New York Times, Jan. 20.MacInnis, J. (ed.). 1999. Saving the Oceans. Key Porter Books Ltd., Toronto, Canada.Mason, C.E. and S.M. Macdonald. 1986. Otters: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Maxwell, G. 1961. Ring of Bright Water. E.P. Dutton, New York.McCollum, C. 1990. Save the Otters! Wildlife Conservation, Vol. 93, No. 2.Mostert, N. 1974. Supership. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Mydans, S. 1996. Thai Shrimp Farmers Facing Ecologists' Fury. The New York Times, April 28.

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Mydans, S. 1997. In Indonesia, Where There's Gold, There's Squalor. The New York Times, Dec. 25.NG (National Geographic). 1999. Polar Bear Cubs Deformed by Toxins? Earth Almanac, Jan.NG (National Geographic). 2000. Contaminated: PCBs Plague British Columbia's Killer Whales. Earth Almanac. May.NGS (National Geographic Society). 1995. Whales Dolphins and Porpoises. (J.D. Darling, C.F. Nicklin, K.S. Norris, H. Whitehead and B. Wursig, authors). Washington, DC.Neves, R. 1996. Rescuing Ohio River Mussels. Endangered Species Bulletin, March/April, Vol. 21, No. 2, pages 16-17.Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.O'Neill, T. 1996. Irian Jaya. Indonesia's Wild Side. National Geographic, Feb.Outwater, Alice. 1996. Water. A Natural History. Basic Books, New York.Phillips, K. 1994. Tracking the Vanishing Frogs. An Ecological Mystery. St. Martin's Press, New York.Postel, S. 1997. Last Oasis. Facing Water Scarcity. Worldwatch Environmental Alert Series. W.W. Norton, New York.Reisner, Marc. 1986. Cadillac Desert. The American West and its Disappearing Water. Penguin Books, New York.Reynolds, J.E. III and D.K. Odell. 1991. Manatees and Dugongs. Facts On File, New York.Rezendes, P. 1996. Wetlands. The Web of Life. A Sierra Club Book, San Francisco, CA.Safina, C. 1997. Song for the Blue Ocean. Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas. Henry Holt & Co., New York.Schreiber, R.L., A.W. Diamond, R.T. Peterson and W. Cronkite. 1989. Save the Birds. A Pro Natur Book. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. Senner, S.E. 1989. Exxon Valdez: A Major Disaster for Birds. World Birdwatch, July-September, Vol. 11, No. 3, page 1.Simon, N. 1995. Nature in Danger. Threatened Habitats and Species. Oxford University Press, New York.Stein, B.A., L.S. Kutner and J.S. Adams (eds.). 2000. Precious Heritage. The Status of Biodiversity in the United States. The Nature Conservancy and the Association for Biodiversity Information. Oxford University Press, New York.Stevens, W.K. 1997. How Much Is Nature Worth? For You, $33 Trillion. The New York Times. May 20.Tyler, P.E. 1996. Cracks Show Early in China's Big Dam Project. The New York Times, Jan. 15.Wells, S. and N. Hanna. 1992. The Greenpeace Book of Coral Reefs. Sterling Publishing Co., New York.Wheelwright, J. 1994. Degrees of Disaster. Prince William Sound: How Nature Reels and Rebounds. Simon and Schuster, New York.Yoffe, E. 1992. Silence of the Frogs. The New York Times Magazine, Dec. 13.

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Aquatic Ecosystems: FilmsAll films mentioned below are reviewed in the Video section.

General: "Acid Rain. Clouds with a Sulphur Lining" discusses the severe problem of acidification of rainwater causedby air pollution and its effect on forests and other environments. "Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster" is anexamination of the 1989 oil spill in Alaska from many aspects. "Pollution: World at Risk" is a general look at varioustypes of pollution and toxic chemicals and their environmental effects. "Vanishing Wetlands," produced by theCanadian Broadcasting Company, explains the ecological benefits of wetlands and threats to them. "The Wasting of aWetland" focuses on the Everglades but describes the abuse of wetlands as it affects wildlife.

Ocean environments: "Cities of Coral"; "Coral Reefs. Rainforests of the Sea"; and "Jewels of the Caribbean Sea" allcenter on coral reefs. They show the great beauty and diversity as well as the threats to them. "Creatures of theMangroves" and "Margins of the Land" (segment of "The Living Planet") treat the shoreline areas, and "Messagesfrom the Birds" concerns the decline in shorebirds in North America. "The Open Ocean" (segment in "The LivingPlanet") explores the evolution of this habitat on Earth. "The Mirage of the Sea" discusses the overfishing andexploitation based on the assumption that there would always be plenty of fish. "Blue Whale: Largest Animal onEarth" is the first film to follow these giants in the ocean. "Desert Whales" are the Gray Whales that winter off BajaCalifornia, Mexico. "The Forgotten Mermaids" is a film about Florida Manatees. "Sperm Whales: The Real MobyDick" gives glimpses into these deep-diving whales and discusses the fact that they have not recovered from whaling,with large males still very rare. "Colony Z" is about the very rare Yellow-eyed Penguin of the New Zealand region. "Whales Down Under" focuses on a population of newly discovered Southern Right Whales east of New Zealand,following them for a long period.

Freshwater environments: "Sweet Fresh Water" (segment in "The Living Planet") is an in-depth look at the planet'slimited supply of water and the creatures who inhabit these environments. "Giant Otters" follows a boisterous groupof these largest of otters in South America, discussing the causes for their decline. "Journey to Save a Crane"describes a project of the International Crane Foundation to preserve the endangered Siberian Crane through delicatenegotiations with Chinese and Russian authorities. "White Water, Blue Duck" is a film about this threatened NewZealand duck and its remarkable adaptation to a very swift-flowing river. "Jewel of the Rift" (segment in "Heart ofAfrica" series) concerns Lake Victoria, its geology and the amazing, colorful fish native to it, which are now beingeliminated by the Nile Perch. "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari" explores this huge wetland, second largest in Africa,set in the middle of a desert. "Amazon. Land of the Flooded Forest" illustrates how the flooding of the Amazon Rivereach year nourishes a diverse ecosystem of fish, freshwater dolphins, fruits and trees. "Journey to the Sacred Sea"travels to Lake Baikal, where the unique fish and seals inhabit an extremely ancient and deep lake threatened bypollution. "Cadillac Desert" is an expose of the diversion of lakes and rivers to supply Los Angeles with its watersupply at the expense of wildlife and the environment. "Prairie Waters" visits the potholes of Midwestern NorthAmerica, temporary ponds and lakes that provide breeding habitat for millions of ducks and other birds each spring,yet are routinely filled in by farmers. "The Wild Colorado" is a thorough look at the geology and ecology of theColorado River and the effect of dams on its wildlife and ecology.

TradeProject SummaryTo better understand the international wildlife trade in live animals and animal products, focus will be placed on oneor more major categories of the trade. The major categories are: whaling, fur, reptile skins, Traditional Medicineproducts, fisheries, wild pets (including cage birds, lizards, turtles, snakes and frogs). Selection by a student of aspecies, group of species or general subject under one of these categories allows an overview that can be thorough andinvolve much research, or result in a short report. A classroom project could involve a subject such as Traditional

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Medicine, in which groups of students would select individual species or groups of species, such as rhinos (killed fortheir horns), Tigers (killed for every part of their bodies), seahorses, snakes, turtles, monkeys and other primates andsharks. The reports would be presented together.

BackgroundTrade in live animals, plants and the products made from them has caused extinctions and has pushed many to theedge of extinction. At least 15 percent of highly threatened mammals and birds have declined as a result of trade,according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (see Hilton-Taylor2000). Internationally, billions of dollars are earned legally and illegally, and each year, more species becomeexploited. The trade is second only to the international drug trade in overall profits, worth an estimated $3 billion ayear in protected live animals and animal products. As soon as one species becomes rare from exploitation andreceives protection, the trade switches to a similar one, pushing it into threatened status. Much of this trade is forluxury products or to supply collectors and the wealthy who wish to own rare birds and other wildlife; wear the furs ofendangered species, such as Snow Leopards or Cheetahs; purchase purses or clothes made from rare snakes or otherreptiles; or consume luxury foods, such as endangered fish, whale and even Tiger meat. The wool of the TibetanAntelope, the Chiru, ivory from elephants, the caviar of the endangered Beluga Sturgeon, rhinoceros horn and liveSpix's Macaws, captured for collectors of rare animals, are worth far more than gold. The Traditional Medicine tradedeals in a wide variety of animal products and plants and is a major factor pushing the Tiger, rhinoceros, seahorsesand a host of other species toward extinction. For the majority of species exploited for this trade, substitutes exist orthe products are not effective remedies. Ecological systems worldwide are being disrupted with the removal ofpredators and other keystone species, causing a loss of biodiversity.

This trade is taking place in spite of the landmark Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora (CITES), enacted in the 1970s and now ratified by a majority of the countries in the world. It placesanimals at greatest risk of extinction on Appendix I, which prohibits commercial trade, and threatened species onAppendix II, which limits or controls trade on a species-by-species basis. CITES bans trade in species listed on eitherAppendix if the trade will be detrimental to the species' wild populations. In practice, many species that arethreatened with extinction and listed on CITES Appendices are traded illegally or in countries which lack nationallegislation restricting wildlife trade. Although endangered spotted cat fur coats are no longer seen in New York Cityclothing stores, the fur trade continues to use the skins of rare cats and other wildlife, which are openly sold in manycountries around the world. Enforcement funding is inadequate in the majority of countries, even the United States,where only 10 percent of shipments are inspected. Moreover, certain products, such as powdered rhino horn or Tigerbones, can be easily secreted in packaging while in transit. CITES has been an important deterrent to trade inendangered species, however, providing many threatened animals and plants with needed protection. Also, a growingnumber of countries have strict legislation prohibiting trade in protected species, including exports.

The methods used to capture and kill animals for the wildlife trade are often cruel in the extreme. Steel-jaw legholdtraps and wire neck snares that cause great pain and injury produce pelts for the fur and bushmeat trades. Whales diefrom exploding harpoons thrust into their heads and bodies. Frightened live animals are crowded into cramped, dirtycages and transported to pet shops and laboratories, suffering high mortality along the way. Man's inhumanity toanimals reaches an extreme in the wild animal trade.

Activitieso Read the Trade chapter in this book and other sources referenced.

o Select a subject among the following wildlife and plant trades for further study: - fur trade - whaling and sale of whale meat - sea turtles--trade in eggs, meat, shell and stuffed curios - fine wools--Shahtoosh from Tibetan Antelope and Vicuña

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- bushmeat from endangered gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, turtles and other wildlife of Africa and Southeast Asia - fisheries products--sharks for their fins and meat and caviar, for example - reptile products for luggage, handbags and other luxury goods - wild bird pets - reptile pets, such as lizards, snakes and turtles - fish for aquariums - butterflies for collectors - plants, such as orchids and cacti, for collectors

After reading about these trades in this book and other sources, write a report that discusses the following aspects: - How many animals or plants are estimated taken per year for this trade? - What species are they? What is their status in the wild? - Where are the animals and animal products sold? Are they killed or collected in one country where they are protected and then sold in another? - What controls exist to protect threatened and endangered species traded? Are they listed on CITES or the US Endangered Species List? Are they protected in their country of origin with high penalties for illegal take or killing, or are the penalties so low that there is an incentive to capture the species illegally? In India, for example, wildlife smugglers and killers of Tigers and other protected wildlife almost never receive jail sentences or large fines, while in China, the death penalty can result from killing a Giant Panda. - What profits can be earned from sale of these animals or animal products? Find out the prices of expensive goods, such as Beluga or other Russian caviar, Shahtoosh and other items. - What are the potential ecological effects of the disappearance of these animals? African and Asian Elephants are keystone species, distributing tree seeds, creating water holes and forest openings that benefit their ecosystems. Their disappearance from many areas has already had ecological effects. Find other examples, such as Tigers, which are at the top of their food chain; monkeys and other primates who pollinate flowers or distribute seeds; birds caught for zoos and collectors, such as hornbills, who distribute fig seeds; or animals that are important food items for wildlife.

o Traditional Medicine trade--a group project. Based on the information in the Trade chapter and the references below, divide the class into groups and have each group select from the various species used in this trade, such as Tigers and other wild cats, rhinoceros, monkeys, seahorses, musk and other types of deer, snakes, pangolins, bears of all species and rare plants. The information for each group to gather is the following:

- What is the extent of this trade? Are animals and plants being collected throughout the world to supply the trade? - What percentage is sold in China, other parts of Asia or in

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Asian pharmacies in other parts of the world? - What prices are obtained for these animals at the level of the captor, the local markets, exporter, importer and retail sales? What effect is this having on the species? Will it become extinct if the trade continues at its present level? - Is the trade legal in the animal's country of origin? Is the species listed on CITES or banned from importation or exportation? Is the species openly sold in some markets? Where and when? - Are there education programs that are trying to stop the killing, marketing and purchase of these species or the over-harvesting of rare plants? What governments or organizations are trying to help these species through protection of habitat, bans on commerce or enactment of strong legislation to protect them?

o Enforcement of existing legislation is crucial to protecting threatened and endangered animals and plants. What state and federal laws ban the sale, killing and purchase of endangered species? How is evidence gathered for wildlife crime cases? How does CITES work?

o Visit stores that sell animal products and live animals. - Fur and department stores with furs: List the kinds of animals used to make the garments being sold. It is required by US law that the species of animal and country of origin be listed on the label. List the ranched animals, such as mink and chinchilla, and wild-trapped ones, such as lynx, beaver and raccoon. Write down the number of coats and other garments of each type of animal, the date, the store and its address. Neither ranched nor wild animals are humanely treated prior to their deaths. Learn about the methods of killing of wild animals (types of traps, number of animals killed per country and US state) and the numbers and species of animals farmed. Contact the Animal Welfare Institute, the Humane Society of the United States and PETA for films that show the cruelty of trapping. Farmed animals are kept in tiny cages, where they become neurotic, and killing methods are unregulated.

- Visit department and shoe stores to determine whether reptile products are being sold. This trade kills millions of animals and threatens many species, as well as causing rats and other rodents they prey on to increase to pest proportions when too many snakes and other reptile predators are killed. List the species from which the item is made, if possible. Laws regarding labeling of reptile products are less strict than those regarding furs, and some do not list the species. If possible, determine if any endangered species are sold and how many items are being sold in your area.

- Visit pet stores to inventory reptile pets, such as iguanas, lizards, snakes and turtles. Find out how many are wild-caught, what species and whether threatened. Also visit pet stores to inventory their cage birds. Ask if the birds were taken from the wild or are captive-bred. In the United States, wild-caught parrot imports are allowed only for a few breeders, and parrots in pet stores should be captive-bred. Ask if the birds were bred in captivity. Many finches and other birds are also banned from importation. Obtain a copy of the Wild Bird Conservation Act and see

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if any of the species listed as �banned� are being sold. If so, tell the store owner and report this to the US Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Division. Contact the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) for films that show the capture of wild birds in Senegal and Argentina and the cruelty involved in the cage bird trade. If any pet store is selling primates, find out the species. It may be endangered, as in the case of a Diana Monkey sold in a Long Island pet store a few years ago. Primates do not make good pets and should not be purchased. Many organizations receive unwanted primate pets to care for, after they have bitten their owners. Ask your local pet store to avoid sale of live animals. This is a trend in many pet stores that now sell only pet food, leashes, books and other non- living items. Patronize such stores. Contact your local humane society to learn of rejected wild pets and the difficulty in finding homes for them and recount these examples in a letter to your local newspaper, asking people not to buy wild-caught animals of any type.

o Attitudes are crucial to the protection of native wildlife by the people living within their habitat. Killing of animals for food and sale as pets has increased in recent years as international trade provides worldwide markets. It has become all the more important for wildlife to be valued and protected by people living in their range. Effective education is a key. A program in Saint Lucia, an island in the West Indies, is run by Paul Butler, working for the organization RARE. He has taught pride and appreciation of native wildlife and convinced the people living on the island to protect their native parrot, a species in high demand among collectors and numbering only a few hundred in the wild, as well as their forests and other wildlife (see reference below). The smuggling of the St. Lucia Parrot has virtually stopped as a result, and its forest is now protected as the habitat for this national bird. In the rainforests of the Congo, a Gorilla family being studied by a primatologist was filmed. In order to acquaint local people with these animals, the film was shown to them. They had considered these apes to be fierce, dangerous animals, worthy of being killed for the bushmeat market. When they saw the tender affection among family members and the playfulness of the young Gorillas, they were pleased and surprised, saying "They are like us!" They had the forest declared a protected reserve and now teach their children to protect these Gorillas. (This was filmed by Moses Films and shown on National Geographic Explorer, entitled "Living with Gorillas" in 2000.) Write a report about the need for similar programs and find out about others being conducted to educate people about their wildlife. Think of species that would benefit from such programs, and write a short summary of an education program you think would be effective for an individual species or group of species. For example, turtles are being heavily exploited for meat and the pet trade throughout the world, endangering many species. If they were better appreciated in their native lands, especially Southeast Asia, where tradition and folklore hold them in high esteem, their future might be brighter. Design a poster and educational brochure about Asian turtles that could be distributed in Viet Nam, Laos, China and other countries where turtles are being captured in enormous numbers.

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o While great profits can be derived from the sale of wildlife, even greater ones can come from tourism. Elephants killed for their ivory bring the hunter a one-time profit of several thousand dollars, but tourism centered around elephants can benefit local people throughout the long life of the elephant, a life of some 60 years, totaling $100,000 or more. The capture of rare parrots, likewise, is far less profitable than ecotourism, which is worth 100 times or more the value of their sale in the pet trade. Whale meat is far less valuable than live whales that are whale watched. Whale watching now earns $1 billion per year worldwide from the 9 million people who take part in excursions in almost 90 countries, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Think of other examples of non- lethal or non-invasive programs that benefit wildlife and ones that might be started to provide local people with income without harming wildlife. Another form of non-lethal business concerning wildlife involves the placement of videocameras in wild habitats, connected with the Internet. Internet users pay a small fee to see live views of the animal or scene, or to access the website for more films and information. South Africa's national parks are profiting from such a system, and the potential is great for other such videocamera placements. Videocameras can be solar- powered, as engineered by Daniel Zatz in Alaska, who has placed these cameras near bear feeding areas, with the images sent to a museum in Washington state (seemorebears.com). They also have the advantage of not injuring or invading the habitat of shy species which might be disturbed by large numbers of tourists. Think of species that might benefit from videocameras in their habitats. Examples might be wild parrots at their nests or Tigers filmed in national parks along trails.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Trade: Books and PublicationsAWI (Animal Welfare Institute). Secret Slaughter of Blue Whales Exposed; Validity of Whaling Data; Russian Pirate Whaling. AWI Quarterly, Winter 1994, Vol. 43, No. 1; Whales: Two Steps Forward and One Step Back at IWC. AWI Quarterly, Spring 1994, Vol. 43, No. 2; A History of Lawlessness--Can Whalers Ever be Trusted? AWI Quarterly, Spring 1995, Vol. 44, No. 2. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Butler, P.J. 1992. Parrots, Pressures, People, and Pride. In: New World Parrots in Crisis. Solutions from Conservation Biology. Ed. by S.R. Beissinger and N.F.R. Snyder. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Carr, A. 1973. So Excellent a Fishe. A Natural History of Sea Turtles. Anchor Books, New York.Chadwick, D. 2001. Pursuing the Minke. The most abundant baleen whale is still

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a mystery to science and a target for whalers. National Geographic, April, Vol. 199, No. 4.Chan, S., A. Ishihara, D.J. Lu, M. Phipps and J.A. Mills. 1995a. Observations on the Whale Meat Trade in East Asia. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 3.Chan, S., A.V. Madsimuk and L.V. Zhirnov. 1995b. From Steppe to Store: The Trade in Saiga Antelope Horn. Compiled by S.V. Nash, TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.Chivers, C.J. 2000. Eve's Revenge, The Python's Sorrow. The snakeskin business is booming, but what it means for the snake is unclear. The New York Times, June 18.Cunningham, C. and J. Berger. 1997. Horn of Darkness. Rhinos on the Edge. Oxford University Press, New York.Currey, D. 1996. The Political Wilderness. India's Tiger Crisis. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 2001. Whale Watching Grows into a $1 Billion Industry. The New York Times, Sept. 9.DeSalle, R. and V.J. Birstein. 1996. PCR Identification of Black Caviar. (Scientific Correspondence) Nature, May 16, Vol. 381(6579), pages 197-198.Duc, L.D. and S. Broad. 1995. Exploitation of Hawksbill Turtles in Vietnam. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 2, pages 77-82.Ellis, R. 1991. Men and Whales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Ernst, C.H. and R.W. Barbour. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Galster, S. and R. Chen. 1994. Investigation Uncovers Japanese Whale Meat Smuggling Operation. AWI Quarterly, Spring 1994, Vol. 43, No. 2.Galster, S.R., S.F. LaBudde and C. Stark. 1994. Crime Against Nature. Organized Crime and the Illegal Wildlife Trade. Endangered Species Project, San Francisco, CA (Fort Mason Center, E-205, San Francisco, CA 94123).Galster, S.R. and K.V. Eliot. 1999. Roaring back: anti-poaching strategies for the Russian Far East and the comeback of the Amur Tiger. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson.Highley, K. and S.C. Highley. 1994. Bear Farming and Trade in China and Taiwan. Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC.Hill, G. 1994. Observations of Wildlife Trade in Mergui Tavoy District, Kawthoolei. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 14, No 3, pages 107-110.Hilton-Taylor, C. 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.Howell, S.N.G. and S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Cambridge, UK.Knights, P. 1996. From Forest to Pharmacy. The Global Underground Trade in Bear Parts. The Investigative Network and The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC.Koshkarev, E. 1994. Snow Leopard Poaching in Central Asia. Cat News (IUCN Cat Specialist Group), Autumn, No. 21, page 18.Kristof, N.D. 1996. Shimonoseki Journal. Japan's Whalers Start to Take on a Hunted Look. The New York Times, June 24.Kumar, A. 1993. Shahtoosh--King of Wool. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 14, page 39.Kumar, A. and B. Wright. 1999. Combating tiger poaching and illegal wildlife

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trade in India. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson.Martin, E.S. and M. Phipps. 1996. A Review of the Wild Animals Trade in Cambodia. TRAFFIC Bulletin, August, Vol. 16, No. 2, pages 45-60.Matthiessen, P. 1997. The Last Wild Tigers. Audubon, March-April, Vol. 99, No. 2, pages 54-63, 122-125.Munn, C. 1988. The Real Macaws. Animal Kingdom (New York Zoological Society, now Wildlife Conservation Society), Vol. 91, No. 5, pages 20-26.Nash, S.V. 1993b. Sold for a Song. The Trade in Southeast Asian Non-CITES Birds. TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Pepin, Jacques. 2001. A Delicacy's Delicate Future. The New York Times (Op-ed page), July 3. (Beluga sturgeon and its caviar).Revkin, A.C. 2000. U.S. Is Asked to Ban Beluga Caviar Imports. The New York Times, Dec. 19.Schaller, G. 1998. Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Stevens, W.K. 1994. American Box Turtles Decline, Perishing Cruelly in Foreign Lands. The New York Times, May 10, pages C1, C4.Tagliabue, J. 2001. U.N. Agency Won't Ban Caspian Sea Caviar. The New York Times, June 22.Talmadge, E. 2000. Japan defiant in face of whale hunt outcry. The Boston Globe, Sept. 6.TRAFFIC Bulletin. TRAFFIC International, c/o WCMC, 219 Huntington Rd., Cambridge, CB3 0DL UK (e-mail: traffic@wcmc.org.uk).TRAFFIC (USA), 1250 - 24th St., NW, Washington, DC 20037.

Trade: FilmsAll films are described in detail in the Video section.

General: "The Business of Extinction," produced in 1977, is a classic film on wildlife trade and is extremelyhard-hitting, showing smuggling and animal cruelty in the wildlife trade. "The Rangers of Nepal" profiles the braveryand dedication of Nepalese rangers who protect Indian Rhinoceros, Tigers, Asian Elephants and other animals frompoachers. "Wildlife for Sale. Dead or Alive" is a Canadian Broadcasting Company film documenting the multi-billiondollar trades--legal and illegal--in wildlife that endanger thousands of species worldwide.

Ivory trade: "Echo of the Elephants," "Elephant," "The Elephants of Tsavo" and "Daphne Sheldrick and the Orphansof Tsavo" all deal with the slaughter that elephants endured during the 1980s and the effects on their populations andbehavior. These sensitive and intelligent animals are traumatized when a family member is killed. The last filmconcerns the orphan elephants, tiny victims of the killing for ivory, affectionately cared for by Daphne Sheldrick inKenya.

Fur and Traditional Medicine Trade: "Empire of the Red Bear" is a series about Russian wildlife that includes thediscovery of two dead Siberian Tiger cubs who starved to death when their mother was killed. "Tiger. Lord of theWild" profiles many of the activists trying to stop the trade in Tiger pelts and body parts in India and elsewhere.

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"Giant Otters" was filmed in Guyana, one of the few places left where these animals can be seen because of theirkilling for fur throughout their South American range, which is discussed.

Whaling, Sealing and Sea Turtle Killing: "The Great Whales," "Return of the Great Whales," "Blue Whale: LargestAnimal on Earth," "Sperm Whales: The Real Moby Dick" and "Whales Down Under" all discuss the effects ofwhaling on the great whales. The latter film focuses on the Southern Right Whale, a species heavily hunted and onlybeginning to recover 50 years after receiving protection. "Sea of Slaughter" is based on Farley Mowat's history of thedecimation of wildlife along the North Atlantic coasts. Walrus, whales, seals, sea mink, seabirds and other speciesthat teemed in these waters in colonial times were killed for market sales--several species to extinction. "Long Livethe Turtle" is part of a series on Japanese wildlife. "In the Shadow of Fujisan" discusses Japanese killing of sea turtlesand their trade in these animals, as well as whaling and dolphin-killing. "Ancient Sea Turtles Stranded in a ModernWorld," by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project of Earth Island Institute, chronicles the many threats to sea turtles,especially drowning in shrimp nets, urging remedial effort to protect them.

Cage Birds: "Bird Traffic" is an excellent expose of the illegal capture of Salmon-crested Cockatoos at the roosts inIndonesia, showing the trauma and cruelty of their caging and shipment to Singapore and other Asian markets,endangering the species. "Caribbean Cool" is a film about the work of Paul Butler in St. Lucia and other Caribbeanislands to protect the native parrot and its habitat. Children are taught about the parrots and dress in parrot costumes,singing songs about these birds and other wildlife of the island. The parrot is the national bird and is given muchpublicity and positive attention on the island.

Predator PrejudiceProject SummaryThe purpose of this project is to research the general subject of predator prejudice and its effect on predators in variousparts of the world. Read the material below and the Persecution and Hunting chapter in this book. The subject ingeneral or a particular predator which has become endangered as a result of prejudice and persecution will be selectedfor a short report, including information on past and present distribution, control measures taken and the present statusof the species.

BackgroundIn the United States, Grizzly Bears, Gray and Red Wolves were eliminated from 98 percent of the country south ofCanada by European settlers in control programs using poisons, guns and traps. Today, through natural recolonizationand reintroduction, these predators are reoccupying small portions of their original ranges. Unfortunately, outsidenational parks, these animals are encountering prejudice. Local livestock owners, whose ranches surround theprotected national parks and forests, oppose their presence. Livestock owners near one Gray Wolf reintroduction sitein Yellowstone National Park in Montana attempted unsuccessfully through a lawsuit to have wolves removed fromthe park. Wildlife research over the past century has found that wolves rarely kill domestic livestock, and theirpredation on deer, elk and other ungulates keep these species strong and healthy. Grizzly Bears are mainly vegetarian,with occasional predation on small rodents or the calves or fawns of elk or deer, yet they have been hunted out of allbut about 1 percent of their original range in the western United States south of Alaska.

Predator prejudice is common throughout the world wherever livestock is grazed in large numbers. In Ethiopia inEast Africa, the Simien Wolf, a small canid that preys mainly on rodents, has been killed off by livestock owners whomistakenly believe them to present threats to their sheep and cattle. The species is near extinction. Likewise in SouthAmerica, Europe and Asia, predators have been heavily persecuted, with wolves, bears, big cats and others eliminatedfrom areas near human habitation and many wilderness areas. Seals, sea lions and otters are also the object of prejudice from fishermen who believe that they take too many fish. In

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fact, they often prey on fish that are not taken for human consumption, many of which are predators of food fish. TheCaribbean Monk Seal was persecuted to extinction, and its close relative, the Mediterranean Monk Seal, is nowcritically endangered as a result of killing by fishermen. Its remaining populations, numbering fewer than 1,000animals, hide in caves along the coasts. Sea otters eat invertebrates that eat kelp and sea grass, thereby playing a keyrole in maintaining these ecosystems in which fish and shellfish flourish, but abalone fishermen consider themunwanted predators.

Birds of prey have also been persecuted as threats to livestock or because they competed for the same food ashumans. The Bald Eagle was killed for a bounty in many parts of the United States because it fed on fish, causingfishermen to believe that it was an unwelcome competitor. Hawks and eagles around the world are shot and poisonedby ranchers and others, reducing many species to endangered status. In some areas, birds of prey are shot on sight. Legal protection for these birds has only recently been enacted in the United States, but many other countries fail toaccord protection. They have an important ecological role to play by preventing rodents, snakes and other speciesfrom multiplying to pest proportions. The majority of species specialize in killing rodents, which helps farmersraising and storing grains.

Likewise, bats prey on insects and are important pollinators of plants, but they are persecuted in most parts of theworld.

Snakes are also important predators of rodents, yet they, too, are routinely killed around the world. They are eitherconsidered pests or inspire great fear that they might present a threat to human beings. Snakes tend to be afraid ofpeople, who are not their natural prey, and if left alone, will not attack.

Crocodiles perform a useful role in preying of overpopulated fish, yet they are killed as potential threats or for theleather trade. A majority of crocodile species are now endangered.

Activitieso Research: Using the sources listed in the Persecution and Hunting chapter, and others listed below, as well as thoseavailable in your library and through computer on-line searches, learn about the subject in general. Consider thefollowing aspects of the issue:

1. Laws have been enacted since the Middle Ages in Europe encouraging the killing of predators and even punishingthose who did not kill and deliver their hides to authorities. Many of these laws have been altered over the years andnow remain in the form of bounties paid for pelts, and regulations permit and encourage persecution of predators. Arethere state laws that allow persecution of predators, including endangered species? (Read the US Endangered SpeciesAct and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to find examples of legalized killing of species considered predators oflivestock or fish.)

2. What attitudes prevail in various parts of the world toward predators? While negative fears and hatred dominatein many areas, trends are changing in many countries. North American native tribes traditionally revere predators andincorporate them into their folklore. Europeans settling America had an opposing view, instituting predator controlprograms. What is unusual about the legal status and attitude toward the Gray Wolf in Italy? (See Persecution andHunting chapter.) What happens to endangered Cheetahs when white ranchers who hate predators take over land inNamibia and South Africa? What education programs are taking place to change prejudices? The reintroduction inthe United States of both Gray and Red Wolves was a result of this new view and the application of the USEndangered Species Act, but education programs have had mixed success. In some areas, such as YellowstoneNational Park, however, tourists are coming in large numbers, spending money in local towns, and watching the GrayWolves in an open environment considered the best "wolf watching" area in the world. Could tourism help savepredators? The survival of predators depends entirely on attitudes of people living in their habitats.

3. Biological Studies: Studies on Gray Wolves in Alaska in the 1940s by Adolph Murie began a major change in

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knowledge of these animals and their relations with their natural prey that overturned previous misconceptions, manyof which assumed that they were destructive to their prey. These studies have been augmented by other biologists onvarious predators throughout the world, confirming the important and positive role that predators play in ecosystems. What studies can you find that examine the biological role of predators of various types, including birds, fish (such assharks) and reptiles (such as snakes and crocodiles)?

4. Economic Damage: Control programs against predators are based on real or assumed damage to livestock or otherproperty or assets, but they have rarely been based on fact. Exaggeration and fear have distorted estimates of actuallosses to predators. Moreover, the ranchers or herders tend to release their livestock into the wild without guard dogsor other protection. When their animals are found dead, predators are blamed, when proof is often lacking. Whenlivestock is guarded by dogs or fences, or housed in buildings or pens at night and when giving birth, mortality isusually very low. Unfortunately, US government programs, such as the Animal Damage Control (ADC) Division ofthe Department of Agriculture, routinely trap and poison hundreds of thousands of animals each year without proof oftheir predation on livestock. Contact the ADC and ask how many traps, how much poison and how many animals ofall types have been killed in recent years. Also ask for the numbers and species of no-target animals, such asendangered Grizzly bears, Bald and Golden Eagles and other wildlife, taken in these programs. Ask the ADC how itavoids killing endangered animals? How much is spent on these programs per year, and what alternative programscould protect livestock in non-lethal ways, including guard dogs or other guard animals, such as llamas and donkeys,and by providing information on protecting livestock for far less money?

o Reports and Discussion: Select the subject of predator control in general for a report based on the information youhave gathered in accordance with the categories above. Discuss this issue in class.

o Select a particular species that has been persecuted to endangered or threatened status by predator controlprograms. What was the original range of the species? What is its present range? What are the natural prey speciesof the animal and its habitat? When did control programs begin to eliminate the species and what were the reasons onwhich they were based? Was the species gradually, or rapidly, reduced in both numbers and range? Were controlmethods directed at adult animals only or on the young, such as killing pups in the den? What is the natural behaviorof the animal in terms of its social nature with others of its kind, number of young, number of breeding adults in agroup, whether it is solitary, and whether it can easily recover its population once control is stopped or tends todecline to extinction? What are the attitudes of the people who live within its habitat? What is being done to help thespecies? What do you think should be done to prevent its extinction?

o Conservation: Describe various means of protecting predators that are persecuted. For example, bats have beenconserved through education programs in local communities and schools about their ecological role and how tobat-proof buildings. Ecotourism is another means of protecting bats, since their flights at dusk can be spectacular. The economic value of predators in controlling insects or rodents, for example, is an important argument in theirfavor. Many approaches are needed, depending on the attitudes held by the local people, the type of damage allegedand the economic factor. In some cases, the same species can be reviled in one part of the world and admired inanother. The Gray Wolf is now a valued and protected predator in a growing number of countries, but in Russia andother countries, it is still tainted by folklore that bears no relation to fact. Make recommendations for the conservationof the Gray Wolf or another species in a country where it is persecuted. Write a brochure and design a poster for aspecies of your choice that would educate the public about why this species should not be persecuted.

Books and PublicationsFilms

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Predator Prejudice: Books and PublicationsAWI. 1995. Grisly Video Ends Alaska Wolf Kill. AWI Quarterly, Winter, Vol. 44, No. 1, p. 5.BBC Wildlife. Oct. 1996 (Mediterranean Monk Seal).BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Brett, J.J. 1973. Feathers in the Wind. The Mountain and the Migration. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, Kempton, PA. (Establishment of sanctuary to protect birds of prey from hunters.)Busch, R.H. 1995. The Wolf Almanac. Lyons & Burford, Publishers, New York.Carley, C.J. 1975. Activities and Findings of the Red Wolf Field Recovery Program from late 1973 to 1 July, 1975. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, NM.Chadwick, D. 1990. The Kingdom. Wildlife in North America. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Chadwick, D. 1998. Return of the Gray Wolf. National Geographic, May, Vol. 193, No. 5, pages 72-99.Chambers, G. 1978. Little fox on the prairie. Audubon, July, Vol. 80, No. 4, pages 62-71.Chanin, P. 1985. The Natural History of Otters. Facts On File Publications, New York.Earthwatch. 1996. Wolves of India. July/August.Gottelli, D. and C. Sillero-Zubiri. 1994. Highland Gods, But For How Long? Wildlife Conservation, July/August, Vol. 97, No. 4.Higgins, A.J. 2000. The wolf at region's door. Some decry proposal to reintroduce species. The Boston Globe, Sept. 3.McIntyre, R. (ed.). 1995. War Against the Wolf. America's Campaign to Exterminate the Wolf. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Morris, D. 1990. The Animal Contract. Warner Books, New York.Murie, A. 1944. The Wolves of Mount McKinley. Fauna of the National Parks of the United States. Fauna Series 5. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Newman, S. 1999. Au Revoir to Wolves. The Boston Globe, Nov. 1.Nilsson, G. 1985. Bringing Back the River Otter. Defenders, May/June, Vol. 60, No. 3, pages 4-9.Nowak, R.M. 1972. The Mysterious Wolf of the South. Natural History, Jan.Nowak, S. and R.W. Myslajek. 1999. The Wolf in Poland. The Association for Nature "WOLF," Godziszka, Poland.Papich, B. 2000. Some fight plan to reintroduce grizzlies. The Boston Sunday Globe, Aug. 20.Pelletier, K.J. and C. Servheen. 1995. Grizzlies in Swan Valley. Endangered Species Bulletin, Vol. XX, No. 5. Sept./Oct. US Fish and Wildlife Service.Rancourt, L.M. 1997. Red Wolf Redux. National Parks, May/June, page 47.Revkin, A.C. 2000. Rules Shielding the Gray Wolf May Soon Ease. The New York

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Times, July 3.Robbins, J. 1997. Return of the Wolf. Wildlife Conservation, March/April, Vol. 100, No. 2. Schaller, G.B. 1998. Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Seton, E.T. 1899. Wild Animals I Have Known. (Reissued in 1966 by Grosset & Dunlop, New York; other editions available.)Sink, M. 1998. Deaths Hinder Plan to Place Gray Wolves Into the Wild. The New York Times, Nov. 26.Verde, Tom. 2002. Handsome Highlander. Wildlife Conservation, Jan./Feb., Vol. 105, No. 1, pages 36-43. (Simien Wolf in Ethiopia.)

Predator Prejudice: FilmsAll films are described in detail in the Video section.

Wolves: "Crying Wolf," "Wolf" (Spain), "Wild Wolves" (general), "Return of the Wolves" (Yellowstone NationalPark). All discuss the persecution, disappearance from large portions of its original range, and facts about the GrayWolf's true ecological role and behavior. "Wild Dogs of Africa" is a sensitive portrayal of these endangered canids,including discussion of their persecution by ranchers, especially in southern Africa.

Bears: "Grizzly and Man--Uneasy Truce" (US persecution); "Grizzly Bears:Losing Ground" (British Columbia, Canada). These two films show the extreme ignorance and fear with which thesebears are seen in North America, resulting in their killing for presumed threats and a lack of commitment on the partof the public and some officials to preserve the species.

Seals: "Orphans of Time" concerns the two surviving species of monk seals, the Mediterranean and the Hawaiian,both of which are highly endangered. "Seals--the Salmon Eaters," a film about seals in the Pacific Northwest(primarily Washington state) describes the intense hatred felt by fishermen toward seals and their desire to kill largenumbers of them to increase the take of salmon.

Birds of Prey: "Anna and the Honey-Buzzards" is an inspiring film about a woman who has protected migrating birdsof prey in southern Italy from being killed illegally by hunters who shot them from bunkers on hillsides. She has beenjoined by others who help her patrol the area since the film was made. "Eagles: The Majestic Hunters" is a beautifulfilm about these superb hunters and their life histories. It includes shocking footage of persecution of eagles invarious parts of the world where they are killed and nailed to fences or poisoned.

Snakes: "Snake" is an excellent film to dispel irrational fears about snakes, 85 percent of which are harmless tohumans, and to show their value in controlling rodents and other snakes.

Bats: See film list at end of "Bats: Ecologically Important Mammals" project.

Saving the American Elm and Chestnut TreesProject Summary

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This is an action-oriented project in which students or individuals obtain seedlings of these endangered trees and plantthem to help restore the species, which were once widespread. For those living in areas outside the range of thesespecies in Eastern North America, other threatened trees may be planted.

BackgroundBoth the American Chestnut and the American Elm have been decimated by diseases brought to the United States onwood or trees. Millions of these magnificent trees have died, but within the past decade, plant geneticists haveproduced disease-resistant types. The Elm Research Institute distributes seedlings grown from trees that have naturalresistance to Dutch Elm Disease and have survived exposure to it. The tree that is cultivated by this institute is calledthe American Liberty Elm, and since 1983, more than 250,000 seedlings have been distributed to organizations, suchas the Boy Scouts of America and others, who grow them from seedlings, then sell them to local towns, public parksand organizations for planting. The organization hopes to bring back the American Elm to Main Street America. TheElm Research Institute also provides advice on saving diseased elms. One teacher in Michigan organized localneighborhood groups who located diseased trees and succeeded in treating them to prevent their deaths.

The American Chestnut, a massive tree of eastern forests, made up about one-fourth of the original eastern forests incolonial times. It provided nuts that were fed on by populations of the now extinct Passenger Pigeon, AmericanTurkeys, Black Bears, squirrels and other wildlife. These trees grew to heights of 100 feet or more and had deeplyfurrowed trunks, earning them the name "Eastern Redwood." Their near-extinction has been catastrophic to forestecosystems. The Chestnut Blight that attacked them was first seen in 1904 on American Chestnut trees lining avenuesnear the Bronx Zoo, and apparently entered the country on another species of chestnut tree imported for botanicalpurposes. Like Dutch Elm Disease, this disease cuts off nutrients and water, gradually killing the trees. It has killedalmost all American Chestnut trees in the east, and only a hundred or so remain in southern Canada. Some trees thatwere planted outside the natural range, such as in Oregon, survive. The stumps of American Chestnuts still producesprouts that can grow up to 20 feet tall until they die from the disease.

Old-growth Longleaf Pine forests once covered millions of acres in the Southeast, with one of the world's richestdiversity of forest floor plants and native wildlife, including the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. These forests havedeclined to 2 percent of their original size, and many of their former denizens are endangered or gone. The SouthernLive Oak, a magnificent semi-evergreen tree that has a massive, spreading crown and twisted branches, has declinedin many areas within its natural range. These native trees should be brought back through massive planting programs. In more Western areas, Redwood, native oaks and many types of pines and conifers have declined from formerabundance and should be replanted.

Activitieso Help conserve endangered trees, such as the American Elm. Plant American Liberty Elms if you live in easternNorth America. The Elm Research Institute will send an application to those who wish to receive 500 to 1,000 freeelm seedlings. Teachers who wish to participate in the program must pledge several years commitment in order tocare for the trees prior to their sale. The trees are guaranteed if properly maintained, and the Elm Research Institutewill replace any trees that die. This is potentially a fund-raising program because the trees can be sold after a fewyears of care. The Elm Research Institute can be contacted at 1-800-FOR ELMS; Fax 603-358-6305; website:http://www.forelms.org.

o Plant American Chestnut trees if you live in the range of the east where this tree once grew. The AmericanChestnut Foundation was formed in 1983 to save this species through selective breeding of resistant strains. Atpresent, they have succeeded in growing resistant trees and are developing seeds from these trees. They distribute kitsof resistant seeds, which can be grown in one�s back yard, for $50. When they are old enough, they can be pollinatedwith pollen from blight-resistant trees being cultivated in Virginia. This is somewhat more complex than the growingof American Elms, but for a high school class, it would be an excellent way of learning about plant reproduction whilehelping to save an endangered native tree. A 17-year-old resident of Somerville, New Jersey, Timothy Van Vliet, isan enthusiastic supporter of the program and has grown a number of Chestnut trees in his back yard, one of which is

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10 feet tall. With more people like Timothy Van Vliet, the American Chestnut may return to its former abundance. The American Chestnut Foundation can be contacted at P.O. Box 4044, Bennington, VT 05201, or telephoned at1-802-447-0110. Membership in the organization is $40.

o Plant other threatened native trees. Those who live in western North America can help a rare or declining species oftree. Contact the Redwoods National Park (1111 Second St., Crescent City, CA 95531; and the Save-the-RedwoodsLeague (114 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94104) for information on obtaining seeds and seedlings. If one lives inthe Pacific Northwest, native trees, such as Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar, have beenreduced by 95 percent because of logging. Replanting these magnificent trees will help to bring back these forests andprovide habitat for the threatened Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet and other native species. Help protect thestands of these forests that remain by contacting organizations such as the Native Forest Council (P.O. Box 2190,Eugene, OR 97402); Save America's Forests, Washington DC (202-544-9219); and The Nature Conservancy (1815 N.Lynn St., Arlington, VA 22209; (703-841-5300).

Read "Smiles of Vanished Woods," Chapter 11 of Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards, bySara Stein, which discusses the importance of planting only native trees and the threat of exotic species, such as theNorway Maple, which can crowd out indigenous species. This book also stresses the importance of preserving oldtrees with hollow trunks and snags that wildlife can use and of planting understories of native bushes that hundreds ofspecies of wild animals use for shelter and feeding.

Books and PublicationsAudubon Society Field Guides to Trees (Eastern Region and Western Region). Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Dietrich, William. 1992. The Final Forest. The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Simon & Schuster, New York.Elias, Thomas S. 1980. The Complete Trees of North America. Field Guide and Natural History. Outdoor Life/Nature Books. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York.Jonas, Gerald. 1993. North American Trees. Reader's Digest Press, Pleasantville, NY.Leydet, Francois. 1969. The Last Redwoods. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Menninger, Edwin A. 1995. Fantastic Trees. Timber Press, Portland, OR.Peck, Robert McCracken. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

Bees and Other PollinatorsProject SummaryStudy the behavior of bees, using written materials, films and observations of actual beehives. Learn about plants thatwould become extinct without pollination by bees and what species of bees are indigenous to your area, especiallythose that are rare or declining. Learn what plants and habitats these species require and, if possible, plant theirpreferred flowers and erect a bee house.

BackgroundMany native bees in North America are important pollinators. A growing number are becoming rare as a result of

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pesticides, competition with non-native bee species and destruction of natural habitats. Very few types of bees stinghumans. There are 500 species of native bees in New England, for example, but the most commonly seen bees are theEuropean honeybees used to pollinate orchards and other crops. Some native bees are green, blue or red, and manyare as small as flies. Others are twice the size of bumblebees. A few are nocturnal.

The communication system bees use to identify sources of nectar and pollen to one another was first discovered inEuropean Honeybees (Apis mellifera). When one bee locates a source of food, such as a flowering tree, it returns tothe hive and through a complex series of movements with its feet, called dances, communicates to the other bees thelocation of the food source. The type of dance performed by the bee indicates the distance from the hive to the pollenand nectar. This system of communication involves a highly sophisticated integration of perceived and memorizedinformation and was first discovered by an Austrian scientist, Karl von Frisch, a world-renowned animal behaviorist. He wrote two books on his discoveries: Bees, Their Vision, Chemical Senses and Language; and The DanceLanguage and Orientation of Bees. (See Reference list below.)

MethodsLearn about pollinators and their ecological importance and behavior. The Natural History of Pollination, by MichaelProctor, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack, describes bee communication in terms of the extreme importance of bees as thepollinators of many native plants. Consult various reference books that describe bee behavior in detail. "Dancing theGood News" in the book, Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects, by Christopher O'Toole, clearlyillustrates this remarkable phenomenon. This book is a companion to the excellent television series of the same nameshown on Nature, the PBS program produced by WNET and filmed by BBC, which shows the dance of the honeybeesas well as the behavior and ecology of many insect pollinators.

Activitieso Take a field trip to see a beehive. Teachers may contact local nature education centers, Audubon societies, stateNatural Heritage Programs and US Department of Agriculture extension services to learn about local bee hives thatcould be visited.

o Contact the Natural Heritage Program connected with your state wildlife department, and find out which species ofwild bees live in your area and which species are rare or declining. Discuss these species and what can be done tohelp them. What plants would become extinct if pollinating bees were to disappear? (The Natural History ofPollination is a good source of information for this subject.)

o Plant flowers and flowering trees that attract native bees. Find out which plants are preferred by bees in your area. Do not use pesticides or herbicides of any kind.

o Erect a beehouse in your back yard to attract native, stingless bees. A few holes drilled in scrap lumber andmounted under the eaves of a house, or some paper straws glued into a milk carton and placed on a tree branch, willentice native bees. To attract the large and colorful Bumblebees, build a house such as the one described in AttractingBackyard Wildlife, by Bill Merilees.

o Using The Forgotten Pollinators, by Stephen L. Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Natural History ofPollination mentioned above, and other references on insects listed in the Books and Publications section of theAppendix of this book, select one or more pollinators, whether butterflies, ants or other insects, birds, bats orprimates. Learn about these pollinators and which plants they pollinate, especially those that are threatened withextinction.

o By consulting the books mentioned above, the main text of The Endangered Species Handbook, and books listed inthe Books and Publications section of this book, learn about the importance of pollinators in maintaining the world'secosystems and how crucial it is to protect pollinating animals. Describe a pollinator or group of pollinators that arecrucial to an ecosystem. For example, read the section in the Forests chapter in The Endangered Species Handbook

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concerning tiny wasps that pollinate a wide variety of figs which, in turn, nourish hundreds of species of wildlife. Learn about mammals, such as bats that pollinate many types of plants, through descriptions in this book and otherslisted in the project, "Bats, Useful Insectivores and Pollinators." Find an example of a species of plant that has lost itsnatural pollinator through extinction and now exists only through human intervention.

o The economic importance of pollinators has been calculated in several books and studies. In Nature's Services:Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems, edited by Gretchen Daily, for example, the role of wild pollinators, suchas insects and other animals, is valued at $117 billion worldwide. This means that the wild bees, ants and otherspecies that pollinate commercial crops, such as fruit trees and wild plants, perform tasks that are worth $117 billionper year to the world's economy. The authors of Forgotten Pollinators estimate that pollinators save farmers in theUnited States an estimated $1.6 billion annually. Select a farm crop and find out from local US Department ofAgriculture offices whether wild species of insects or other animals pollinate it. Through data from the USDepartment of Agriculture and almanacs, calculate the value of this crop and the losses to farmers should the wildpollinators disappear.

o Wild pollinators are in decline in many areas as a result of heavy pesticide use, which kills insects and otherwildlife, and habitat loss, as in the cutting of forests, which causes declines in bats, tropical birds and insects. TheForests chapter discusses this in detail. Write a report on this problem, giving as many examples as possible of theloss in these essential species and the types of threats that pollinators face.

o Select a pollinator, such as a type of butterfly, and learn about what plants it pollinates. Does it pollinate a singlespecies of plant or many species? Where does it live? What is its status? If threatened, how can it be helped?

Books and PublicationsBuchmann, Stephen L. and Gary Paul Nabhan. 1996. The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press, Washington, DC.Daily, Gretchen (ed.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Proctor, Michael, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack. 1996. The Natural History of Pollination. Timber Press, Portland, OR.O'Toole, Christopher. 1995. Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects. Harper Collins, New York.von Frisch, Karl. 1950. Bees, Their Vision, Chemical Senses and Language. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.von Frisch, Karl. 1954. The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees. Methuen Press, London, UK.

Films"Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects." 1995. PBS. WETA. 1 hour."The Private Life of Plants." 1995. TBS/BBC. 6 hours. (Part 3, "The Birds and the Bees," concerns pollination.) Available from Discovery Channel School: 888-892-3484; www.discoveryschool.com.

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Learning Animal Anatomy Without DissectionProject Summary Learn about animal anatomy in non-lethal ways. New communication technology may provide better knowledgeabout anatomy, through videos and virtual learning, than does dissection. Learn about these new resources anddiscuss their use in the classroom.

BackgroundIn a growing trend, biology classes are being taught about the anatomy of frogs, cats and other animals fromCD-ROM software, such as "Digital Frog and Cat Lab," rather than killing live animals for dissection or dissectingdead animals. An estimated 6 million vertebrates, half of which are frogs, are dissected each year by high schoolstudents, who are often so upset by the experience that they turn away from future science courses. Such schoolprojects are inhumane, often requiring that frogs be killed by the student, for example. Moreover, frogs are in declinein the wild from a variety of causes, including the capture for such dissections. Their populations need protection. Many of the cats killed for use in high school dissection had been house pets that were illegally caught and sold toanimal dealers in the United States and Mexico. Humane organizations have been promoting non-lethal substitutesfor many years.

Activitieso Find out if your state's education department allows use of alternatives to animal dissection in classrooms.

o Review a copy of "Digital Frog and Cat Lab" or another software from the organizations below. The NationalGeographic Society sells various films, film-strips and other materials on animal anatomy. The lessons includefunction, taxonomy and structure. The Society's "Educational Services" catalog lists these products (P.O. Box 98019,Washington, DC 20090; 800-368-2728; www.nationalgeographic.org).

o Contact the American Anti-Vivisection Society (Suite 204 Noble Plaza, 801 Old York Rd., Jenkintown, PA 19046,215-887-0816), which publishes the brochure "Animals in Education: An Outline for Student Activists" anddistributes audio-visual materials. Also contact the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (175 West12th St., Suite 16G, New York, NY 10011, 212-989-8073) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty toAnimals (ASPCA) (441 East 92nd St., New York, NY 10128, 212-876-7700), which publishes the pamphlet,"ASPCA Guidelines for Student Experiments Involving Animals." The Animal Legal Defense Fund (1363 LincolnAve., San Rafael, CA 94901) has a "Dissection Hotline": 800-922-FROG, and publishes the brochure "Objecting toDissection: A College Students' Handbook." The Humane Society of the United States (2100 L St., NW, Washington,DC 20037, 202-452-1100) publishes the brochure, "Does the Idea of Dissecting or Experimenting on Animals inBiology Class Disturb You?" Also, the National Anti-Vivisection Society (53 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 1550,Chicago, IL 60604, 312-427-6065) publishes "Reverence for Life: An Ethic for High School Biology Curricula" and"School Project Packet." The Student Action Corps for Animals (P.O. Box 15588, Washington, DC 20003,202-543-8983) is dedicated to empowering young people in high school to work effectively for animal rights and actsas a communication network; it began the national "Say No to Dissection" campaign in 1984 and publishes SACANews and brochures such as "Say No to Dissection," "Suggestions for High School Student Animal Rights Groups"and "1-0-1 Non-Animal Biology Lab Methods."

Attitudes and EthicsProject SummaryExamine the list of principles related to the treatment of animals entitled "An Animal Bill of Rights" (see below) andconsider how these principles relate to declining and endangered species. Suggestions are given on how to use thisdocument for classroom discussion or reports on endangered species.

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BackgroundOur attitudes about animals have undergone radical changes in the past few decades. For most of human history,people have believed, like the philosopher René Descartes, that animals were merely machines, blindly obeyinginstincts. The opinions of many people have been greatly changed by the results of work with animals, for example,the intelligent Chimpanzees who make tools and exhibit many of the same emotions that humans have, such as fear,love, anger, joy and even despair. Elephants have also shown extraordinary qualities of altruism, and many examplesof their intelligence have been documented by zoologists. Whales and dolphins, too, have been shown to beintelligent and extremely devoted to one another.

Attitudes towards animals are also changing rapidly as a result of films and books and closer contacts with domesticcats and dogs. The popularity of house pets, with whom we form strong bonds, has encouraged a growing number ofpeople to regard animals as having many of the same emotions as humans, and their friendship and loyalty toward ushave been an inspiration to many. The popularity of nature films and books has educated the public to have a greateraffection and respect for wild animals and a desire to protect and appreciate them. Still, many people treat animals ashaving neither sensitivities nor even the ability to feel pain. Fur trapping, research involving cruel experiments onanimals, and baiting or attacking animals as an amusement are examples of a lack of compassion. A comment by aCanadian forester represents such a point of view that is, fortunately, disappearing: "Our instinctive attitude towardother species seems to range from indifference to antipathy . . . Concern for other species, particularly for those thathave no immediate economic value to us, is a learned response, one we still struggle with" (Don Gayton, BritishColumbia Forest Service, "Terms of Endangerment" article in Canadian Geographic, May/June 1997).

Having a set of values and principles is a logical step in reevaluating how we treat animals--domestic and wild. Thefamed British zoologist Desmond Morris, in his book The Animal Contract (Warner Brothers, 1990), recommends 10principles that human beings should adopt in their treatment of animals. This book discusses in detail the basis for theprinciples and gives many examples of our treatment and mistreatment of animals. He states that brutality to animalsaffects all our conduct and dealings with humans as well, and that a culture that is sympathetic to animals is a culturethat is sensitive and caring in all respects. Moreover, he believes that a culture that feels a kinship with animals willbe a culture that keeps faith with its roots in recognizing that humans are also animals, relatives of other species. These principles, as related to threatened species, are discussed below. They could also be used as interesting subjectsfor classroom discussions or for reports.

An Animal Bill of Rights

1. No animal should be endowed with imaginary qualities of good or evil to satisfy our superstitious beliefs orreligious prejudices.

2. No animal should be dominated or degraded to entertain us.

3. No animal should be kept in captivity unless it can be provided with an adequate physical and social environment.

4. No animal should be kept as a companion unless it can adapt easily to the lifestyle of its human owner.

5. No animal species should be driven to extinction by direct persecution or further increases in the humanpopulation.

6. No animal should be made to suffer pain or distress to provide us with sport.

7. No animal should be subjected to physical or mental suffering for unnecessary experimental purposes.

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8. No farm animal should be kept in a deprived environment to provide us with food or produce.

9. No animal should be exploited for its fur, its skin, its ivory or for any other luxury product.

10. No working animal should be forced to carry out heavy duties that cause it stress or pain.

Source: The Animal Contract by Desmond Morris. Warner Books. 1990.

Although many of these principles relate to domestic animals and can be discussed in another setting, others relate toour treatment of wildlife, including endangered species. Discuss the way in which these principles apply to threatenedspecies.

Activitieso Principle number 1 could apply to wolves and bats, which are considered by many societies and individuals to beevil. Read the Persecution and Hunting chapter in this book for other such cases and consider the implications of suchprejudices on the survival of many animals.

o Principle number 2 can also be applied to endangered species in that Lions (now considered Vulnerable species),Tigers, chimpanzees and elephants (all Endangered species) are trained to perform tricks in circuses that degradethem. Brown Bears used by gypsies in Europe and Asia are another example. They are dragged about by leashesattached to nose rings and trained to perform extremely unnatural acts, such as "dancing" on their hind legs. Discussthis principle and learn how circus animals are trained and how they are treated. Contact organizations such as PAWS(Performing Animal Welfare Society, P.O. Box 849, Galt, CA 95632) or the Animal Welfare Institute to learn moreabout this.

o Principle number 3 can apply to zoos that house endangered species. If the captive conditions do not allow theanimals adequate physical and social environments, they would be considered to be violations of these principles. Examples might be the keeping of an elephant, a highly social species, by itself, in a small enclosure without water tobathe in or space to exercise. These animals are also chained at night in many zoos. Are there animals at your localzoo kept in such conditions?

o Principle number 4 can be applied to wild pets of many species that are kept in unnatural conditions. Tigers andother big cats, wild-caught parrots and many reptiles and amphibians are kept in peoples' back yards in cages or inindoor conditions that are highly unhealthy or psychologically traumatic for the animal. Many states ban various wildpets for this reason. Read the Trade chapter in this book for more information on wild pets and zoos. Find out thelaws of your state or country regarding the keeping of exotic pets, especially endangered species.

o Principle number 5 is an extremely critical one in relation to endangered species. Although the US EndangeredSpecies Act specifically addresses the issue of driving species to extinction as unacceptable, the law has beenweakened by its opponents and faces further weakening. Moreover, only listed species receive such protection. Manythreatened and endangered species that are not listed on the US Endangered Species Act receive no legal protection. In other countries of the world, such as Canada, no law prohibits driving a species to extinction or protects endangeredspecies. Human overpopulation is a major cause driving species to extinction. This is an extremely important moraldilemma, one that is being faced by countries such as Indonesia, which has relocated people from overpopulatedislands, such as Java, to areas still forested, such as Borneo and western New Guinea. These new immigrants areburning forests, with the encouragement of the Indonesian government, to create farms and grazing land for livestock. In the process, they are driving endangered species, such as the Orangutan, toward extinction. What should societiesdo in these circumstances, which will become more and more common in the future?

o Principle number 6 states that causing pain or distress in animals for our amusement is reprehensible and must nottake place. Most examples of such cruelty involve domestic animals, such as steers in bull fights, roosters in

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cockfights and pit bulls in dog fights. Consider situations in which threatened or wild animals are used in such ways. For example, Asian bears are abused in street shows, and Tigers and elephants suffer in circuses. Hunting rare animalsfor sport might be considered to fall into this category, especially when it is carried out by means that do not usuallykill quickly, such as by bow and arrow, and when it is not done for food, but for amusement.

o Principle number 7 concerns causing unnecessary pain for experimental purposes. Such experiments often involvethe use of threatened animals. Chimpanzees and monkeys are involved in painful experiments to test drugs, insimulated car crashes or other research. The use of these animals is justified by many research laboratories and othersas being important because it can help human beings in various ways, such as finding cures to diseases. However,many experiments are unnecessary and repetitive of already published research. Does the treatment of these animals,especially long-lived chimpanzees who must spend a lifetime that can reach 60 or more years in sterile confinement,justify the research, or are there alternatives to using these animals? (Contact the Animal Welfare Institute for itspublished reports and articles on this subject.)

o Principle number 9 regards exploitation of animals for furs, skins and other luxury items. Many threatened speciesare legally traded for such purposes. All the wild cats that are listed on Appendix II of the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species of Wild of Fauna and Flora (CITES) may be traded with export permits,for example. The trade in elephant ivory during the 1980s nearly caused the extinction of both the African and Asianspecies. In 1989 all ivory trade was banned by CITES. Today, many countries want to reopen trade in African ivory,claiming they have stockpiles and overpopulation of elephants in some areas. Discuss the ethics of killing animals forluxury goods and select a species that is threatened with extinction as a result of such killing. This principle couldalso apply to the trade in live wild pets that threatens many species. Read the Trade chapter in this book for moreinformation.

Books and PublicationsAmory, Cleveland. 1974. Man Kind? Harper & Row, New York.Beard, Daniel. 1942. Fading Trails. The Story of Endangered American Wildlife. Macmillan Co., New York; hardcover.BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.Blum, Deborah. 1994. The Monkey Wars. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. (Activists in US fight primate laboratories.)Busch, Robert H. 1995. The Wolf Almanac. Lyons & Burford Publishers, New York; hardcover, color photo inserts, 226 pages, index.Cadieux, Charles L. 1991. Wildlife Extinction. Stone Wall Press, Inc., Washington, DC.Chadwick, Douglas H. and Joel Sartore. 1996. America's Endangered Species. The Company We Keep. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Clark, Stephen. 1977. The Moral Status of Animals. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.Cokinos, Christopher. 2001. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds. Warner Books, Penguin Putham, New York.Collard, Andree with Joyce Contrucci. 1989. Rape of the Wild. Man's Violence Against Animals and the Earth. A Midland Book, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.Domalain, Jean-Yves. 1977. The Animal Connection. William Morrow & Co., New York.Doughty, Robin W. 1975. Feather Fashions and Bird Preservation. A Study in Nature Protection. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Douglas-Hamilton, Iain and Oria. 1992. Battle for the Elephants. Viking, New York.

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Drayer, Mary Ellen (ed.). 1997. The Animal Dealers. Evidence of Abuse of Animals in the Commercial Trade 1952-1997. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.Durrell, Gerald and Lee Durrell. 1987. Ourselves and Other Animals. Pantheon Books, New York.Ellis, Richard. 1991. Men and Whales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Fuller, Errol 1987. Extinct Birds. Facts On File Publications, New York.Goodall, Jane with Phillip Berman. 1999. Reason for Hope. A Spiritual Journey. Warner Books, A Time Warner Co., New York.Green, Alan and the Center for Public Integrity. 1999. Animal Underworld. Inside America's Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species. Public Affairs, Perseus Book Group, New York.Griffin, Donald. 1981. The Question of Animal Awareness. Rockefeller University Press, New York.Hornaday, William T. 1913. Our Vanishing Wild Life. New York Zoological Society, New York.Kaplan, Gisela and Lesley J. Rogers. 2000. The Orangutans. Their Evolution, Behavior, and Future. Perseus Publishing, New York.Linden, Eugene. 1974. Apes, Men and Language. Saturday Review Press, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York.Linden, Eugene. 1999. The Parrot's Lament and other true tales of animal intrigue, intelligence, and ingenuity. Dutton, New York, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.Masson, Jeffrey Moussaieff and Susan McCarthy. 1995. When Elephants Weep. The Emotional Lives of Animals. Delacorte Press, New York.McIntyre, Joan (compiler). 1974. Mind in the Waters. A Book to Celebrate the Consciousness of Whales and Dolphins. Scribners/Sierra Club, New York.McNally, Robert. 1981. So Remorseless a Havoc. Of Dolphins, Whales and Men. Little, Brown & Co., New York.Milne, Lorus J. and Margery Milne. 1988. The Behavior and Learning of Animal Babies. An East Woods Book. The Globe Pequot Press, Chester, CT.Morris, Desmond. 1990. The Animal Contract. Warner Books, New York.Moss, Cynthia. 1988. Elephant Memories. Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family. William Morrow & Co., New York.Moss, Cynthia and Martyn Colbeck. 1992. Echo of the Elephants. The Story of an Elephant Family. William Morrow & Co., New York.Mowat, Farley. 1986. Sea of Slaughter. Bantam Books, New York.Nichols, Michael and Jane Goodall. 1999. Brutal Kinship. Aperture Foundation, Inc., New York; Romford, England; Denville, NJ. (Chimpanzees and humans.)Nilsson, Greta, Christine Stevens and John Gleiber. 1980. Facts About Furs. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.Payne, Katy. 1998. Silent Thunder. In the Presence of Elephants. Simon and Schuster, New York.Regan, Tom and Pete Singer (eds.). 1976. Animal Rights and Human Obligations. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York.Rollins, Bernard E. 1981. Animal Rights and Human Morality. Prometheus Books, New York.Scheffer, Victor B. 1974. A Voice for Wildlife. A Call for a New Ethic in Conservation. Scribner's Sons, New York.Small, George L. 1971. The Blue Whale. Columbia University Press, New York.Stearns, Beverly Peterson and Stephen C. Stearns. 1999. Watching, From the

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Edge of Extinction. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Thapar, Valmik. 1994. The Tiger's Destiny. Kyle Cathie Ltd., UK.Van Lawick-Goodall, Jane. 1971. In the Shadow of Man. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.Verney, Peter. 1979. Animals in Peril. Man's War Against Wildlife. Brigham Young University Press, Provo, UT.

Film"The Animal Contract," based on the book by Desmond Morris. Garner MacLennan London and Lifetime Pictures inassociation with Island Visual Arts and G.C. Films, UK.

Wildlife MusicProject Summary.People once thought that animals were "dumb" because they could not speak in human language or that the seas weresilent because we were unable to hear their sounds. Many still think that birds sing for people. We now know thatwild animals communicate with one another and other species in thousands of different sounds. This project willacquaint students and others with many of these sounds. They have definite purposes and can communicate a widevariety of messages, whether territorial, warnings to members of their own species, mating calls or other meanings wehave yet to understand. Human activities are having negative effects on the communications of some animals, evencausing mortality. This project will encourage appreciation of the great variety of animal sounds, especially those ofdisappearing species. Means of preventing interference with animal communication and working to reducehuman-created noise will be explored.

BackgroundA chorus of bugles as flocks of Sandhill Cranes take flight, the eerie violin-like songs of Humpback Whales or thecroaking of frogs can evoke emotion and deep appreciation. Human response to wildlife songs reflects theuniversality of music. Virtually all human societies have their own music (see Milius 2001). Just as we are drawn tothe sounds of nature, animals have been attracted to human music. The now-extinct Laughing Owl of New Zealandwould fly close to a person playing an accordion after dusk, remaining in the vicinity until the music stopped (seeFuller 2001). Researchers in the Pacific Northwest have dangled microphones playing music from their boats andfound that dolphins and Killer Whales approached and listened for long periods. The mournful, musical howls ofwolves caused fear in the superstitious medieval times, but today they are appreciated as true animal songs, each wolfcontributing a slightly different melody. In fact, when a recording of wolf howls was released during the 1970s, themusic critic of The New York Times judged the musical talent of each wolf singer. (Wolf Education and ResearchCenter: www.wolfcenter.org provides information on howling.) Songs play an integral role in wildlife communicationand survival. Endangered denizens of American grasslands, prairie dogs, also have complex languages, givingdifferent calls to one another to warn of birds of prey, land predators, humans with guns and other threats. Some birdsongs, like those of many birds of paradise, stunningly beautiful birds of New Guinea, are so loud and bizarre thatthey seem to have been electronically produced. They are designed to penetrate dense foliage for long distances. Bellbirds and howler monkeys of Latin America and gibbons of Asia also sing so loudly that the songs carry for milesin the rainforests. Gibbons mate for life and sing duets in whoops that echo through the forest. Many wildlife songsare used to defend territories or to find a mate. Beluga whales and Mountain Lions communicate with one another inbird-like chirps. Elephants are now known to emit deep sounds, inaudible to humans, which carry for great distancesto elephant herds miles away (see Payne 1998). Likewise, bats and dolphins emit ultrasonic sounds to find their preyand to navigate. Some of these are audible to the human ear. Many of these species are now listed as Threatened, however (see Endangered and Threatened Species list in the Appendix).

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As the world becomes filled with human-made noise, from the giant engines of ships, planes, trucks and earth-movingmachines to jet skis, snowmobiles, snow blowers and chainsaws, wildlife songs and calls are being drowned out. Each Humpback Whale has its own individual song. The males vary the songs each year, and females seem to beattracted to the males who emit the most complex songs. Marine mammals emit a great variety of squeaks, hums,squeals and chirps to communicate with one another and echo-locate, but they can be drowned out by ships,motorboats, jet skis and other human-made sounds. It is critical for the survival of these marine mammals that they beable to communicate.

Some ship noises are even lethal to marine mammals. The US Navy has been testing an anti-submarine sonar calledLow Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS). Powerful sonar waves are broadcast underwater to test a means of detectingquiet enemy submarines (see White 2000a). These sonar waves can travel hundreds of miles and be extremely loud.Humpback Whale males have stopped singing or moved away when these waves were broadcast. More ominously,testing in 1995 off the coast of Greece coincided with an unusual stranding of Cuvier's Beaked Whales, resulting inthe deaths of these seldom-seen whales. In March 2000, Ken Balcomb, a biologist familiar with sonar, was present inthe Bahamas when a stranding occurred at the same time Navy LFAS tests were taking place nearby. Fifteen whalesstranded, including Dense Beaked Whales, a Minke Whale and a Spotted Dolphin. All washed up on the shores, andwhen pushed back into deep water, they were unable to remain upright, clearly unbalanced, disoriented and apparentlyin pain. Without their hearing, they cannot find their way in the ocean. Nine died. Along with Harvard biologistDarlene Ketton, Ken Balcomb performed necropsies on several whales, finding their ears full of blood. In one case,hemorrhages striped the lungs. Further testing revealed that a whale had suffered a concussion, apparently the resultof acute trauma from pressure (White 2000a). A press conference organized by the Animal Welfare Institutefollowing these findings featured Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research and other whale experts, whoattested to the fact that LFAS is reckless, unnecessary and lethal to whales. Soon after, the Navy canceled testing ofactive sonar off New Jersey and also its scheduled tests on Sperm Whales in the Azores (White 2000a). The Navy hasnot cancelled these tests altogether, however, claiming that more research by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute isneeded to reach a final conclusion.

Bird reproduction has also been affected by the sounds of highway or airplane traffic. Researchers have found thatmale birds living near such loud noises cannot hear their own songs or those of their rivals and, in a few generations,begin singing songs so different from their instinctive ones that other males do not respond, nor do females,preventing reproduction. Frogs living near highways have also been found to lose their natural calls in the din oftraffic noise. It is not known whether these animals have suffered hearing damage or are simply unable to hear fellowcreatures over the din. Much of the noise created by human machines could be reduced or eliminated with mufflingdevices. Design of machines that will not interfere with animal communication should become a priority.

Activitieso Listen to recordings, such as �Music of the Birds,� listed below. Visit websites that play animal sounds and songs. One, intended for visually-impaired people, plays bird songs: www.nhest.org; and www.naturesongs.com has manytypes of natural music. The largest collection of natural sounds in the world is at the Macaulay Library of NaturalSounds at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (www.birds.cornell.edu). It has 150,000 recordings. The BritishLibrary's national sound archive has more than 130,000 recordings: www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/wild.html). The Nature Sounds Society website (www.naturesounds.org) gives information on other sites. For an academicapproach, consult the site of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology: interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/wfae/home/. Watch wildlife films that include songs and calls, especially those of threatened and endangered species, such as birdsof paradise, whales, wolves and elephants (see list below and Video section). Write an essay on the songs of onegroup of species, such as whales, or a particular species, describing the variety of the songs or calls.

o Compare the wildlife sounds heard in environments far from highways and airports with those near them. Takewalks in several types of habitats with experts who can identify wildlife sounds, such as frog chirps and croaks, birdsongs and insect noises. Tape record the sounds heard and count the number of species in a quiet habitat versus thoseheard near a busy highway or airplane flight path. Note that each species' song can be heard in normal conditions

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because of its own frequency and rhythm. Discuss the effect of noise on these species, and describe the various callsheard without interference.

o Learn about means of lessening human-created noise. Write the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inWashington, DC (see Organizations list, Teachers� Aids section) for information on noise pollution and how existingengines can be muffled for quieter substitutes. For example, electric-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers make farless noise than gas-powered ones. Airplane engines that are quieter than those currently in use have been designed,but no strong government mandate has encouraged their manufacture. Automobile and truck engines can be madequieter, and certain road surfaces can decrease traffic sounds. Snowmobiles that emit far less noise have beenmanufactured, but without legislation mandating their use, there is little demand. Consult the Internet fororganizations working actively to require that quieter machines be in use. Write a report on the need for noisepollution equipment.

o Research the effects of snowmobiles, jet skis and all-terrain vehicles on wildlife. Contacting various organizations,including the National Parks and Conservation Association (see Organizations list in Teachers� Aids section) forinformation on their work to keep these vehicles out of the national parks because of the negative effects the noise hason wildlife. Find out the decibel levels of various vehicles that are allowed in wildlife areas and off-road wildernessparks and their effects on various species of wildlife.

o The US Navy testing of anti-submarine sonar, Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS), described above, has beenshown to be extremely dangerous to some marine mammals and drives others away from their traditional migrationand feeding areas. Write the Animal Welfare Institute for more information on this program and how to help stop it.

Books and PublicationsBeland, Pierre. 1996. Beluga. A Farewell to Whales. Lyons & Burford Publishers, London, UK.Elliott, Lang. 1999. Music of the Birds. A Celebration of Bird Song. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA. (With CD-ROM.)Gorman, James. 2002. Developing an Ear for Nature's Untuned Orchestra. The New York Times, Jan. 25.Milius, Susan. 2001. Face the Music. Natural History, Dec./Jan., Vol. 110, No. 10, pages 48-57.Payne, Katy. 1998. Silent Thunder. In the Presence of Elephants. Simon & Schuster, New York.Payne, Roger. 1995. Among Whales. Scribner�s, New York.Pratt, Ambrose. 1955. The Lore of the Lyrebird. Robertson & Mullens, Melbourne, Australia.Short, Lester L. 1993. The Lives of Birds. Birds of the World and Their Behavior. American Museum of Natural History. Henry Holt & Co., New York.Snow, David. 1982. The Cotingas. Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and other species. British Museum of Natural History. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, New York.Van Tyne, Josselyn and Andrew J. Berger. 1971. Fundamentals of Ornithology. Dover Publications, New York.Walters, Mark. Jerome. 1989. Courtship in the Animal Kingdom. Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York.Whitten, Tony. 1982. The Gibbons of Siberut. J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London, UK.Thomas, Bill. 1976. The Swamp. W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York.White, B. 2000. U.S. Navy Kills Whales in the Bahamas. AWI Quarterly, Summer, Vol. 29, No. 3, pages 6-7.

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FilmsThe following represent only a few of the many films concerning animal calls and music. See the Video section ofthis book for further listings. Also, many audiocassettes are available with wildlife sounds of various types.

"Attenborough in Paradise." 1 hour. Nature (PBS). BBC. 1996. David Attenborough visits New Guinea and describes the birds of paradise and their extraordinary calls."Crane River." 1 hour. National Audubon Society. PBS Video. 1988. Hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate in the Midwest, bugling, calling and courtship displays, which resemble minuets."Gentle Giants of the Pacific: Humpback Whales" 1 hour. Sierra Club Series. Wood Knapp Video. The amazing songs of these whales are heard in this film."In the Company of Whales" 90 minutes. Discovery Channel. (VHS & CD‑ROM.) 1992. Following great whales and hearing their sounds with zoologist Roger Payne and other experts, insights are given on whale behavior and biology. "Jaguar. Year of the Cat." 1 hour. Nature (PBS). Telenova Productions. 1995. Filmed in the rainforests of Belize, the daily life of Jaguars is seen in remarkable close-ups accompanied by the sounds these cats make as they walk in the forest or lap water in a stream, with insect and bird songs in the background."National Audubon Society's Video Guides to North American Birds." Five one-hour cassettes. National Audubon Society. These videos show and record all species in the United States and Canada for which photo documentation exists. Audiocassettes of almost all the native breeding birds are available from this organization. "Wild Wolves." 1 hour. BBC. NOVA. PBS. 1997. This film examines the true nature of wolves, their behavior and ecology and lets us listen to their howling.

Catalog of books and CDs with audio samples: www.earthear.com

LawnsProject SummaryMany biologists and conservationists are now questioning the use of green lawns in yards, in front of public buildingsand along highways. In general, green lawns have to be maintained through use of chemicals that can pollute thegroundwater and kill beneficial plants and insects; use noisy, gas-guzzling mowers and leaf-blowers; and fail topreserve native plants. This project involves examination of the effects of these lawns on the environment and humanhealth, as well as the use of energy and water to maintain them.

BackgroundMost biologists consider grass lawns to be ecological deserts because of their lack of diversity. In many areas, grasslawns cover a large percentage of land in villages and suburbs. Golf courses are increasing in number. Lawns arereplacing natural habitats, such as woodlands, grasslands, shrub and desert and, in the process, wildlife and naturallandscapes retreat. The Eastern Box Turtle has lost a large percentage of its original long grass, shrubby habitat togreen lawns, and the species has declined dramatically. These slow-moving reptiles are also badly injured or killed bylawn mowers, which smash their shells (see Stevens 1994). Migratory birds and butterflies return in the spring to find

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their natural habitats converted to green lawns, depriving them of feeding and breeding sites. In general, lawnsprovide little or no habitat for wildlife.

To keep them green, herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers are sprayed or spread in vast quantities. More than67 million pounds of chemicals are placed on US lawns annually (see Wasowski 2001). These chemicals kill usefulnative animals, such as pollinating insects, birds that disperse seeds and consume insects, burrowing rodents, andearthworms that aerate the soil. They also contaminate the groundwater. Some of these poisons are so powerful thatthey have caused sickness and death in humans. Early in 2001, the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, became thefirst in North America to order a ban on all insecticides, herbicides and fungicides used on lawns. The ban wasprimarily intended to protect human health, especially children who are most vulnerable to pesticides (see Nickerson2001). Fifty-five other communities across Canada are considering similar bans. Opposition to grass lawns andfrequent mowing along public highways is also growing. One citizen of Orleans, Massachusetts, objected to the TheBoston Globe when mowers destroyed carefully planted native wildflowers growing along a major highway in thisCape Cod area. The flowers, planted by volunteers (one as old as 85), of the New England Wild Flower Society, hadbeen clearly posted not to be mowed.

Green lawns require constant care and use enormous amounts of energy for mowing, edging and removing leaves. Most lawn mowers and leaf blowers consume gasoline and pollute the air with fumes, while also creating noisepollution. Mowers also damage tree trunks or kill above-ground tree roots, especially of old trees, andfrequently-applied fertilizer can harm older trees, which need slow-release enrichment of the soil (see Stocker 2001). For these reasons, gardeners recommend that no large tree be within 2 feet of a lawn. Another threat to trees is lawnwatering during droughts; an insufficient amount of water reaches the tree roots, while the lawn absorbs most of thewater (see Stocker 2001).

Lawns are also extremely costly. The American Nursery and Landscape Association estimated that Americans spent$17.4 billion on their lawns in 1999 (see Schembari 2001). The Lawn Institute, based in Illinois, estimates that thelawn care industry for North America is worth more than $25 billion (see Nickerson 2001). By planting perennialnative grasses, shrubs, trees and flowers, homeowners could save literally billions of dollars.

The grass used for lawns in the United States is composed of various European turf species, which, unlike most nativeAmerican grasses, require large amounts of water, often as much as a third of local water supplies. Householders use40 to 60 percent of their water on their lawns in the summer. Erroneously called "Kentucky Blue Grass," this andother commercially distributed grass seed needs cool, damp climates for healthy growth. The grass quickly turnsbrown in the heat of summer or when not watered enough. In dry seasons, many towns mandate water rationingbecause lawn watering has depleted local supplies. The average lawn will use up to 10,000 gallons of water of asummer and 10 times the amount of pesticides as an acre of farmland (see Egan 2001).

Communities being built in dry areas, such as southwestern deserts, tend to plant green lawns because their ownershave come from areas where they were typically used. In desert areas, green lawns can only be maintained throughdiversion of water that dries up rivers or alters the ecology of these regions. In Arizona, for example, several rivershave been reduced to dry beds by diversion for the burgeoning developments surrounding Phoenix and Tucson. Citiesof the Southwest and California use enormous amounts of their water supplies to water green lawns. In the process,several pairs of endangered Bald Eagles that nested on one of these rivers, along with thousands of other forms of life,disappeared. One new resident of Phoenix, an architect, planted native plants in his garden instead of grass, defyinglocal developers, who remove all native vegetation and cover the land with gravel. His yard was soon filled with wildmarigolds, creosote bushes and other plants that seeded themselves in his beautiful, no-maintenance back yard. InGlendale, Arizona, homeowners receive a $100 rebate for converting 50 percent or more of their grass to shrubs orplants. Studies from Las Vegas found that a city could save 40 percent of its water by converting to non-grassalternatives. With the world facing increasing water shortages, the grass lawn, especially of non-native species ofgrasses, has become a luxury that is wasting this precious resource.

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Green lawns can be grown with native grasses that do not require artificial watering and chemicals, and by using thecut grass as mulch. Fertilizers and herbicides are not necessary for these lawns, which can be mowed with electric orold-fashioned, human-powered mowers. Also, smaller areas can be planted. Instead of dominating the yard, lawnscan become a minor part. Planting native vegetation, including wildflowers, shrubs and trees, in back yards and citylots is a preferable alternative to the green lawn. In shady, moist areas, mosses can be planted that never requiremowing and stay green year-round (see reference list below). Perennial plants do not need replanting each year andrequire almost no maintenance. Trees provide shade, erosion control and habitat for wildlife. Planting a garden withnative American plants can also aid in the conservation of ecosystems and rare species. By not using chemicals,groundwater and wildlife are protected.

ActivitiesConsult the books listed below before beginning the following project:

o Select two small land plots (each about 200 square feet) each distanced from one another by at least 100 feet. Priorto planting, take samples of soil and examine them under a microscope to determine the diversity of plants andanimals, whether there are earthworms to aerate the soil, and other life forms. Measure the acidity. Describe the soil'stexture, whether rich loam, clay or sand, and whether it is dry and crumbly or moist. Are there birds that feed in thegrass or evidence of small mammals, such as tunnels? In one half of the plot, plant non-native grass and use thechemicals recommended by the grass seed company. Water and mow the lawn, if needed. On the other half of thelawn, dig up the soil and spread natural compost from leaves and other vegetation throughout, to a level of 2 feet. Sow seeds of native grasses, such as buffalograss (sold in many nurseries). Water this portion until the seeds areestablished, but not afterward. Do not apply any artificial fertilizers or other chemicals. Mow with electric or handmower only. After one month, take soil samples from both areas and examine them under a microscope to determinethe diversity of microbes and the moisture content in the two soil samples. Note whether the organic wildlife area hasabove-ground evidence of wildlife such as butterflies, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Identify themby species. Did the organic grass survive without artificial watering? Compare the two soils, their moisture content,invertebrate species diversity, water usage, environmental effects and the cost to maintain each one. A thirdalternative is described in the next project, �Living with Nature,� focusing on conversion of the lawn to nativewildflowers, bushes and trees, which requires even less water and labor.

o As a study project, select a suburban area of approximately one city block and measure the acreage in green lawns,calculating the cost in use of chemicals, as well as gasoline for lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Estimate waterconsumption and the percentage of this that must be artificially applied through hosing or sprinklers. What is thewater source? Ask the local water department how much water is used in your area for watering lawns each year. Contact the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, for information on contamination of groundwaterby lawn chemicals and their effects on wildlife and human health.

Books and PublicationsEgan, T. 2001. Grass is Gone on Other Side of these Fences. The New York Times, May 5.Eschbacher, K. 2000. Cape Officials, residents ask for cut in Route 6 mowing. The Boston Globe, Aug, 20.Forster, R. Roy and Alex M. Downie. 1999. The Woodland Garden: Planting in Harmony with Nature. Firefly Press, Buffalo, NY.Nickerson, C. 2001. A grass-roots drive for purity. Pesticide ban sparks turf war in Canada. The Boston Globe, Sept. 3.Raver, A. 2001. In the Desert's Warm Embrace. The New York Times, April 5.Schembari, J. 2001. Personal Business. Why the Grass Must be Greener. The New York Times, Aug. 26.Schultz, Warren. 1996. The Chemical-Free Lawn. The Newest Varieties and Techniques to Grow Lush, Hardy Grass. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards.

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Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stein, Sara. 1997. Planting Noah's Garden; Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stevens, W.K. 1994. American Box Turtles Decline, Perishing Cruelly in Foreign Lands. The New York Times, May 10.Stocker, C. 2001. When to give up on a dying tree. Gardening. The New York Times, May 3.Wasowski, A. 2001. Dawn of a New Lawn. Audubon, May-June.

Living with NatureProject SummaryThis project focuses on planting a garden with native plants and creating natural habitats that will attract wildlife andprovide breeding and feeding areas for a wide variety of species. If an area for planting is not available, the principlesof a natural garden can be learned. Also, the project discusses means of avoiding any lethal methods to control insectsor animals with which one can come into contact in one's home or back yard, including Raccoons in garbage pails,deer munching shrubbery or moles burrowing in garden plots.

BackgroundThe ecological problems presented by green lawns (see previous project) have brought many people to realize thatmany gardens and yards tend to reflect a lack of ecological knowledge and concern, and fail to preserve a naturalenvironment and maintain wildlife habitat. This subject has resulted in many books and even garden magazinearticles, but only a small minority of homeowners have abandoned the green lawn or reduced its size, making it asmall part of one's yard rather than the dominant component. The long-term goal of converting lawns to naturalenvironments is to provide wildlife with habitat it has lost in recent times, a period during which housingdevelopments gobbled up millions of acres of woodland and pastures. Also, lack of tolerance for wildlife hasincreased, with homeowners moving into areas only recently converted to housing to be dismayed and often fearfulwhen they find wildlife in the back yard. These animals were the original tenants of the land, and we are the invaders,but few homeowners seem to realize this fact and want nature to be tamed and non-invasive. Common senseapproaches to this potential conflicts will be explored.

Activitieso Conversion of a yard from grass to natural vegetation can be done at once by digging up the entire lawn, excavatingat least 2 feet to aerate and compost the soil, and replanting. A natural garden can also be planted gradually, plot byplot. The most important step is preparing the soil by enriching it with natural compost and organic fertilizers so thatsoil microorganisms and invertebrates, such as earthworms, can flourish and plants will have a better likelihood ofsurviving. Acidity testing is important to create a soil condition to which the type of plants used will adjust. Conifers,mountain laurel, rhododendron and related plants require high acidity, while grasslands and meadows tend to be morealkaline. Use no pesticides or artificial chemicals. Also to be avoided are bug zappers. These electric units that hangoutside and electrocute insects have been shown to kill thousands of useful insects, such as moths, but almost nomosquitoes, for which they are intended (see Wildlife Conservation magazine, July/August 1997). A school class canutilize a plot of land of varying size according to the amount of time and effort it can expend. Many of the bookslisted below provide clear guidelines to follow in establishing a garden with native plants. Plan the garden to conformto the regional ecosystems, and use only plants native to the area. Some of the suggestions made in various books andarticles include planting non-native plants to attract butterflies or birds. This should be avoided, and such plantsshould be removed. Consult guides to native plants to determine whether a species is indigenous. The best sourcesfor native plants are organizations, such as the New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, Massachusetts, thatpropagate all plants sold and recommend that no wild plants be dug up from woodlands or other natural habitats. The

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most coveted and delicate species, such as damp woodland trilliums and lady slippers, will almost surely die iftransplanted from the wild, as they live in a symbiosis with fungi. Moreover, they require many years to mature andare rare in the wild. The habitat established--whether a woodland, small pond with water plants, prairie withwildflowers, desert landscape with cacti or marsh--should be compatible with local vegetation. It might consist ofrecreating a habitat destroyed by developers on the very site. If the lot is completely open without shade trees or evenbushes, it is not possible to establish a woodland environment immediately. The planting will have to be transitional,using species that would naturally seed in such areas, such as birch and ground cover plants in northern andmountainous areas. Whichever habitat is chosen, carefully record which plants are introduced and their survival on aregular basis.

o If you are creating a butterfly garden, follow instructions such as provided in the booklet, "Butterfly Gardening inNew England," to establish shrub plants for the larvae, fragrant flowers to provide nectar for adults, a damp area formoisture and mineral feeding, and tangles of vegetation for the caterpillars. Keep in mind the locality. Host plantsdiffer in each region of the country. In an open environment, a field of native goldenrod, milkweed and a diverseselection of plants would have the best likelihood of survival and attract butterflies of many species. Many butterfliesspecialize in a particular type of host plants, and only these can be planted. Flowers that attract many species ofbutterflies are a good introduction to such a project. When the flowers have appeared, spend an hour each sunnyafternoon recording the species and numbers of butterflies that come to feed. Later in the season, try to find eggs,chrysalids and caterpillars among the vegetation. A good source for more information on this subject is A World forButterflies. Photograph them. Note also other types of wildlife that come, whether birds, small rodents or otherspecies. Write a report on the project, recording the successes and failures from beginning to end. The flowers maybe left indefinitely, as they are perennials.

o Animals such as Raccoons, squirrels, deer, skunk, moles and rabbits are often seen as pests to be eliminated if theycause damage, eat prize plants or vegetables, or create burrows in the soil. What seems to be a major problem that canonly result in trying to eliminate the animals can be solved or attitudes changed so that wildlife is better tolerated. Living With Wildlife, a book published by the Sierra Club, is based on the experiences of the California Center forWildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation and education center with more than 200 volunteers and a professional staff. Theyreceive more than 12,000 calls a year from people who have problems dealing with animal nuisances. Manyproblems, such as animals eating garden vegetables, can be solved with fencing, having garbage cans that cannot beopened by animals or are placed behind barriers, and spraying bushes and vegetation with substances and odors thatrepel animals. For example, to "raccoon-proof" a garbage can, fasten the lid securely with rope, bungee cords, chainor even weights. Secure the handle to a metal or wooden stake driven into the ground to prevent it from being rolledaround. Store cans in wooden bins or in a locked shed or garage. Certain smells, such as ammonia, repel animals andcan be sprayed on bushes or garbage cans. This book gives specific advice as well as encouraging a tolerant andpositive attitude toward wildlife, reflecting the knowledge that we have entered their territory, not the opposite. Ifone's home has destroyed important habitat for wildlife, it is important to consider recreating it by allowing brush andshrubs to grow, instead of neat flower beds, to provide habitat for turtles, rabbits and groundhogs to share theproperty. Consider that a graceful deer in one's yard is a privilege to see. To protect special trees or fruit, spray themwith repellants that contain milk, and hang bags of human hair. Most people choose to share their yards with deer andother wildlife, planting vegetation for them. It is also important to be tolerant of predators, such as bear, Cougar,Coyote and wolves, while staying far away from them. These predators, especially Cougar and Wolves, play animportant role in regulating populations and maintaining the strength of deer and other ungulates. Theoverpopulation of deer in many parts of the country can be blamed on direct persecution of large predators. Thesepredators should never be fed or approached, however, but allowed to exist as vital components in ecosystems. Fewpeople are aware that Coyotes and foxes are important consumers of mice. A key factor in developing tolerance ofwildlife is to understand their need to survive and to learn about and respect their natural behavior.

Books and PublicationsAdams, George. 1994. Birdscaping Your Garden. A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants That Attract Them. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.

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Adler, Bill, Jr. 1992. Outwitting Critters. A Humane Guide for Confronting Devious Animals and Winning. Lyons and Burford, Publishers, New York.California Center for Wildlife with Diana Landau and Shelley Stump. 1994. Living With Wildlife. How to Enjoy, Cope with, and Protect North America's Wild Creatures Around Your Home and Theirs. A Sierra Club Book, San Francisco, CA.Harper, Peter. 1994. The Natural Garden Book. A Holistic Approach to Gardening. Simon & Schuster, New York.Knopf, Jim, Sally Wasowski, John K. Boring, Glenn Keater, Jane Scott and Erica Glasener. 1995. Natural Gardening. The Nature Company and Time-Life Books, New York.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. A Guide for Nature- Lovers. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.New England Wild Flower Society. 2000. Butterfly Gardening in New England. New England Wild Flower Society and Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701 (www.newfs.org).Schappert, Phil. 2000. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.Schenk, George. 1997. Moss Gardening; Including Lichen, Liverworts and Other Miniatures. Timber Press, Portland, OR.Schneck, Marcus. 1992. Your Backyard Wildlife Garden. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.Sweden, James van. 1997. Gardening with Nature. Random House, New York.

Lifestyles and Citizen ActionThrough small changes in our lifestyle, we can reduce our use of energy, our pollution, our unnecessary consumptionof material goods and help wildlife and the natural world. By launching programs within our community and makingother contributions to conservation, we can have an even greater impact. This project will examine some examples ofeach conservation approach and encourage activism to preserve nature and endangered species. It will makerecommendations about purchases that can either aid or damage the environment and wildlife.

Activism on the part of individuals and governments is crucial to reversing the trends that are extinguishing speciesand habitats at an unprecedented rate. The natural world is a place of beauty that provides a cornucopia of medicines,food and inspiration. The majority of scientific discoveries lie in the future. Preserving these treasures should be themost important goal of society. Future generations will not forgive us if we extinguish this precious heritage, uponwhich we depend for our very lives.

The majority of people on Earth are too occupied with survival to understand and act on the need to preserve speciesand natural environments, especially wilderness areas. Those people who can teach means of sustainable livingwithout harming nature should become far more active to prevent further extinctions and erosions of naturalecosystems. On the whole, we have failed to treat the environment and our fellow creatures with the respect needed toprevent further losses to our natural heritage. Never before, however, have we known so much about the componentsand functioning of ecosystems, nor have we had the technology and the will with which to remedy past errors in orderto live in harmony with the Earth.

Land Protection

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Sustainable LivingInternet SolutionsPurchasing Power

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Land ProtectionBackgroundOne can contribute to the preservation of biological diversity worldwide in many ways. Land protection is key tospecies' preservation. In foreign countries, biological diversity is at great risk, with extinctions occurring on a dailybasis. Through support of international organizations, vital tracts of land can be purchased or the governmentconvinced to designate them as national parks. In the United States, bogs, vernal ponds and other temporary wetlands,longleaf pine forests, old-growth cedar forests, tallgrass prairies and desert springs are some examples. They are vitalto the survival of countless species, but receive little or no state or federal protection from destruction, and harbormany endangered species. Making a project of protecting a threatened habitat and/or species could spell thedifference between survival and extinction for a particular plant or animal species, a very worthwhile project.

Activitieso Support organizations that specialize in setting aside land. This is key to saving the wildest, most pristine andimportant habitats before they are ruined. By obtaining issues of past magazines and press releases of organizations,such as The Nature Conservancy or Conservation International, learn what land they have protected that providedimportant habitat for endangered species and how they work to identify and protect biologically important areas inneed of conservation. Help an organization that is raising money for land that harbors rare or endangered species in aforeign country. One class raised more than $100,000 to purchase a sizeable rainforest tract, teeming with beautifultropical birds, in Costa Rica. Far less funds per acre are needed to acquire land in many countries where biodiversityis high than in the United States or Europe.

o On a local basis, a class could save an endangered species by helping to purchase its habitat. Information on astate-by-state basis on endangered species and habitats can be obtained from the Natural Heritage Programs connectedwith each Environment or Wildlife Department. These programs identify rare, endemic and declining species andtheir habitats, including those in need of protection. Also, national, state and local organizations and governmentdepartments can help in identifying land in need of protection. In some cases, an organization that specializes in aparticular type of animal, such as frogs, cranes or turtles, will know of such areas and may already be raising money topurchase them. The class can choose an area in need of fund-raising and begin to aid in a fund-raising campaign. Itwould be more feasible to choose land that is not so expensive or large that many years would be needed to purchaseit. The Nature Conservancy or another organization may be preserving the land. Another option is to launch acampaign to convince a town, state or federal agency to designate an area as protected. A field trip should be taken tothe site, guided by a biologist familiar with the habitat--its plants and animals. Someone in the class could bedesignated to photograph the site, while others would take notes on what the guide says for a report and write letters tothe editors of local newspapers. The site may preserve one or more endangered species, as well as an endangeredhabitat. Once successful, contact local newspapers to publicize the event, and write up the achievement in terms ofhow the goal was attained and what biological treasures were protected.

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Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Sustainable LivingBackgroundA growing number of organizations are providing people around the world with alternatives to destroying forests andother natural habitats to clear land, obtain firewood or raise livestock. In tropical areas, land cleared of rainforest canbe farmed for only a few years because of poor soil. Organizations are now helping these farmers survive inecologically friendly ways through donation of solar cookers and heaters, aid in establishing small farms that utilizebio-gas (methane obtained from manure and sewage), and promotion of self-sustaining farming methods that do notdestroy the environment. In Madagascar, primatologist Patricia Wright protected the forest home of endangeredlemurs by convincing the government to establish a large national park. It provided many jobs for local people. Shethen raised money for the construction of schools and clinics. Deforestation has virtually stopped as a result, and thepeople have become protective of the forest after learning how it prevented mudslides. Providing this type of help forpeople in poor areas of the world will be a major project of Conservation International, which plans to integrate thisapproach with its land protection and biodiversity studies, through a donation it received of more than $1 billion.

Activitieso Select one or more threatened habitats that are being destroyed as a result of over-grazing, deforestation or othermeans by people in developing countries. Many examples are given in the main text of this book. In classroomdiscussion, explore the ways in which these areas are being destroyed. What habitats and threatened species aredisappearing as a result? What do you think should be done to prevent this situation from continuing and to help thepeople at the same time? For example, in Central Asia, so many sheep, yak, horses and other livestock are grazed bynomadic people that they are ruining the grasslands, leaving little food or habitat for native gazelles, wild camels,antelope and wild horses. Native predators, such as wolves, bears and Snow Leopards, are killed as potential threatsto the livestock. Make specific suggestions that would provide for the basic needs of the people by alterations in theirlifestyle and simple technology, while preserving the ecosystem.

o Consult the Internet and other sources for organizations that distribute solar cookers and simple technology, as wellas agricultural advice. Contact them with suggestions for areas to donate that harbor many endangered species andhabitats. Ask which countries are the recipients of this aid. Find out which parts of the world are not receivinginternational aid and, if these areas are environmentally threatened, suggest that they receive aid.

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Internet SolutionsBackgroundInternet websites provide a new avenue to protect the planet through programs like "click-to-donate." Merely byclicking onto the Internet site, one activates funding for wilderness, endangered species and environmental protectionfrom corporate pledges. EcologyFund (www.ecologyfund.com) is one such website that receives more than 100,000visitors each month. In exchange for ad exposure, the fund donates sponsors' money to protect wilderness, plant treesand reduce pollution. Threatened wilderness land in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Africa, the Amazon Basin,Patagonia and Scotland has been preserved, and the fund claims to protect 187 square feet of land and save 2 poundsof carbon dioxide per visitor every day. Care2 (www.care2.com) also has a "click-to-donate" program focusing onendangered species and rainforest protection. One of its programs, "Race for Big Cats," has protected 16,000 squaremiles of key habitat for endangered Tigers, Jaguars and Snow Leopards, in conjunction with the WildlifeConservation Society. In cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, Care2 has purchased large tracts of rainforest.

A related approach to preserving wildlife and funding conservation work consists of Internet sites that tune into livevideocameras located in national parks or other natural areas, sending signals to satellites. Some websites are free,while others charge a small fee. Cameras set up in South African national parks (www.africam.com) focus on wildanimal lairs, waterholes and other wildlife spots. They have generated large sums of needed money for the park

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system. In the United States, television cameras have been trained on Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle nests andtransmitted to a cable station that plays the picture. Solar-powered videocameras have been designed that can beplaced in the most remote wilderness with no need for batteries or outside electric power sources. This concept hasgreat educational potential, simultaneously raising money for endangered species and wilderness protection, whileeducating as well. Such websites can provide important information on these subjects while providing exciting viewsof wildlife and wild places. As an alternative to eco-travel for those of lesser means or those unable to travel, suchwebsites could offer tours, such as tree-top views of rainforests and their abundant wildlife, or close-ups of seabirdcolonies or coral reefs. They have the added benefit of protecting delicate ecological areas from the effects of toomany tourists. Such websites should provide a portion of the funds to local people as an incentive to preserve the landand wildlife. If significant funds were generated, countries faced with choices such as whether to allow corporatelogging, commercialization of wildlife, dams and other projects needed to repay national debts, might consider thesecameras to be a better alternative. If successful, such websites would encourage countries to maintain large areas ofwilderness. Videocameras also have a scientific potential in giving a 24-hour view of areas harboring wildlife, oftendifficult to observe through other means.

Activitieso Click onto several videocamera sites to see the various types of wildlife spectacles offered. Some examples: seemorebears.com (Alaskan bears feeding on salmon in season); www.african.com (see above);www.world-stream.com (views of ancient species of fish, the Coelacanth); zooatlanta.org (Giant Pandas). Whatthreatened species or habitat would you like to see on a videocamera placed in the wild? Would you also like theviews to be part of a menu offering information on the species and the habitat? What ideas do you have about theapplications and potentials of these live videocams linked to the Internet and television cameras broadcasting to cabletelevision stations?

o Select a country that is suffering high levels of environmental destructionbut also has beautiful scenery and many endangered species. Discuss the potential of proposing alternatives to such acountry, i.e. placing videocameras as income producers versus commercial logging, a short-term destruction versus along-term investment. What scenery and wildlife would you think would attract Internet users in this country?

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Purchasing PowerBackgroundDeveloped countries consume 80 percent of the world's natural resources. If not for consumers in these countries, nomarket would exist for many luxury products, such as mahogany, teak and rosewood. The deforestation taking placeto harvest these woods pushes many species of animals closer to extinction. Loggers take the largest and oldest trees. These are the ones most valuable as wildlife habitat, oxygen producers, carbon dioxide absorbers, soil stabilizers andwater retainers. In spite of some programs meant to encourage "green" forestry practices, even selective logging, inwhich only a few trees are taken per acre, all types of logging have negative effects on pristine old-growth forests andtheir wildlife. (See Forests chapter). Many species are directly endangered through loss of habitat and hunting. People enter previously impassable forest on logging roads to kill Gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, rare antelopes,birds and other wildlife for bushmeat markets and animal products for Traditional Medicine. (See Forests chapter). Old-growth forests in some parts of the world have been growing undisturbed, harboring the same types of trees forhundreds of millions of years. These forests are irreplaceable repositories of biodiversity and living pharmacies,precious for their scientific value as extraordinarily rich ecosystems. Scientific knowledge of the functioning of theseforests and an inventory of their species has only just begun. Cutting one tree can kill a dozen that come crashingdown as jungle vines entwine whole groups of trees and branches that stretch for long distances knock downneighboring trees. In the process, many animals lose their lives and habitats. Nest holes for birds, mammals, reptilesand insects, loose bark under which forest bats roost, tall canopies for eagles' nests--all are lost. The logs obtained are

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not essential for human survival, but are sold as raw material for coffee tables, wall paneling and lawn furniture for thewealthy. Thousands are cut merely to manufacture shipping cartons or chopsticks, used once and discarded. morethan 80 percent of these old-growth rainforests have been logged in the last century, greatly reducing the production ofoxygen, water vapor and absorption of carbon dioxide. Certain products, such as Brazil and cashew nuts, can beextracted from tropical forests without harm. Ecotourism has great potential as a means of income. If profits areshared with the people who gather them, they will have an incentive to protect these trees. Other products thatdamage forests, especially tropical forests, are wooden carved boxes and tourist knick-knacks made from scarcewoodlands in India, Indonesia and other countries where forests have been decimated.

Coffee was once grown in the shade of tall forest trees, but with the development of new strains of coffee plants,forests are being cleared to grow coffee in the sun (see the Forests chapter). Coffee grown in the shade is far moreecologically-friendly, since large trees are preserved. Many North American birds migrate to the tropics and winter incoffee plantations. The sun-grown coffee has deprived wildlife of this habitat. A campaign to return to shade-growncoffee, especially if grown without pesticides, was launched by the Smithsonian Institution a few years ago. Somecommercial importers have provided a market for this shade-grown coffee, enlisting coffee farmers in many parts ofthe world to protect forests and grow coffee as an understory. Now this coffee is available in many US stores,marketed as "Shade-grown," "Bird-friendly" or "Shade-grown--Organic." Many of these coffees are comparable inprice to, or only slightly higher than, sun-grown commercial coffee grown using pesticides. They have the addedadvantage of being healthier, since they contain no dangerous chemicals. Likewise, most bananas are grown withmassive amounts of pesticides and herbicides, but many growers are now producing bananas organically. Ask yourlocal grocery store to stock them and be aware that purchasing them helps the environment. A similar problem existswith the growing of chocolate from the cacao plant in tropical areas. Its great popularity in the United States hasencouraged the clearance of forests for large-scale plantations that grow the plants in the sun, using fertilizer,fungicides and pesticides (see Khamsi 2001). Diseases have broken out in the large plantations, requiring heavy useof pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals to control them. Organic Commodity Products (OCP), a supplier inCambridge, Massachusetts, promotes the growing of cacao in shade without artificial chemicals. Fortunately, 85percent of the world's cacao is shade-grown. Some 6million small farmers who cannot afford pesticides provide thiscrop. Several chocolate companies are now marketing organic chocolate to promote environmentally friendlyagriculture (see Khamsi 2001).

Caviar from sturgeon native to Russia and the Caspian Sea is one of the most valuable wildlife products. Sales in theUnited States and other importing countries have pushed virtually all Eurasian sturgeon species close to extinction. Even famous French chefs, including Jacques Pepin, recommend a boycott of Beluga, the most valuable caviar, whichcomes from the most endangered sturgeon species. Many other fisheries products come from species that havedeclined 90 percent or more in the past decade from overfishing. Atlantic Cod, Orange Roughy, Chilean Bass,Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, sharks of many species and swordfish have been seriously overfished. Many of these fish,such as sharks, are slow-reproducing, not having young until they are as old as 20 years. It is likely that theirpopulations will never be able to sustain a commercial take. Pollack is a white fish from Alaskan waters that is beingoverfished to manufacture artificial crabmeat. The pollack fishery endangers Steller's Sea Lions, depriving them of amajor food source. Shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and many other tropical areas endanger sea turtles, which drownby the thousands in shrimp nets, which also catch millions of tons of unwanted fish that are discarded. Some shrimpis caught using nets that allow sea turtles and other non-target species to escape the net through turtle excluders, andthese shrimp are often labeled "turtle-safe." Farmed shrimp and salmon involve environmental destruction. Mangroves are being cut in tropical countries around the world to construct shrimp farms, which emit large amountsof pollution. Farmed salmon are kept in off-shore pens, but many escape to breed with wild salmon, endangering thelatter. The pens also contribute large amounts of pollution to the ocean.

Likewise, mining operations devastate entire ecosystems to obtain gold for jewelry and other minerals. The UnitedStates provides an enormous market for gold, the majority of which is made into jewelry. Even national parks inIndonesia are now permanently scarred, with large areas of land and rivers devegetated and poisoned with cyanide,which is used to separate the gold from ore. This country has the highest number of threatened species in the world, a

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majority of which are found only here. Orangutans are being driven from their forest homes in Indonesian Borneoand Sumatra by loggers and gold miners, their populations now facing extinction in the wild. It is such activities thatare fostered by the market for gold. Diamond extraction can destroy wildlife habitat and river bottoms, as well ascausing human rights violations when used as currency by dictatorial governments who torture their citizens. Pearlcultivation damages American aquatic ecosystems. Pieces of mussel shell are inserted into living oysters, whichcauses the oyster to exude pearl material to surround the mussel shell. The mussel shells used for this cultivationcome, for the most part, from the United States. Millions of tons of these shells are dug out of riverbeds, threateningsome species.

As discussed in the Trade chapter and the previous project, millions of wild animals are captured for the pet trade andspecialty collectors in wealthy countries. Parrots, cockatoos, macaws, turtles, tropical fish, snakes, lizards--and evenfrogs--are plucked from their tropical homes to be sold in pet stores. Some species have been driven to the edge ofextinction by the wild pet trade, which also treats these animals inhumanely. The United States bans the import ofmost wild birds, but many species are still permitted under the Wild Bird Conservation Act. Also smuggling, amulti-billion dollar activity, funnels thousands of animals into pet stores where they are represented as legally taken oreven captive-bred. Only 10 percent of shipments entering the United States are inspected for wildlife. For themajority of wild animals in the pet trade, little protection exists. Although the US Endangered Species Act and theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have helped limit trade,strict controls exist for only a small minority of the most endangered species. Since the United States is the world'slargest wildlife importer, the effect on wildlife has been catastrophic.

Lizard, snake and crocodile handbags, shoes and luggage; ivory; feathers and other wildlife products are part of atrade that has endangered hundreds of species. Even if the product was not made from an animal on the USEndangeredSpecies List, it may be threatened by trade or inhumanely captured or killed. At present, for example, the reptileproduct trade is killing millions of snakes and lizards for leather products, causing many species to becomethreatened. Yet almost no controls have been placed on the trade, and what controls there are contain loopholesmaking them ineffective.

Many plants are endangered by harvesting for collectors. Rare cacti, delicate woodland and wetland species such asVenus Flytraps, Yellow Lady Slippers and other orchids, South African protea and a long list of other plants are beingplundered in the wild. Many of these plants cannot be raised in captivity and have been illegally dug up in the wild.

Activitieso Write a report on the effects that American consumers have on old-growth tropical rainforests and their wildlife.

o Ask local stores if they carry shade-grown and organic coffees and, if not, would they stock them? Several grocerystore chains and many health food stores sell these coffees. In restaurants and coffeehouses where coffee is served inlarge quantities, ask them to purchase at least a portion of their coffee as shade-grown, organic. Write theSmithsonian Institution's Ornithology Department for more information on the effect of sun-grown coffee on birds andother wildlife, and write a report on the subject.

o Select one of the jewelry materials mentioned, such as gold. Read the Forests chapter in this book and otherreferences to the mining of gold in South America, Africa and Asia and its effect on the environment and wildlife.Write a short report on the mining operations in a particular country and their effects on wildlife and the environment. If purchasing jewelry, choose artificial diamonds, pearls and gold. These items can hardly be distinguished from thegenuine ones because of advances in simulation technology. Other types of gem and metal mining also damage theenvironment.

o Discuss the general reasons for boycotting wild pets; fur coats; reptile products; feathers; caviar; threatened fish;turtle meat;, Traditional Medicine remedies made from wild animals, such as snakes, bear, seahorses and other

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animals; other wildlife products and rare plants that you have seen in stores. Select one species (or group of species,such as sharks) and write a report on how the trade is threatening it and how to publicize the need to boycott itsproducts.

Books and PublicationsBielski, V. 1996. Shopper, Spare That Tree! Sierra. The Magazine of the Sierra Club, July/August, Vol. 81, No. 4, pages 38-41.Goldberg, C. 1997. Seattle Journal. Songbirds' Plight Starts A Buzz in Coffee Circles. The New York Times, July 27.Hotton, P.C. 2001. House of steel: post, beams, frame, and roof. The Boston Sunday Globe, Jan. 14.Khamsi, R. 2001. Eating Right. Enlightened Indulgence. Organic Chocolate Companies Help Make Calories Count Toward Conservation. E Magazine, July/Aug.Newman, J.A. Ruwindrijarto, D. Currey and Hasporo. 1999. The Final Cut. Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Revkin, A.C. 1997. Taking Lowly Pallets and Finding Treasure. The New York Times, March 5.Revkin, A.C. 2000b. A West African Monkey is Extinct, Scientists Say. The New York Times, Sept. 12.Stevens, W.K. 1997a. Logging Sets Off an Apparent Chimp War. The New York Times, May 13.Wille, C. 1994. The Birds & the Beans. Audubon, Nov.-Dec., Vol. 96, No. 6.

Films"Affluenza." America's materialism affects the world's environment, destroying forests and other environments. Solutions to the out-of-control consumerism are offered in "Escape from Affluenza." "Cultivating Opportunity. Self-Help Solutions to Poverty in the U.S. and Africa" focuses on small-scale farmers forming cooperatives to protect themselves against corporations taking over their land."Mountains of Gold" tells the story of Brazil's gold rush and the thousands of prospectors who pan and dredge gold in the rainforest."Secrets of the Choco" explores the survival of the Choco tribe in Colombia and its rainforest, threatened by highways and non-sustainable development. Six world experts on tropical ecology and sustainable development discuss the region's future."Super-Companies" concerns the operations of multinational corporations in terms of raw materials and how they are affecting the needs of people and the global environment.

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Profile of an Endangered Species

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Project SummarySelect a species threatened with extinction from the lists of endangered species in the Appendix of The EndangeredSpecies Handbook, the 2000 IUCN List of Threatened Species or another list mentioned below. Using the list ofnumbered information below as a guide, list its common name, scientific name and other information in that order. Not all of the questions listed below can be answered from available sources, but give an overview with as muchinformation as possible.

Background Species threatened with extinction may be classified in categories such as Critical, Endangered, Threatened,Vulnerable or Imperiled on various lists such as the US Endangered Species Act, the International Union for theConservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) 2000 Red List of Threatened Species, publications of TheNature Conservancy or other organizations listed in the Organizations list in the Appendix. (For definitions of the USEndangered Species Act and the IUCN categories, see the list of Endangered and Threatened Species of Mammals,Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians in the Appendix.) This project seeks to describe species in decline or those on theverge of extinction. The number of plants and animals in these categories has increased in the past few decades. Ofthe many causes threatening species, the disappearance of wild habitats is the most important overall. But for manyspecies, rampant trade and introductions of non-native species are the primary causes. Pollution, pesticides and othertoxic chemicals, thinning of the ozone layer and other environmental problems play roles as well. For some species,several of these factors contribute to their decline.

The attitudes of people toward the environment and wildlife in areas where these species are found are often ofextreme importance in deciding whether habitats are conserved, laws passed to prevent killing and trade and otherconservation measures taken. In some countries, such as Bhutan in the Himalayas, wildlife is held in high regard, andheavy penalties are exacted for destroying the natural landscape or killing animals. In others, high populationpressures, faltering economies and political chaos result in destruction of forests and wildlife for commercialpurposes, in spite of protective laws and many concerned citizens. In the United States, the US Endangered SpeciesAct is supported by the majority of people, but opposed by a large segment, who see it as politically and economicallyintrusive. Thus, the conservation status of species threatened with extinction is a complicated picture.

Legal protection, if not enforced, can leave the species open to poaching, even in protected reserves. In spite of strictlaws, the Tiger, for example, has been killed in national parks and reserves throughout its range, as a result of highprices paid for its body parts in Traditional Medicine. Thus, a species must receive many types of protection, fromhabitat to hunting and sale restrictions, combined with a strong protective attitude by people living within its rangeand elsewhere. Also, funding for research and habitat protection is a major factor that is often lacking for the lesscharismatic species, such as invertebrates and many plants. The reports generated in this project may consist of only apage or a long report, depending on the wishes of the teacher, student or individual participating in this project.

MethodsAnswering as many of the questions listed below as possible concerning an individual species selected is the purposeof the project. It might be easiest to select a native species of animal or plant on the US Endangered Species Act orlisted by state Natural Heritage Programs for information that is readily available, or a species about which books orreports have been written, such as the Gray Wolf, the Tiger or the Whooping Crane. One can contact the state NaturalHeritage offices in care of each state capital, the US Endangered Species Office in Washington, DC, for federallylisted species or the regional offices of the US Fish and Wildfire Service. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has awebsite as well (see the Organizations list in the Appendix). For information on birds threatened with extinctionworldwide, Threatened Birds of the World, by BirdLife International, published in 2000 by Lynx Edicions, Barcelona,provides status and other background information, illustrations and references on more than 1,000 species of birds. Mammals of the World, by Ronald M. Nowak (1999, Sixth Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press), is anotherreference providing much of the information listed below. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, availablein CD-ROM disk and on the Internet (www.redlist.org), lists animals and plants of the world in various categories ofthreat along with basic background information. It is published by The Red List Programme Officer, 219c

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Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK; e-mail redlist@ssc-uk.org. Additional books and articles can be foundin the Books and Publications Section of the Appendix of this book and in reference lists following each chapter. Within the text of The Endangered Species Handbook are many case histories that might provide backgroundinformation as well. Read Traits of Vulnerable Species in Chapter 2, Vanishing Species, to better understand theimportance of many of the following questions.

ActivitiesAnswer the following questions with the best available information.

Part I. Description and Characteristics of the Species

1. Species common name, scientific name 2. Class and Family 3. Past range: in recent years and historically 4. Present range: country or countries, region or location Does the species have a small breeding range, but a large wintering range? 5. Is the species endemic to a restricted area or region, such as an island? 6. What type of habitat does the species inhabit? (For example, oceans, undammed rivers, lakes, old-growth forests, grasslands, mixed habitat.) 7. What is the approximate size of its territory? For example, Siberian Tigers may require 500 square miles per animal, while a small gazelle might survive in an area of only a few square miles. The territorial needs of a species are crucial to its conservation. 8. Does the species require a specialized habitat or diet? Is it adaptable to a variety of habitats or diets? 9. Does the species show altruism, or the unselfish care for members of its own kind?10. What is the species longevity, if known?11. What is the species rate of reproduction? (How many young or seeds does it produce, at what intervals and what is their survival?)12. What is the species rate of natural mortality? (Does the species have few natural enemies or causes of mortality or do large numbers of the species die each year?)13. Is the species a flightless bird or slow‑moving animal? How does this affect its ability to defend itself against predators--human and animal?14. Is this a large or small animal? The term is relative and denotes size that humans consider large, such as elephants, and other large ungulates, such as antelope, giraffes or rhinoceros, as opposed to small gazelles;

for predators, Tigers are large as compared to Ocelots or Margays.15. Does the species breed in colonies or require large numbers of its own kind for protection, to locate food sources or for other means of survival?

Part B. Status and Conservation

1. Status: What are the threats to this species' survival? (For example, habitat loss, effects of exotic species, trade or other causes.) Describe them in detail. 2. Population numbers, where known, past (historic) and present. (In most cases this would be general information, such as common and widespread

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in the past, and small population numbers at present.) 3. Current situation: Is the species in steep decline, making its status Critical, or in gradual decline, making its status Vulnerable. Is its population stable, but threatened because of very small numbers? 4. If in decline, does the present rate of decline exceed annual recruitment by reproduction? If so, by how much? 5. Legal status: Is the species legally protected from killing, capture, sale and harm in all or a portion of its range? If a species is found in many countries, provide as much information as possible. If protected, is the protection enforced? 6. Status of habitat: Are there reserves or national parks protecting the habitat? Is the habitat being destroyed, or is land use compatible with the needs of the species? 7. What are the attitudes of most people who live in the range of the species toward it? Are they aware of its presence and status? If so, do they support its protection or are they neutral or even negative, persecuting it? 8. Adequacy of existing conservation: What is being done, either by governmental or private conservation organizations or individuals, to help the species survive? Is the present program effective? Is adequate funding available for its protection? What would be needed to better ensure its survival? 9. What are the potential threats to the species, such as future habitat destruction from expanding human settlements and government policies of land development? For example, the wildlife of India will be under increasing pressure as the population increases and wild habitat is destroyed. Government policies, such as resettlement of people or development of grassland or rivers for human use, can present major threats to wildlife. China, for example, is gradually resettling millions of people into the steppe grasslands of its far west who are having a negative effect on native wildlife and the environment. Through data in almanacs on the rate of human population growth, calculate the threat of habitat loss in the future.10. Can you think of something that needs to be done for the species, such as research; publicity in the form of articles or a film about its status; increased commitment from government or organizations to its conservation; or a website on the Internet asking for more information and suggestions? Can you think of a way you or your class could help the species?

BiodiversityProject SummaryBiodiversity is a term used to describe the numbers of species, families and other biological divisions of life forms onEarth. Studies of this subject in various parts of the world will be discussed. Certain regions and countries in theworld harbor very large numbers of plant and animal species, yet these same areas are threatened by habitatdestruction. What is being done to preserve such areas will be explored. The importance of preserving biodiversity to

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human society and environmental balance is a major purpose of the project. A related topic integral to the study ofbiodiversity is the variety of ecosystems and environments that provide habitats for the great diversity of life on Earthand their protection.

BackgroundAs studies of the natural world have blossomed over the past century, scientists have documented Earth's amazingarray of plants and animals, each species interrelated with others in its environment. Although life exists even ininhospitable environments, such as frigid mountain tops and hot springs, certain ecosystems, primarily tropical forestsand coral reefs, harbor the greatest diversity of species. Research on the species of plants and animals in these areas isjust beginning, but remarkable findings have emerged. In a single tree in Peru, for example, Dr. Edward O. Wilson, afamed biodiversity expert and entomologist, found 43 species of ants, a number equal to all the species of ants foundin the British Isles.

Studies of biodiversity have increased in recent years, and one country, Costa Rica, is now carrying out a biologicalinventory of all its species, a massive and important task that may take a century. A study that has gone on since thebuilding of the Panama Canal measures the decline in the number of species living on Barro Colorado Island as thewaters of the Panama Canal rose around it. It has documented the loss of many wide-ranging species as the rangegrew smaller. Such studies add to the understanding of habitat requirements for various species and how the loss ofsome affects ecosystems as a whole. A study in the Brazilian Amazon measured the biodiversity of an extensiverainforest prior to cutting it into parcels of varying size to determine the effects on species (see Lovejoy et al. 1984). As a result of extensive deforestation, especially in tropical countries, many studies of forest fragmentation and itseffects on biological diversity are taking place, finding that losses of even a few species can result in major ecologicaldamage (see Laurance and Bierregaard 1997 and description in the Forests chapter). Biodiversity studies known asRAPs, or Rapid Assessment Programs, last only a few days and seek to identify areas of high diversity that are indanger of being destroyed. "Environmental S.W.A.T Team" is a film about biologists who conduct one of theseRAPS, inventorying a tropical forest for Conservation International, an organization which was able to convince thecountry's government to protect a threatened region based on the results of the study (see Video section).

Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the world's most diverse environments, which once covered millions of square milesalong the southern coast and well inland, has been reduced by 92 percent. Remnants of this forest have been found toharbor the greatest diversity of trees in the world: 476 species in a plot of only 2.5 acres. By contrast, a plot ofsimilar size in a North American temperate forest has fewer than 80 species of trees. This is known as a "hotspot," oran area of great biological diversity. Others include forests in the Andes, Madagascar and Indonesia (see Mittermeieret al. 1999). A vast array of plants and animals can be found in the hot spots, including many extremely unusual andunique examples of evolution that are in imminent danger of extinction. New Caledonia, for example, an island in thesouthwestern Pacific Ocean, is home to a variety of plants and animals of ancient origin. It is a small portion ofGondwana, the southern supercontinent that broke up into pieces some 140 million years ago at the dawn of the age ofbirds. The ancestors of the most primitive avian families originated in Gondwana, and the Kagu, a bird still residenton New Caledonia, is a direct descendant (see Cracraft 2001). Related to cranes, rails and bustards, the elegant, grayKagu is flightless, with a stunning pattern of wing and head crest feathers. It possesses characteristics so unusual thatit has been placed in its own avian family. The Kagu is threatened with extinction along with scores of other ancientspecies on New Caledonia, many of which had survived for millions of years (see Threatened Birds of the World). This hotspot is in grave danger of losing diversity to nickel mining, feral dogs that kill the Kagus and other wildlife,and deforestation.

The huge growth in human population over the past century, now totaling some 6.5 billion, is responsible forcolonization of previously remote wilderness areas and for providing a market for the decimation of ancient forestsand rare wildlife for commercial purposes. Land is being cleared for grazing livestock and farming, while mining,industry, corporate logging and other development are obliterating species throughout the world. Forests have thelargest number of threatened species of any habitat, although the oceans have scarcely been explored for biodiversity. Tropical forests throughout the world harbor about half the world's plants and animals on only 7 percent of the planet's

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land area. Hot spots also exist in temperate regions, such as the Appalachian mountains of the eastern United States,which have more types of salamanders than exist anywhere in the world, now threatened by pollution and logging. Rivers and waterways of the southeastern United States have the greatest number of mussel species in the world, butgovernment dam and water projects have caused hundreds of extinctions. Grasslands, where only a century ago wildantelope, bison and other ungulates roamed in untold millions, have been converted into farms or pastureland forlivestock, the wildlife killed off or driven away. In Earth's history, mass extinctions have occurred on at least fiveoccasions, nearly obliterating the majority of life forms. These were natural events, but the present catastrophicsituation is considered the sixth mass extinction, one that may end in destroying or seriously damaging the remainingrainforests, coral reefs and other precious centers of biodiversity within the next century (see Wilson 1988, Leakeyand Lewin 1995). By some estimates, half of the estimated 5 million animals and plants that now exist, only afraction of which have been scientifically identified, could be gone within a century.

Just as the diversity and ecological roles of species are beginning to be seen as components of an immense andbeautiful living tapestry, the strands of this tapestry are unraveling. The disappearance of even a single species canresult in extinctions of others dependent on it. For example, elephants and hornbills are the primary dispersers ofmany forest plant seeds, upon which a host of animals rely. Both are now in danger of extinction, threatening entireecosystems. Thus, biodiversity is not an abstract concept, but a blueprint of the Earth's life forms. It is vital that itsmany parts be preserved. Once destroyed, many ecosystems, such as old-growth forests and other key environments,may never regenerate. In most such cases, our knowledge of diverse systems is inadequate to gauge just how manyspecies--or which species--could disappear from an ecosystem before it collapses. Nor do we know how much geneticdiversity a species can lose through loss of individuals before it can no longer adapt to changes in its environment.Drastic changes caused by human activities are outpacing research on such situations. The healthy functioning ofecosystems is key to human survival. Although the majority of biologists consider the loss of biodiversity to be thegreatest problem facing humanity, few members of the public are even aware of this critical situation. Ignoring theseexperts' opinions of the precarious status of our planet's health, upon which our lives depend, is the equivalent ofignoring the opinion of a team of eminent doctors recommending urgent action to remedy an emergency medicalcondition.

Steps are being taken to preserve many critically important regions. Through acquisition of habitats andreintroductions of species, entire ecosystems are being saved. In a growing trend, countries are setting aside large newnational parks and reserves. Suriname, for example, has established a national park that encompasses the central coreof the country, covered in virgin rainforest and teeming with wildlife. Bolivia has set aside massive parks in areaswith high biodiversity and unusual types of forests. Brazil, with the help of conservationists from around the world, isnow working to save the last 8 percent of its Atlantic Forest in the southeast. Several countries in southern Africa areestablishing international parks that greatly enlarge protected areas and allow migratory species, such as AfricanElephants and other ungulates, to move freely across borders. Corridors for wildlife to move from one area to anotherare also being established in the Americas. These prevent isolation of small populations of animals that would likelydwindle to extinction. Education is key to the future of preserving biodiversity, which is vital in maintaining theplanet's ecological stability. Studies on this and related subjects are now being taught in an increasing number of highschools and colleges so that future generations will not squander the planet's true wealth, its natural heritage. Appreciation of the sheer beauty of the natural world and its wealth of species is an important facet of this project.

Activitieso Biodiversity study. Organize a group of students or interested persons to conduct biodiversity studies in yourarea. Ecosystems should range from low to high diversity. To study forest diversity, for example, you might select: (1) a small city park; (2) a suburban back yard or tree farm, and 3. a woodland, preferably old-growth. To studyaquatic ecosystems, you might select: (1) a city creek or river; (2) a suburban pond, and (3) a sizeable naturalwetland. The complexity of the project will depend on the experts available for identifying and recording species. The object will be to list as many species as possible from each area and provide a general description of the habitat. If there are rare, threatened or endangered species in any of the areas, these should be described and, if seen, carefully

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noted. Invite employees of the state's Natural Heritage Program to help in selection of sites and, if possible,accompany the group. A biodiversity day in the Boston area attracted many scientists, including botanists,ornithologists, herpetologists and mammalogists, who educated interested members of the public at various sites. Experts in birds do not have to be ornithologists but can be proficient bird-watchers, knowledgeable in bird song aswell as sight identification. If the field trip is taken during bird migration, note which species breed in the area andwhich are migrating through. Mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish (if in an aquatic environment) are less readilyseen, and specialists in the latter animals might demonstrate methods of live-trapping or locating these animals byturning over rocks or netting. The identification of trees and plants, including ferns, mosses and lichens, will providebasic information about the habitat. If experts in some or all of these fields are available, or the team leaders are ableto provide basic information, the group can be divided into subgroups, each of which will choose a type of life form,such as plants, invertebrates, birds or mammals. Once back in the classroom or environmental center, the variousgroups can meet and provide lists of the species they have seen in each area. Any rare, endemic or endangered specieswill be singled out and described in detail. This one-day project will not provide a complete picture of thebiodiversity of an area but can give a general picture that is valuable. The effects that development has on nature andthe need to protect wilderness and natural areas will become apparent through such a study. In general, biologicaldiversity increases the farther one gets from large cities and suburban areas. Keep in mind, however, that someextremely rare species, especially plants and insects, have managed to survive in small pockets of wild habitat inunexpected places. Weedy growth next to railroads, for example, has been found to harbor many rare plants andinsects. Such areas, never cleared for development, have remained natural. Open space, even with low biologicaldiversity, is preferable to asphalt, and students may contribute ideas on making city parks and suburban backyardsmore diverse by planting trees and shrubs and allowing brushy areas to grow. More advanced students can participatein the CD-ROM biodiversity study listed below (see Wilson and Perlman 1999).

o Bird feeding. Another project involves appreciation of biodiversity with the potential for making a contribution toornithology. Backyard bird feeders can provide an eye-opening education in biodiversity that is also extremelyenjoyable. Bird feeders attract many common seed-eating birds. Adding suet and fruit can bring woodpeckers,orioles and other fruit-eating birds. The number of species that come to bird feeders is related to the habitat andsurrounding area. Feeders in remote habitats or located on bird migratory flyways will attract more species than thoseplaced in the city, which are likely to attract pigeons, sparrows and starlings, all European in origin. Sometimes, arare species comes to the bird feeder to feed or is attracted as a predator on the birds. Bird feeders can provideimportant data on bird diversity and population trends. Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology (159 Sapsucker WoodsRoad, Ithaca, NY 14850-1999 (Tel: 607-254-2473) conducts a program that enrolls volunteers to keep track of thebirds that visit their feeders. By providing a wide variety of seed and other food, one can learn much about diets, howthe birds feed, their behavior and plumage changes throughout the year. Books about bird feeding are sold in mostbook stores, and local chapters of the National Audubon Society provide information on feeders and feed. Televisionadvice is given by Don and Lillian Stokes in their PBS series.

o Bird-watching. Bird-watching trips are important in learning about the majority of species that do not come to birdfeeders or live in suburban backyards. Insect-eaters, such as warblers, flycatchers, vireos and other songbirds, can beseen only on migration or in their natural environments. During migration, especially in the spring, the beauty ofthese colorful birds, called "living jewels" by many naturalists, can be appreciated by using binoculars. Excursions tovarious habitats to see birds will also teach the diversity of environments, threats to them, and which types harbor thegreatest diversity of birds. Local bird clubs, National Audubon Society chapters and naturalist clubs are sources ofinformation on the best birding spots and times of year when one is likely to see the greatest number of birds. Manyof these organizations conduct birding trips, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Declines in aviandiversity and in population numbers will become evident after participation in several of these trips. Sources ofinformation on such trends include trip guides who have been conducting tours or breeding bird surveys of the USFish and Wildlife Service or the National Audubon Society over a period of years in the same habitat. Ask them forinformation on species that have declined or disappeared altogether as a result of environmental changes, pollution orother causes. Note the species of birds seen on the trip and find out from the guide or other authority, such as the USFish and Wildlife Service or National Audubon Society, whether these species have declined over recent years. For

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example, shorebirds seen on coastlines or in the Mississippi River region have suffered dramatic losses of up to 90percent in some species over the past 30 years. The causes are diverse, from overfishing of food sources, disturbanceof beach nesting areas, loss of habitat in wintering or nesting grounds to killing on their wintering grounds. On the listof species seen, note population trends and their causes in the area visited.

o Worldwide perspective. Learning about biodiversity from a worldwide perspective is key to understanding thesubject. Dr. Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University coined the word "biodiversity" in the 1988 book of that titlethat he edited. His other book on the subject is also a primary resource. Both give overviews of the world's wealth ofspecies and risks to them. Another important basic reference, Conserving Biological Diversity, by Jeff McNeely andother authors, is a 1990 overview of the problem, with key species and regions described. This leads to Hotspots,written a decade later in 2000 by Dr. R.A. Mittermeier and others. This book identifies hotspots as the world's mostendangered high-biodiversity areas and discusses each in terms of geography; habitat; which species are native,especially those that are found only that in particular area (endemic species); statistical biodiversity for each area;threats to the area; and what is being done to conserve them. Clive Ponting's A Green History of the World helpsexplain why past civilizations have died out as a result of ignorance and overexploitation of their environment and thenative wildlife upon which they depended. Michael J. Novacek of the American Museum of Natural History edited a2001 book, The Biodiversity Crisis. Losing What Counts, a collection of essays by prominent scientists andconservationists who discuss the increasing rate of extinctions and give case history examples of areas at risk andwhat strategies are working to help protect them. The other references listed below provide additional information.

- Write an essay on the problem of the loss of biodiversity, emphasizing the reasons why it is important to the futureof human society, as well as for the sake of conservation. - List ways that consumers in the United States who buy tropical hardwoods and other goods, use large amounts ofnon-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, affect the loss of biodiversity. - Choose a country or area that has high biodiversity, such as Colombia, Madagascar or Indonesia, and describe thegeography, climate, type(s) of biological diversity, threats, unique species of plants and animals, conservationprograms, and whether they are successful. Calculate the losses of species should the present rate of deforestation orother destruction continue, using references such as Hotspots and Threatened Birds of the World.

o Species in danger. Learning about threatened plants, birds, mammals and other species will provide in-depthknowledge of what is at stake. Threatened Birds of the World examines the 1,100 species whose future survival is indanger. This book illustrates each species with range maps, status and other background information. Many of thesebirds are illustrated in The Life of Birds, a book by David Attenborough, and in a 10-hour film series based on it seenon PBS. The Video section describes other films about threatened species. Other threatened animals and plantssurveyed by the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are not described in depth by the International Union forthe Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), which sponsors this list. The IUCN no longer publishes"Red Data Books," which gave background information on each species. The Internet site (www.redlist.org) providessome information, such as distribution and basic status category, but few listings give causes of the status and otherrelated data. Such information gaps are filled in part by publications such as Walker's Mammals of the World, atwo-volume, in-depth examination of mammals by Dr. Ronald Nowak, regularly updated and last issued in 1999. TheIUCN Species Survival Commission sponsors many individual specialist groups that gather information on elephants,rhinos, whales, primates and many other categories. These groups issue newsletters and have websites. (Contact theSSC Red List Programme Officer, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK; e-mail redlist@ssc-uk.org). Select a group of species, such as salamanders, frogs or orchids, and describe their general status. How many speciesare threatened? What are the general causes? What areas of the world do they inhabit? What will be the effect onother animals or plants in their ecosystems should they disappear? What should be done to preserve them?

Books and PublicationsVideo

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Biodiversity: Books and PublicationsAttenborough, David. 1979. Life on Earth. A Natural History. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA, 319 pages.Attenborough, David. 1984. The Living Planet. A Portrait of the Earth. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA, 320 pages.Attenborough, David. 1998. The Life of Birds. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 320 pages. (Extensive discussion of various endangered species, including island endemics.)Ayensu, Edward S., Vernon H. Heywood, Grenville L. Lucas and Robert A. Defilipps. 1984. Our Green and Living World. The Wisdom to Save It. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 255 pages.Baskin, Yvonne. Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment. 1997. The Work of Nature. How Diversity of Life Sustains Us. Island Press, Washington, DC, 282 pages.Birdlife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Bishop, James, Jr. 1995. Mixing Birds and Business. Nature Conservancy (magazine of The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA), Jan./Feb. (ecotourism, local businesses and bird preservation).Cohen, Joel E. 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support? W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 532 pages.Cracraft, Joel. 2001. Gondwana Genesis. Natural History, Dec./Jan., Vol. 110, No. 10, pages 64-73.Daily, Gretchen C. (eds.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC, 412 pages.Darwin, Charles. 1858. The Origin of Species or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Various editions available.Dobson, A.P. 1996. Conservation and Biodiversity. Scientific American Library, New York, 264 pages.Ecotourism Society. Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers. (P.O. Box 755, North Bennington, VT 05257; Tel.: 802-447-2121).Ehrenfeld, D.W. 1972. Conserving Life on Earth. Oxford University Press, New York.Fiedler, Peggy L. and Peter M. Kareiva (eds.). 1997. Conservation Biology For the Coming Decade. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 2nd edition, 533 pages.Gillis, M. 1986. Non-Wood Forest Products in Indonesia. Department of Forestry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.Goddard, Donald (ed.). 1995. Saving Wildlife. A Century of Conservation. The Wildlife Conservation Society. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. and The Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, 286 pages.Grove, Noel. 1992. Preserving Eden. The Nature Conservancy. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York, 176 pages.Gustanski, Julie Ann and Roderick H. Squires. 2000. Protecting the Land. Conservation Easements Past, Present, and Future. Island Press, Washington, DC, 450 pages.Hanson, Jeanne K. and Deane Morrison. 1992. Of Kinkajous, Capybaras, Horned Beetles, Seldangs, and the Oddest and Most Wonderful Mammals, Insects, Birds

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and Plants of Our World. Harper Perennial, Division of Harper Collins, Publisher, New York, 285 pages.Hardin, Garrett. 1993. Living Within Limits. Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos. Oxford University Press, New York, 339 pages.Hoose, P.M. 1981. Building an Ark: Tools for the Preservation of Natural Diversity Through Land Protection. Island Press, Covelo, CA, 212 pages.Howes, Chris. 1997. The Spice of Life. Biodiversity and the Extinction Crisis. Blandford, A Cassell Imprint, London, UK, 192 pages.Huston, M.A. 1994. Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species on Changing Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Karliner, Joshua. 1997. The Corporate Planet. Ecology and Politics in the Age of Globalization. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 298 pages.Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin. 1995. The Sixth Extinction. Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind. Doubleday, New York, 271 pages.Laurance, W.F. and R.O. Bierregaard, Jr. (eds.). 1997. Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Lovejoy, T.E., J.M. Rankin, R.O. Bierregaard, Jr., K.S. Brown, Jr., L.H. Emmons and M.E. Van der Voort. 1984. Ecosystem Decay of Amazon Forest Remnants. In: Extinctions. Ed. by M.H. Nitecki. University Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.McNeely, Jeffrey, Kenton R. Miller, Walter V. Reid, Russell A. Mittermeier, and Timothy B. Werner. 1990. Conserving the World's Biological Diversity. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, World Resources Institute, WWF, Gland, Switzerland.McNeill, J.R. 2000. Something New Under the Sun. An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 421 pages.Meyers, Norman. 1983. A Wealth of Wild Species. Storehouse for Human Welfare. Westview Press, Boulder, CO,272 pages.Miller, K.R. 1980. Planning National Parks for Ecodevelopment. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.Mittermeier, Russell, Norman Myers, Patricio Robles Gil and Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier (eds.). 1999. Hotspots. Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Foreword by Harrison Ford. Cemex, S.A., Mexico City, Conservation International, 431 pages.Munn, Charles A. 1992. Macaw Biology and Ecotourism or "When a Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand." In: New World Parrots in Crisis. Ed. by S.R. Beissinger and N.F.R. Snyder, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, pages 47-72.National Geographic Society. 1989. Nature's Wonderlands. National Parks of the World. Washington, DC, 304 pages.National Geographic Society. 1995. Animal Kingdoms. Wildlife Sanctuaries of the World. Washington, DC, 200 pages.National Geographic Society. 1997. Earth Almanac National Geographic, May.Norris, Ruth. 1994. Paying for Parks--Funding Mechanisms for Protected Areas. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland.Noss, Reed F. and Allen Y. Cooperrider. 1994. Saving Nature's Legacy. Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity. Island Press, Washington, DC, 443 pages.Novacek, Michael J. (ed.). 2001. The Biodiversity Crisis. Losing What Counts.

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An American Museum of Natural History Book, The New Press, New York, 224 pages.Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Ponting, Clive. 1991. A Green History of the World. The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. Penguin Books, New York, 432 pages. (How civilizations have died out after they destroyed their environments.)Peters, C.M., A.H. Gentry and R.O. Mendelsohn. 1989. Economic valuation of an Amazonian rainforest. Nature, 339:655-656.Peters, R.L. and T.E. Lovejoy. 1992. Global Warming and Biological Diversity. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Pickett, Steward, Richard S. Ostfeld, Moshe Shachak and Gene E. Likens (eds.). 1997. The Ecological Basis of Conservation. Heterogeneity, Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 432 pages.Prance, G.T. (ed.). 1982. Biological Diversification in the Tropics. Columbia University Press, New York.Proctor, Michael, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack. 1996. The Natural History of Pollination. Timber Press, Portland, OR, 479 pages.Rich, Bruce. 1994. Mortgaging the Earth. The World Bank, Environmental Impoverishment, and the Crisis of Development. Beacon Press, Boston, MA, 376 pages.Soulé, M.E., and B.A. Wilcox (eds.). 1980. Conservation Biology: An Evolutionary-Ecological Approach. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, 395 pages.Soulé, Michael E. (ed.). 1986. Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.Terborgh, John. 1999. Requiem for Nature. Island Press, Shearwater Books, Washington, DC, 234 pages. (Examines Manu National Park, Peru, and others as examples of the failure of present land protection programs to preserve biodiversity, and proposes alternative solutions.)Turner, B.L. II, William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, John F. Richards, Jessica T. Mathews and William B. Meyer (eds.). 1990. The Earth as Transformed by Human Action. Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 713 pages.Wilson, Edward O. (ed.). 1988. Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 521 pages.Wilson, Edward O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 424 pages.Wilson, Edward O. and Dan L. Perlman. 1999. Conserving Earth's Biodiversity. Island Press, Covelo, CA. (Interactive CD-ROM that teaches conservation biology and environmental science; teachers may view demo at www.Islandpress.org/wilsoncd/ and register for an examination copy.)Wolf, Edward C. 1987. On the Brink of Extinction: Conserving the Diversity of Life. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC.

Biodiversity: Video"Biodiversity: The Variety of Life" explains what biodiversity is and why we should protect it. This film uses maps,

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diagrams and examples to introduce new terms and concepts, including fragmentation, linkage, and viable population,to explain how ecosystems are dynamic and varied. It focuses on the North Cascades ecosystem, but presents generalconcepts.

"State of the Planet" is a 3-hour BBC Bristol film on the biodiversity crisis made for Discovery Communications in2000. It examines the rise in extinctions and endangered species and causes such as "islandization" or isolation ofhabitat surrounded by development; it profiles Hawaii as leading the world in extinct and endangered species, itsbeautiful natural heritage being destroyed by exotic species and disappearance of native forests. The final hour of thisfilm series, "The Future of Life," makes clear that if we do not act soon, great natural treasures will be lost.

"Natural Connections," produced by Howard Rosen for PBS in 2000, is a one-hour examination of the failure of theUnited States and other developed countries to protect nature. It links extravagant and unthinking lifestyles with theloss of biodiversity and proposes changes that will have direct effects in terms of preserving species.

Bats: Ecologically Important MammalsProject Summary Learning about bats and threats to them is the major purpose of this project, as well as understanding the importanceof bats to the environment as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect-eaters. An endangered bat species will be selectedas the subject of a report. Conservation of bats through the protection of their habitats and building of bat houses willbe an important facet of this project.

BackgroundBats comprise almost one-fourth of all mammals--nearly 1,000 species--yet they have not received the attention andcredit they deserve as major insect-controllers and pollinators in ecosystems worldwide. Many species are becomingendangered, and others are declining from destruction of their nesting caves, direct persecution from ignorance,closure of mines which many bats had colonized, and indiscriminate use of pesticides.

Until recently, bats were routinely poisoned by commercial pest control companies in the mistaken idea that all batspose the threat of rabies transmission. Only one-half of 1 percent of bats contract rabies. Over the past 45 years, only20 people in the United States and Canada have contracted the disease from bats, according to Bat ConservationInternational, an organization dedicated to the conservation of bats and education about their ecological roles. Mostproblems involve people carelessly picking up obviously sick bats found out in the open or on the ground in thedaytime. These should always be avoided, according to Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, Founder and Executive Director of BatConservation International. Pest control companies in the United States are now adopting new and more informedpolicies regarding the removal of unwanted bats from buildings. The journal Pest Management, in its May 1992edition, published several articles on how to "bat-proof" buildings without use of lethal means, and the usefulness ofbats in controlling insects.

A single Brown Bat, one of North America's most common species, is capable of capturing 600 mosquitoes in an hour(see Tuttle and Smith referenced below). One colony of 20 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats in central Texas eats aquarter of a million pounds or more of insects each night, according to Bat Conservation International. Repercussionshave occurred when bats have been destroyed. In Israel, a campaign to eradicate fruit bats instead killed almost 90percent of the country's insectivorous bats; moths that were formerly controlled by the bats proliferated and becamemajor agricultural pests (Tuttle and Smith). To control these pests, huge amounts of pesticides were used, furthereliminating natural predators of insects and beneficial insects.

Nectar-feeding and fruit bats pollinate more than 130 genera of plants. The co-evolution of many bats and plants, the

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latter evolving prominent, odoriferous large flowers blooming at night with copious nectar and pollen, and the formerspecialized tongues and muzzles for flower-feeding and acute senses of sight and smell, is a fascinating study initself. The statuesque Century Plant of southwestern deserts has co-evolved with a pollinating bat, and this plantblooms at rare intervals, using nectar to attract its pollinator (see Howell referenced below). Among plants that batspollinate are valuable fruits, nuts and spices: plantain, bananas, breadfruit, mangos, guavas, avocados, almonds,cashews, cloves, vanillin, carob and figs. In Southeast Asia, a bat that pollinates the Durian tree, which produces fruitmarketed for $120 million per year, is being killed for food and its caves quarried for limestone. Few people in theregion are aware of its economic importance and the need to conserve it. Fruit bats throughout the world are killed forfood, and a growing number are becoming endangered.

Many US bats are listed on the US Endangered Species Act as Endangered or Threatened or on the 2000 IUCN RedList of Threatened Species. The Indiana Bat's entire population winters in only a few caves in the United States. Approximately 95 percent of the entire known Gray Bat population hibernates in only nine caves with more than halfin a single cave in northern Alabama. The threatened Rafinesques Big-eared Bat is found only in Indiana, but itreceives no federal protection from the US Endangered Species Act. The Nature Conservancy and many state NaturalHeritage Programs have been instrumental in purchasing numerous caves to protect these species.

The following bats are either listed on the US Endangered Species Act or on the 2000 IUCN Red List of ThreatenedSpecies. Some experts estimate that approximately 40 percent of US bats are declining or already endangered. Manyspecies recognized by mammalogists as threatened or endangered and listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable, a highcategory of risk, have not been listed on the US Endangered Species Act.

Threatened United States Bats(Includes territories)

Key:E = EndangeredNT = Near ThreatenedT = ThreatenedV = VulnerableX = Extinct

For definitions of these categories, see the list of Endangered and Threatened Mammals, Birds, Reptiles andAmphibians in the Appendix of this book.Species Distribution US ESA IUCN Red List

Big Long-nosed BatLeptonycteris nivalis

US, Mexico, Guatemala E E

Brazilian Free-tailed BatTadarida brasiliensis

sw US to S. America NT

California Leaf-nosed BatMacrotus californicus

US, Mexico V

Gray BatMyotis grisecens

c. & se US E E

Hairy-legged Vampire BatDiphylla ecaudata

US, Mexico to Peru NT

Hawaiian Hoary BatLasiurus cinereus semotus

US (Hawaii) E

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Hog-nosed BatChoeronycteris mexicana

US, Mexico, C. America NT

Indiana BatMyotis sodalis

e. & Midwest US E E

Lesser Long-nosed BatLeptonycteris curasoae

US to S. America V

Sanborn'sL.c. yerbabuenae

E

Little Mariana Flying FoxPteropus tokudae

Guam E X

Marianas Flying-foxPteropus mariannus

SW Pacific E

GuamP.m.mariannus

E

Mexican Long-nosed Bat, see Big Long-nosed Bat

Rafinesque's Big-eared BatPlecotus rafinesquii

US (Indiana) V

Townsend's Big-eared BatPlecotus townsendii

US V

OzarkPlecotus townsnedii ingens

E

VirginiaPlecotus townsendii virginia

E

Underwood's Mastiff BatEumops underwoodi

US to Central America NT

In addition, each state Natural Heritage Program has a list of threatened or rare mammals, many of which includebats. The major threats to bats in North America are similar to those in foreign countries. They include the cutting ofold-growth forests that provide habitat, pesticide use, deliberate poisoning and destruction of caves where many batswinter.

Activitieso Find out which bats live in your area. For distribution information, consult guide books such as North AmericanMammals, published by the National Audubon Society. Use reference books such as Bats, by M. Brock Fenton(1992), America's Neighborhood Bats, by Merlin D. Tuttle (1988), and Walker's Mammals of the World, by RonaldNowak. Bat Conservation International has published a beautiful brochure, "Bats: Gentle Friends, Essential Allies,"and a fact sheet, "Important Bat Facts." Different species of bats can occupy the same general area, yet have differentdiets and habitats. How do the bats in your area differ in these ways? What do they eat? Contact the NaturalHeritage Program of your state and ask them if there are important bat habitats, such as caves, that are endangered andhow your class or local organization can help save these habitats.

o Select a threatened species of bat and write a report on its status, life history, threats and what is being done for itsconservation. Consult the references below and your state's Natural Heritage Program.

o Discuss the ecological importance of bats. What fruits and other plants important to humans are pollinated by

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bats? What would be the effect on insect populations if bats disappeared? Bats in Question, by Don E. Wilson, listedbelow, is a very useful book for information on this subject.

o Help dispel the image of bats as dangerous, rabid creatures who should be eliminated. Humane means of keepingbats from entering buildings exist, and local animal control officials and public health officials should be providedwith such information, available from Bat Conservation International. Also, letters to the editor of your localnewspaper can be helpful, especially if an article about rabies or vampire bats has been printed. Point out that bats areextremely beneficial and vital to the survival of many plants.

o Build a bat house as a class project. The instructions for construction and placement are given in "The Bat HouseBuilder's Handbook" from Bat Conservation International and a video that gives instructions and general information. This pattern prevents mortality to bats from improper design, materials and placement. Once constructed, calculatethe number and species of bats that will occupy the house(s) and the number of insects they will consume.

o Bats have many highly unusual characteristics. Many have echo-location sonar far more sensitive than thatdesigned by humans. Others are able to hunt unusual prey, such as fish or frogs. Their abilities are so finelydeveloped that they are only beginning to be understood. They also are intelligent and devoted to one another. Theyare among the few species who aid one another during the birthing process, as "animal midwives." Consult the booksand films listed below and write a paper on a particular trait that you find fascinating.

Books and PublicationsAllen, Glover M. 1962. Bats. Dover Publications, New York.Fenton, M. Brock. 1992. Bats. Facts on File, New York.Fenton, M. Brock. 1998. The Bat. Wings in the Night Sky. Firefly Books, New York.Howell, Donna J. 1976. Plant-loving Bats, Bat-loving Plants. Natural History (magazine of the American Museum of Natural History, New York), Feb.Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World (Volume I), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. (Walker's Bats of the World, another reference by the same author, is derived from the latter volume.)Tuttle, Merlin D. 1988. America's Neighborhood Bats. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.Tuttle, Merlin D. and Eileen C. Smith. 1992. Bats: Nature's Own PCO. Pest Management, May, Vol. 11, No. 5, pages 10-13.Wilson, Don E. 1997. Bats in Question. The Smithsonian Answer Book. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (Source book with questions and answers about bats and superb photography by Merlin D. Tuttle; addresses of organizations concerned with bat conservation are listed at the end of the book along with a list of all bats with their conservation status.)

Films"Korup. An African Rain Forest." A Cameroon forest where bats are seen pollinating flowers at night."The Secret World of Bats." Overall view with the role of bats as pollinators and insect-eaters is stressed, and unusual species, such as fish-eating and threatened fruit bats, are seen."Wet Side Story." Central American rainforest with bats as a focal point. The sensitivity of their sonar is beautifully filmed."Private Life of Plants." Includes pollination by bats of several species of plants and describes how plants and bats co-evolved."Castaways of Sulawesi." An Indonesian island is the scene of cruel capture

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of flying foxes for sale as food by young boys using hooks on kites that entangle them in flight.

The films above are described in detail in the Video section of this book.In addition, other films that focus on bats include "Phantom of the Night" (bats of Central America); "Beneficial Bats"(Wild America series); "Land of the Giant Bats" (Comoros flying foxes); "Life Upside Down" (Quebec Governmentfilm emphasizing Canadian bats and their ecological role); "Night Stalkers" (bats of Belize--National GeographicExplorer TV program).

Slide Show"Bats of America," by Bat Conservation International.

Further InformationBat Conservation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716; website: www.batcom.orgUS Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Endangered Species, Washington, DC 20240State Natural Heritage Programs

Internet: e-mail discussion "Batline"--batline@unmvma.unm.edu

Conserving the Wood ThrushProject SummaryLearn about the life history, distribution, ecology and conservation of the Wood Thrush, a songbird in steep decline. Using written materials and sources listed below, write a report on the threats it faces and what is needed to help itsurvive. For those who live in areas where the Wood Thrush is not native, select another declining songbird andfollow the same suggestions.

BackgroundThe Wood Thrush (Catharus mustelinus) is one of the most melodious songbirds in the world. Its beautiful, flutedsong echoes through eastern North America's woodlands. In the words of Arthur Cleveland Bent, author of a series ofauthoritative life history studies of American birds: "The nature lover who has missed hearing the musical bell-likenotes of the wood thrush, in the quiet woods of early morning or in the twilight, has missed a rare treat. The woodsseem to have been transformed into a cathedral where peace and serenity abide. One's spirit seems truly to have beenlifted by this experience."

The Wood Thrush is also useful to forest ecosystems, consuming vast amounts of insects. Unfortunately, itspopulations have declined in recent years from 40 to 80 percent, depending on the area. Major causes include thedestruction of both its nesting and wintering forests, combined with parasitism on its nests by the Brown-headedCowbird, a bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. These eggs tend to be larger than the eggs laid by theWood Thrush, and the aggressive chicks crowd out the thrush chicks. Wood Thrushes are closely related to thefamiliar American Robin, a common denizen of suburban yards and forests. Unlike the Robin, however, the WoodThrush is not common in suburbs and backyards. Although the species was occasionally seen near homes and villagesin the first half of the 20th century, today it breeds only in undisturbed forest tracts. Its forest habitats have becomefragmented into smaller and smaller blocks, causing the species to disappear from many areas. Wood Thrushes migrate to Mexico and Central America each winter. They seek out old-growth rainforests fromsouthern Mexico through Panama. Within the past 40 years, their forests have been logged and often converted into

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grazing land or agricultural fields. Researchers tracking these birds to their wintering grounds have discovered thatthey stay in the same area, even though it has been destroyed, and usually die within a short period from starvation orpredation. The decline in this species' population was discovered through Breeding Bird Surveys conducted annuallyby the US Department of Interior. The Wood Thrush is close to endangered status, and conservation is critical toprevent its decline to extinction.

Other North American songbirds that migrate to tropical areas have declined as well. These birds, known asneotropical migrants, include tanagers, orioles, warblers, thrushes and vireos. These colorful birds brighten ourforests and orchards, consume harmful insects and play important ecological roles. Almost all are in decline, some farmore precipitously than others.

Activitieso Find out about the Wood Thrush, using the text in this book (see index), sources listed below and those available inyour library and through computer on-line searches.

o Write a report answering as many of these questions as possible: - What does the Wood Thrush look like? - How large is it? - Are males and females different in size or appearance? - What is its diet? - What type of woods does it prefer (for example, dry, old-growth forest or cool, damp forest near streams)? - Does it build its nest on the ground, in bushes, or on tree branches? - How large a territory does it establish? - When does it sing? Describe its song (see reference on obtaining recording). - How long does it live? - What are its breeding and wintering ranges? - How did early naturalists, such as John James Audubon, describe Wood Thrushes in the 19th century? (See Audubon and Coues book below.) - How serious is the threat from Brown-headed Cowbirds who lay their eggs in Wood Thrush nests? (This was noted even in the 1930s by Bent (1964), and later by other authors such as Rappole et al. (1989), and Terborgh (1989.) - How can people contribute to protecting both the breeding and wintering habitat of the Wood Thrush?

o Field study: If you live east of the Mississippi River in the range of this species, visit an area where WoodThrushes live. First, listen to the recording of their songs (see below). Often they are more easily heard than seen. Donot approach a nest or disturb birds by playing recordings of their songs. Photograph the woodland setting where youhear the Wood Thrushes and try to observe them quietly from a distance. Describe what wildflowers, trees and otherbirds you see. If you live outside their range, see films listed below and listen to recordings or select another speciesof thrush or songbird found in your area that is in decline as a result of habitat loss, especially forests. Consult yourlocal Audubon Society, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, your state's Natural Heritage Program or the bird countprograms listed below.

o Conservation project: Find out if there is a woodland near your home where Wood Thrushes breed. The localNational Audubon Society or birding organization can provide this information. If so, is it protected from logging? Can your class or school help in protecting a woodland where they breed?

o Participate in a survey of native birds through programs sponsored by local Audubon or birding organizations. The

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American Birding Association publishes an annual guide, "Volunteer Opportunities for Birders," which lists day-longprograms and more extensive studies. Available for $2 from Volunteer Directory, ABA Sales, P.O. Box 6599,Colorado Springs, CO 80934; 800-634-7736. For further ideas, see Nickens reference below.

o Why are some species rare and others common? Compare the Wood Thrush with the American Robin byanswering the following questions: Does the Robin migrate? If so, where does it migrate? Are there dangers in itswintering ground, such as deforestation? Where does the Robin nest? Is there more habitat for American Robins orfor Wood Thrushes? Explain why. Are there threats to the American Robin?

Books and PublicationsAdams, George. 1994. Birdscaping Your Garden. A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants that Attract Them. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. (On page 87, the Wood Thrush is profiled, providing information about migration, breeding range, nesting, feeding, garden bushes and fruiting plants that it will eat, as well as the woodland habitat it prefers.)Audubon, Maria R. and Elliott Coues. 1986. Audubon and His Journals. Vols. I and II. Dover Publications, New York. (First published in 1897, Audubon's journals were collected by Maria Audubon with notes by the distinguished naturalist Elliott Coues. Wood Thrushes are mentioned many times.)Bent, Arthur C. Life Histories of North American Thrushes, Kinglets, and Their Allies. First published in 1949 and reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 1964, pages 101-122.Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. 1977. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (A photo guide.)Cherry, Lynne. 1997. Flute's Journey. The Life of a Wood Thrush. A Gulliver Green Book. Harcourt Brace and Company, San Diego, CA; New York.DeGraaf, Richard M. and John H. Rappole. 1995. Neotropical Migratory Birds. Natural History, Distribution, and Population Changes. Comstock Press, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (This book has range maps of all North American breeding birds that migrate to Latin America and several pages of discussion of each species.)Farrand, John Jr. (ed.). 1983. The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding. (Has color photo of adult at nest with chicks and a color painting of the juvenile.)Forbush, Edward Howe and John Bichard May. 1959. A Natural History of a Bird of Eastern and Central North America. Bramhall House, New York, pages 377-378.Geffen, Alice M. 1978. A Birdwatcher's Guide to the Eastern United States. Barron's, Woodbury, NY. (This and the Pettingill book below list major parks, refuges and public lands by state; under each is a list of birds to be seen.)Hagan, John M. III and David W. Johnston (eds.). 1992. Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (This book is not indexed. It is a collection of papers from a 1989 symposium, containing much information on the problems of songbirds, including the Wood Thrush, especially an article on destruction of its habitat in Veracruz, Mexico, on pages 337-344.)Harrison, Colin. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. The Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, VT; Lexington, MA. (This book describes the nest and nestlings and gives the nesting dates; a color photo shows the egg.)

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Keast, Allen and Eugene S. Morton (eds.). 1980. Migrant Birds in the Neotropics: Ecology, Behavior, Distribution and Conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. (Papers submitted at a symposium. Many discuss the threats that migrant songbirds, including Wood Thrushes, face on their wintering range. The introduction gives an overview of the songbird decline.)Kricher, John C. 1988. A Field Guide to the Ecology of Eastern Forests. North America. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. (This book contains information on hundreds of species of plants and animals, many of which are illustrated with color photos.)National Audubon Society Nature Guides. North American's Eastern Forests and Wetlands. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Nickens, Eddie. 1997. Beyond the Life List. Wildlife Conservation magazine, July/August. (Wildlife ConservationSociety, Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY 10460.) (This article describes the work of volunteers who participate in surveys, banding, birdfeeder studies and other projects relating to North American songbirds; it provides addresses and phone numbers of various organizations.)Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to the Birds. A Complete Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. (This classic guide has excellent illustrations, breeding range map and descriptions.)Pettingill, Olin Sewall, Jr. 1977. A Guide to Bird Finding East of the Mississippi. Oxford University Press, New York. (Although many of the areas described in this indexed book have changed since it was first written, many are protected sanctuaries, parks and reserves.)Rappole, John H., Eugene S. Morton, Thomas E. Lovejoy III and James L. Ruos. 1983. Nearctic Avian Migrants in the Neotropics. US Fish and Wildlife Service and World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC. (This publication is not indexed, but is a well-organized report on North American songbirds, their ecology and threats. Range maps show breeding range as well as wintering range of all migratory species.)Sibley, David A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (Considered one of most inclusive guides because it includes information on subspecies, varieties and other aspects not covered in most guides.)Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1996. Stokes Field Guide to Birds. Eastern Region. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA. (Color photos.)Terborgh, John. 1989. Where Have All The Birds Gone? Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. (Many mentions in the text, see index; this is a landmark book on the decline in North American songbirds, exploring their problems on both the breeding and wintering grounds)Yoon, C.K. 1994. More Than Decoration, Songbirds Are Essential to Forests' Health. The New York Times, Nov. 8.

Organizations and GovernmentsNational Audubon Society, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. (212-979-3000); or local chapters.Conservation International, 1015 18th St., NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036.Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (Breeding Bird Censuses), 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850-1999 (607-254-2473).

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Institute for Bird Populations, P.O. Box 1346, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956; (415-663-1436).The Nature Conservancy, 1815 North Lynn St., Arlington, VA 22209 (and field offices throughout the country).Natural Heritage Programs in every state in Department of Wildlife or Fish and Game.US Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203.Breeding Bird Survey, Biological Resources Division, US Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Rd., Laurel, MD 20708.Fish and Wildlife Reference Service, 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110, Bethesda, MD 20814 (800-582-3421).

RecordingsThe Peterson Field Guide Series. A Field Guide to Bird Songs of Eastern and Central North America, recorded by theCornell Laboratory of Ornithology. 2nd edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. 1983. Two tape cassettes. (WoodThrush on Side 3, Band 4). Other recordings, such as the Stokes audio guides, are also available.

Films"On a Wing and a Song." This Canadian Broadcasting Company film gives an overview of the songbird decline in Eastern North America, illustrating the vast areas of boreal forest where many of these birds nest in Canada, which has been logged. It addresses the loss of habitat in their tropical wintering grounds; the millions killed by colliding with skyscrapers and antennas during migration; and the parasitism by cowbirds."On a Wing and a Prayer." A similar title to the above film, this film focuses on an Illinois woodland and the decline in songbirds, primarily Wood Thrushes. The parasitism by cowbirds is dramatically shown: Wood Thrush chicks starve to death next to huge, fat cowbird chicks. This film also has a teacher's guide.(See Video section for more detail and distributor list.)

North America in the Year 1400Project Summary and BackgroundNorth America has changed radically since 1400, prior to the arrival of Europeans. It was then a continent withoutroads, skyscrapers, massive farms and other signs of modern life. This project involves research to discover what thecountry looked like at this early date, how areas such as the eastern forests, prairies and western forests have changed,and what species of animals and plants disappeared or became threatened as a result of changes to their environmentor losses in their populations from other causes.

Activitieso Read the section in this book entitled "Epitaphs for North America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter1.

o Using this and other sources mentioned in the reference list and in local libraries, select an area somewhere in NorthAmerica. Some possible choices are the following: Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Chesapeake Bay; eastern old-growth forests; long-grass prairies of the Midwest; short-grass prairies of the West; Sequoia or Redwood forests of

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California; or the Mojave Desert in California. If there are parks in the area you choose, contact the park directors,conservation organizations and museums for natural history information.

- Describe the landscape as it was prior to the arrival of Europeans, without roads, modern buildings or other signs ofthe 20th century. What was the habitat like? Was it forest, mountain, grassland, desert, wetland, river or acombination of these? Were there beautiful vistas or dense woodlands with tangled vegetation? Describe a typicalscene in the area you have chosen. For example, in a short-grass prairie, a herd of American Bison graze while, in thebackground, Pronghorn antelope run in close formation. On a distant hilltop, a pack of Gray Wolves watches thescene while a Grizzly Bear ambles through the low shrubs, looking for ripe berries. Overhead, flocks of WhoopingCranes soar, trumpeting to one another; and near a prairie dog town, grouse display in an open area, issuing boomingcalls.

- What species of mammals live here? If there are herds of deer, what species are they? Are there American Bison,Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep or Pronghorn? What kind of predators prey on these animals?

- Describe what bird species inhabit the area and whether they are abundant or rare. Are there Passenger Pigeons orCarolina Parakeets?

- What other kinds of animals are native? What reptiles, amphibians and fish, for example, inhabit the area? Applythe same questions about life history, habitats, reproduction and feeding.

- How do these animals interact ecologically? For example, if a western short-grass prairie were chosen, the prairiedog colony has abundant wildlife living underground in the burrows, including Black-footed Ferrets, Burrowing Owls,snakes and tortoises. Bison and other grazing animals feed on the grasses above, made greener by the cropping of theprairie dogs. Which species are the predators, and which the prey?

- Is there a tribe of Native Americans who live in this area? What is the name of the tribe? Are they nomadic, orhave they established a permanent settlement? Are they hunters, fishers or farmers? What animals do they hunt orfish, or which crops are grown? What are their beliefs about the natural world and wildlife?

o Based on these descriptions of a past landscape, become acquainted with the present landscape and discuss thefollowing:

- How has the natural environment changed? How does it appear today?

- What species no longer live here? Which ones are extinct altogether? (Check the list of extinct species in theAppendix and publications in the Books and Publications section on extinctions and extinct species accounts.)

- What do you think has been lost that should have been protected?

- Are there parts of this area that have not changed and remain as they were 600 years ago?

- Are there people or organizations working to preserve or restore parts of the original landscape and wildlife? Howcan you participate in this?

Note: This project can be applied to foreign countries or used by teachers outside of North America. As a general rule,it is easier if the area selected is local because information is easier to obtain. As a class project, students might divideinto groups, each selecting a species or group of species, such as mammals. This project may be shortened and partsdeleted if time is limited, concentrating, for example, on a single species of the region or the general changes in thelandscape. It may also be broadened to explore, in detail, the plants and animals of the region by contacting theNatural Heritage Program of your state in the Wildlife Department.

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Sources"Epitaphs for North America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter 1 of this book has extensive referenceslisted. Also the �Grasslands, Shrublands and Deserts,� �Aquatic Ecosystems� and �Forests� chapters providedetails on these ecosystems and changes in them since settlement. See the �Persecution and Hunting� chapter for thetreatment of native predators and the effect of their disappearance on ecological systems.

Books and PublicationsThe following list contains many out-of-print books that may be difficult to obtain, as well as many in-print editions,covering a wide variety of habitats and species of plants and animals. Conduct searches for these and other books inyour library and through the Internet.

Ambrose, Stephen E. 1996. Undaunted Courage. Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, New York.Audubon, Maria R. 1897. Audubon and His Journals. Vols. I and II. Dover Publications, Inc., New York edition, 1994.Beard, Daniel. 1942. Fading Trails. The Story of Endangered American Wildlife. Macmillan Co., New York.Blaugrund, Annette and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. (eds.). 1993. John James Audubon. The Watercolors for the Birds of America. Villard Books, Random House/New York Historical Society, New York.Brower, Kenneth. 1990. Yosemite. An American Treasure. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Chadwick, Douglas. 1990. The Kingdom. Wildlife in North America. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Cokinos, C. 2000. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds. Warner Books, New York.Davidson, Art. 1989. Alakshak. The Great Country. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Devall, Bill (ed.). 1993. Clearcut. The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. Sierra Club Books/Earth Island Press, San Francisco, CA.DiSilvestro, Roger L. 1989. The Endangered Kingdom. The Struggle to Save America's Wildlife. Wiley Science Editions, John Wiley & Son, New York.Douglas, William O. 1968. My Wilderness, The Pacific West. Pyramid Books, Salem, MA.Dunlap, Thomas R. 1988. Saving America's Wildlife. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Feduccia, Alan (ed.). 1985. Catesby's Birds of Colonial America. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC; London, UK.Fisher, Ron. 1984. Our Threatened Inheritance. Natural Treasures of the United States. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Forbush, Edward Howe and John Bichard May. 1959. A Natural History of American Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Bramhall House, New York.Frome, Michael. 1974. Battle for the Wilderness. Praeger Publishers, New York.Fuller, Errol. 2001. Extinct Birds. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.Geist, Valerius. 1996. Buffalo Nation. History and Legend of the North American Bison. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Gleason, Herbert W. 1971. Thoreau's Cape Cod. Barre Publishers, Barre, MA.Goudie, Andrew. 1982. The Human Impact. Man's Role in Environmental Change. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

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Grey Owl (Wa-Sha-Quon-Asin). 1937. Tales of an Empty Cabin. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York.Grove, Noel 1992. Preserving Eden. The Nature Conservancy. Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York.Gunter, A.Y. 1972. The Big Thicket. A Challenge for Conservation. Chatham Press Inc., Riverside, CT.Hanley, Wayne. 1977. Natural History in America. From Mark Catesby to Rachel Carson. Quadrangle/New York Times Books, New York.Hawke, David (ed.). 1970. Captain John Smith's History of Virginia. A Selection. Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.Haynes, Bessie Doak and Edgar Haynes (eds.). 1979. The Grizzly Bear. Portraits from Life. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.Highwater, J. 1995. Native Land. Barnes & Noble, New York.Hornaday, William T. 1913. Our Vanishing Wild Life. New York Zoological Society, New York.Josselyn, John. 1972. New-England Rarities Discovered (reprint of 1672 book), Massachusetts Historical Society.Kopper, Philip. 1991. The Wild Edge. Life and Lore of the Great Atlantic Beaches. 2nd edition. The Globe Pequot Press, Chester, CT.Kricher, John C. 1988. Ecology of Eastern Forests. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Laycock, George. 1990. The Hunters and the Hunted. The Pursuit of Game in America from Indian Times to the Present. An Outdoor Life Book, Meredith Press, New York.Madson, John. 1993. Tallgrass Prairie. A Nature Conservancy Book, Falcon Press, Helena, MT.McMillan, Ian. 1968. Man and the California Condor. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York.Middleton, David. 1992. Ancient Forests. A Celebration of North America's Old-growth Wilderness. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Mowat, Farley. 1986. Sea of Slaughter. Atlantic Monthly Press and Bantam Books, New York.Peck, Robert McCracken. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York. (See Selected Bibliography in this book, page 282.)Ponting, Clive. 1991. A Green History of the World. The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. Penguin Books, New York.Schorger, A.W. 1955. The Passenger Pigeon. Its Natural History and Extinction. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.Seton, Ernest Thompson. 1899. Wild Animals I Have Known. 1966 edition, Grosset & Dunlap, New York.Seton, Ernest Thompson. 1911. The Arctic Prairies. 1981 edition, Harper & Row, New York.Teal, John and Mildred Teal. 1969. Life and Death of the Salt Marsh. Audubon/ Ballantine Book, New York.Thomas, Bill. 1976. The Swamp. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.Thoreau, Henry David. Walden or Life in the Woods (many editions).Van Doren, Mark (ed.). 1955. Travels of William Bartram. Dover Publications, New York.

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ForestsProject SummaryThis project involves learning about the types of forests that grow on Earth and selecting one type of forest to describein detail in terms of the climate, what types of trees grow there and what species of native plants and animals arethreatened. It also involves learning about the ways in which this type of forest is being conserved or destroyed.

BackgroundAs described in the Forests and Madagascar and Other Islands chapters, forests harbor the largest number ofendangered species of all habitats. Uncontrolled logging, especially of old-growth forests, has threatened the survivalof thousands of native plants and animals. Forests are a crucial factor in maintaining the planet's oxygen supply andsupplying moisture to the atmosphere. By absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, forests reduce pollution andglobal warming. Their roots also anchor soils, preventing erosion, and store moisture that gradually seeps into riversand streams so that they flow year-round, even in droughts.

The world land area covered by forests has been retreating for centuries. Although there are still extensive borealforests in northern Canada and Siberia, and tropical forest still covers most of the Amazon, forests are being logged ata fast pace. The increase in human populations has resulted in growing numbers of people cutting forests for firewoodor to clear land for agriculture. In many parts of the world, forests with extraordinary diversity of life have beennearly eliminated or are in the process of being destroyed. Central Africa's ancient rainforests are being logged for thelargest trees, hundreds of years old, and their wildlife, including endangered chimpanzees and Gorillas, is beingslaughtered to sell in bushmeat markets. Tropical rainforests, especially those growing in lowland areas, are the mostthreatened type of forest. These forests harbor the largest diversity of wildlife and plants and are, therefore, most inneed of protection. In the United States, entire forest ecosystems have become endangered, and many species ofnative trees have become threatened, some from diseases of foreign origin, others from logging and development. Examples of threatened forest ecosystems in North America are the native pine forests of the Southeastern UnitedStates, the old-growth temperate rainforests of the Northwest and the old-growth forests of the East.

Many species of trees, including the stately American Elm and the American Chestnut, have been decimated by exoticspecies of fungi. These trees once numbered in the billions. The American Elm has declined and disappeared frommany parts of the East, and the American Chestnut is almost extinct throughout its range in eastern North America. Itonce made up a large portion of the eastern hardwood forests. The wildlife of these forests has lost much of itsdiversity, as the Gray Wolf, Red Wolf, Mountain Lion, and their prey, the Elk, Eastern Bison and, in northern woods,the Caribou were all hunted to the last animal. Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, with their towering AmericanRedwoods and Sequoias, Western Hemlock, Red Cedar and other conifers, have been reduced to about 5 to 10 percentof their original range as a result of logging and development. Their wildlife, likewise, is under siege, and manyspecies, including the Grizzly Bear, Fisher, Lynx, Gray Wolf, Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet, are absentor extremely rare.

Endangered trees and wildlife of temperate forests in South America include the massive Chilean Larch or Alerce,which can grow for 4,000 years and reach sizes almost as great as the Sequoias of California, the world's mostmassive trees. Alerces have been decimated, cut for their valuable wood, along with other trees in theseforests--species which grew on Earth prior to the appearance of dinosaurs. Vast forests of beeches, for example, andprimitive conifers covered millions of square miles in Chile and Argentina, but only a fraction remain, the rest loggedto make way for agriculture and livestock. The wildlife of these forests, from the world's smallest deer, the Pudu, tothe Andean Bear, is threatened. Likewise, the temperate rainforests of New Zealand and eastern Australia have beengreatly reduced, threatening kiwis of several species and other unique wildlife.

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Tropical forests of many types, from lowland rainforests to dry deciduous forests and, in higher elevations, montanecloud forests, grow in a belt around the Earth's tropical latitudes. They teem with millions of species of insects, birds,mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The last 5 percent of Brazil's Atlantic coastal forest harbors South America'sgreatest primate diversity, with species ranging in size from tiny lion marmosets, weighing only a few ounces, to theMuriqui, or Woolly Spider Monkey, the continent's largest primate. All are now threatened with extinction. Madagascar's tropical forests echo with the calls of 33 species of lemurs, charming and fascinating primates that existnowhere else but in these forests that are being cut for farm plots and charcoal. In Amazonian and Indonesianrainforests, literally hundreds of kinds of colorful parrots fly in noisy flocks, each with its own ecological niche offood type and habitat. Almost one-third of all parrots are now threatened.

A large percentage of tropical forests have been destroyed over the past century, with some areas, such as thePhilippines, Thailand, West Africa, Andean countries, the Caribbean and, most recently, parts of Indonesia,experiencing almost total deforestation. The losses here have been dramatic, as Orangutans, Tigers, rare birds and twospecies of primitive rhinos add to these countries' endangered lists. The countries with the largest numbers ofendangered birds, Indonesia and Brazil, have lost, or are in the process of losing, large tracts of tropical rainforest. Entire ecosystems are collapsing in the process. The great variety of fig trees of Southeast Asia depend on hornbills todistribute their seeds, but these birds are fast disappearing. Pollinating species like bats, small primates and birds arealso in sharp decline as the rainforests are destroyed. Many are found only in a limited area, surviving in the remnantsof these forests.

On the positive side, many large preserves have been set aside in South America to protect this diversity, andconservationists are working in other parts of the world to protect parks and help establish new reserves to preventmassive extinctions in these forests. Paper recycling and using substitutes for wood-based products are alsoconserving trees.

Activitieso Examine as many of the books listed below, showing the great beauty and diversity of forests, as possible. Theseinclude Jungles; The Rainforests, A Celebration; The Life and Mysteries of the Jungle; The Living Wild; Hotspots.Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions; North America's Rainforest. TheEndangered Paradise; Living Planet. Preserving Edens of the Earth; Ancient Forests. A Celebration of NorthAmerica's Old-growth Wilderness; and The Enchanted Canopy. A Journey of Discovery to the Last UnexploredFrontier, the Roof of the World's Rainforests. Also, read books on particular forest species, such as butterflies, birds,primates, bats or insects. Many are listed in the Books and Publications section. See films listed below and in theVideo section of this book on forests, particularly threatened ones in Madagascar and other parts of the world, as wellas films of endangered forest wildlife. This introduction is intended to create enthusiasm and curiosity as well as anappreciation of the wealth of plants and animals that are at stake as old-growth forests are destroyed.

o Select a forest from the list below to study its status and threatened trees and wildlife. - United States southeastern Long-leaf Pine forests - North American eastern hardwood forests - North American temperate rainforests - South American temperate rainforests - Brazilian forests of Atlantic coast - New Zealand or Australian temperate rainforests - Madagascar tropical rainforest - Hawaiian tropical rainforest - Mascarene tropical forests - West African tropical rainforests - Andean tropical rainforests and cloud forests - Central American cloud forests

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- Colombian rainforests - Caribbean tropical forests - East African tropical forests - Indonesian rainforests - Philippine rainforests - Indian montane forests of the Ghat region - Himalayan forests - Chinese tropical forests

o Read about this type of forest in The Endangered Species Handbook and in references listed in the Forests chapterand the Books and Publications section. Also consult the Internet.

o Describe the original extent of this forest several hundred years ago, and the present extent. (Collins 1990 andMittermeier 1999a, cited below, are excellent references.) Explain how it has become threatened. For example, someforests have been gradually whittled away by cutting for firewood or land clearance, while others have been cut bycorporate logging companies or government programs to establish large-scale agricultural farms. Still others havebeen officially conserved but, through failures in enforcement or misguided policies, their wildlife and trees have beenlost.

o What species of wildlife and plants or trees have become endangered as a result of the destruction of these forests? Which species are unique to that forest region? Describe them.

o Select an animal or plant species that is threatened with extinction and write a short report about it, using the criteriain the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of butterfly, orchid, ant, bird or mammal, forexample. Write about the species in the context of its forest habitat, whether its habitat is being protected, and otherthreats to it that may include pollution, trade or competition with exotic species. As source material, consult thisbook, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World, and other references cited here or in the Booksand Publications section of this book.

o By consulting books, such as Hotspots and other books listed below, list the threats to the forest you are describingand what is being done to protect the forest and its wildlife.

o Read the Forests chapter for information on the use of plants, such as kenaf, to make paper and building houseswith little or no lumber. Discuss the role these measures could have in conserving forests. Write organizations, suchas Earth Island Institute, for information.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Forests: Books and PublicationsAyensu, Edward S. (ed.). 1980. The Life and Mysteries of the Jungle. Crescent Books, New York.Berra, T. 1998. A Natural History of Australia. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.

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Bielski, V. 1996. Shopper, Spare That Tree! Sierra. The Magazine of the Sierra Club, July/August, Vol. 81, No. 4, pages 38-41.Biondo, B. 1997. In Defense of the Longleaf Pine. Nature Conservancy, Sept.-Oct., Vol. 47, No. 4, pages 10-17.Bohan, V. de, N. Doggart, J. Ryle, S. Trent and J. Williams. 1996. Corporate Power, Corruption & The Destruction of the World's Forests. The Case for A New Global Forest Agreement. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Bowermaster, J. 1995. Take this Park and Love it. The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 3, pages 24-27.Collar, N.J. and S.N. Stuart. 1985. Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands. The ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, Part I. International Council for Bird Preservation and International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Cambridge, UK.Collins, M. (ed.). 1990. The Last Rain Forests. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Collins, M., J.A. Sayer and T.C. Whitmore. 1991. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests. Asia and the Pacific.Simon & Schuster, New York.Currey, D. 1996. The Political Wilderness. India's Tiger Crisis. The Environmental Investigation Agency, London,UK; Washington, DC.Devall, E. (ed.). 1993. Clearcut. The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. Sierra Club Books/Earth Island Press, San Francisco, CA.Dietrich, W. 1992. The Final Forest. The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Simon & Schuster, New York, 303 pages.Dorst, J. 1967. South America and Central America: A Natural History. Random House, Inc., New York.Durrell, L. State of the Ark. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY.Ellis, G. and K. Kane. 1991. North America's Rain Forest. The Endangered Paradise. NorthWord Press, Minocqua, WI.Emmel, Thomas C. 1975. Butterflies. A Borzoi Book. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York.Fragoso, J. and K. Silvius. 1995. Spirits of the Forest. Wildlife Conservation, Nov./Dec., Vol. 98, No. 6.French, H.W. 1996. An African Forest Harbors Vast Wealth and Peril. The New York Times, April 3.Franklin, N., Bastoni Sriyanto, D. Siswomartono, J. Manansang and R. Tilson. 1999. Last of the Indonesian Tigers: a Cause for Optimism. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger conservation in human-dominated landscapes. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Frid, Alejandro. 1997. Apocalypse Cow. Wildlife Conservation, Sept./Oct., Vol. 100, No. 5. (South Andean Huemul.)Galster, S. 1996. Russia's Final Roar. Criminal Threats to the Siberian Tiger and Local Communities: An Inside Look at a New Fight for Survival. Investigative Network, Washington, DC.Geatz, R. 1996. Cut Carbon, Not Forests. Nature Conservancy, Vol. 46, No. 2.Geatz, R. 1999. Great Rivers of Yunnan. Conservation in a Changing World. Nature Conservancy, May/June, Vol. 49, No. 3.Grove, N. 1999. Living Planet. Preserving Edens of the Earth. Crown Publishers, New York.Harcourt, C.S. and J.A. Sayer (eds.). 1996. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests. The Americas. International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

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Simon & Schuster, New York.Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, UK.Ji, Zhao (ed.). 1990. The Natural History of China. McGraw‑Hill Publishing Co., New York.Kennedy, M. (ed.). 1990. Australia's Endangered Species. The Extinction Dilemma. Prentice Hall Press, New York.Kingdon, J. 1989. Island Africa. The Evolution of Africa's Rare Animals and Plants. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdom Field Guide to African Animals. Natural World Series, Academic Press, New York.Laman, T. 1997. Borneo's Strangler Fig Trees. National Geographic, April, Vol. 191, No. 4, pages 38-55.Lanting, Frans. 2000. Jungles. Ed. by Christine Eckstrom. Terra Editions. Taschen, Koln, London, UK.MacKinnon, J. 1996. Wild China. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Malcolm, B. and N. Malcolm. 1989. The Forest Carpet. New Zealand's Little- Noticed Forest Plants--Mosses, Lichens, Liverworts, Hornwortsk, Fork- ferns and Lycopods. Craig Potton, Nelson, New Zealand.Martin, C. 1991. The Rainforests of West Africa. Ecology--Threats-- Conservation. Birkauser Verlag, Basel, Switzerland. (Translated from German.)Matthiessen, P. 2000. Tigers in the Snow. North Point Press, a Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.McFarlane, R.W. 1992. A Stillness in the Pines. The Ecology of the Red- cockaded Woodpecker. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.McNeely, J.A., K.R. Miller, W.V. Reid, R.A. Mittermeier and T.B. Werner. 1990. Conserving the World's Biological Diversity. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Bank, World Resources Institute, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund.Middleton, D. 1992. Ancient Forests. A Celebration of North America's Old- Growth Wilderness. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Mitchell, A.W. 1986. The Enchanted Canopy. A Journey of Discovery to the Last Unexplored Frontier, the Roof of the World's Rainforests. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York.Mittermeier, R.A., N. Myers, P.R. Gil, C.G. Mittermeier. 1999a. Hotspots. Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Cemex, S.A., Mexico City; Conservation International, Washington, DC.Mittermeier, R.A., A.B. Rylands and W.R. Konstant. 1999b. Primates of the World: an Introduction. In: Walker's Mammals of the World, by R. Nowak, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Moffet, M.W. 1997. Tree Giants of North America. National Geographic, Jan., Vol. 191, No. 1.Mydans, S. 1996a. Resettled Indonesians Find Hard Life. The New York Times, Aug. 25.Nash, N.C. 1994. Vast Areas of Rain Forest Are Being Destroyed in Chile. The New York Times, May 31.NGS (National Geographic Society). 1993. Saving the Big Trees--a League of Their Own. National Geographic, Nov.Nature Conservancy, The. 2000. International Conservation Program: Greater

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China. Nature Conservancy, July/August, page 34.Newman, J.A. Ruwindrijarto, D. Currey and Hasporo. 1999. The Final Cut. Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Newman, J., D. Currey and S. Lawson. 2000. Illegal Logging in Tanjung Puting National Park. An Update on The Final Cut Report. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.The New York Times. 1997. Asia's Forest Disaster, Sept. 27 (editorial).Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Nyhus, P., Sumianto and R. Tilson. 1999. The Tiger-human dimension in southeast Sumatra. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in human- dominated landscapes. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Oates, J.F. 1999. Myth and Reality in the Rain Forest. How Conservation Strategies are Failing in West Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.O'Neill, T. 1996. Irian Jaya. Indonesia's Wild Side. National Geographic, Feb.Parfit, M. 2000. Australia. A Harsh Awakening. National Geographic, July.Paul, S.M. 1998. After the Blaze. Animals, Sept./Oct. (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.)Peck, R.M. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York.Peters, R.L. and T.E. Lovejoy. 1990. Terrestrial Fauna. In: The Earth as Transformed by Human Action. Ed. by B.L. Turner II et al. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Preston-Mafham, K. 1991. Madagascar. A Natural History. Facts On File, New York.Russell, C. 1994. Spirit Bear. Encounters with the White Bear of the Western Rainforest. Key Porter Books, Toronto, Canada.Schafer, K. and M. Hill. 1993. The Logger and the Tiger. Wildlife Conservation, May/June, Vol. 96, No. 3, pages 22‑29.Schaller, G.B. 1993. The Last Panda. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Silcock, Lisa (ed.). 1992. The Rainforests. A Celebration. Foreword by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. The Living Earth Foundation. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.Strier, K.B. 1992. Faces in the Forest. The Endangered Muriqui Monkeys of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York.Whitten, T. and J. Whitten. 1992. Wild Indonesia. The Wildlife and scenery of the Indonesian archipelago. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Wilford, J.N. 1994. Australians Find Trees of Dinosaur Vintage. The New York Times. Dec. 15.Wolfe, Art. 2000. The Living Wild. Ed. by Michelle A. Gilders, with essays by William Conway, Richard Dawkins, Jane Goodall, John C. Sawhill and George B. Schaller. Wildlands Press, Art Wolfe, Inc.Yates, S. 1992. The Nature of Borneo. Facts On File, New York.

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Forests: FilmsThe films below are reviewed in the Video section, which gives information on their distributors and more detail ontheir content. Also, films on individual forest species, such as Tigers, are reviewed, along with additional films onmany of the subjects and regions above.

General films on rainforests: "Rain Forest" and "Exploring the High Frontier," both by National Geographic Society.Temperate rainforests in US: "Ancient Forests,� �Last Stands of the Giants"Temperate pine forest of US southeast: "Remnants of a Forest"US National Forests: "Our Vanishing Forests"Regional: "Amazonia: A Burning Question;" "The Decade of Destruction" (Amazon rainforest); "Korup--An African Rain Forest" (Cameroon); "Spirits of the Forest" (Madagascar); "Forest Primeval" (Part 3 of "Heart of Africa") (Democratic Republic of the Congo & area); "Animalai, India's Elephant Mountain" about the Indian Ghats; "Monkeys on the Edge" (Brazil's Atlantic forest); "Song of Protest," "Land of the Kiwi," and "Mountains of Water" (New Zealand).

GrasslandsProject SummaryThe purpose of this project is to learn about the wild grasslands of the world, their wildlife and threats to them. Oneparticular region will be selected and its original extent, wildlife, and present status will be described. The ways inwhich this grassland is being conserved or destroyed will be a major focus.

BackgroundJust a century ago, grasslands covered much of central North America, from southern Canada through Texas tonorthern Mexico, and from west of the Rockies east to Midwestern and northeastern states. Tall-grass prairie, withgrasses up to 12 feet in height, grew from Ohio west to the Mississippi River area. This savannah grassland hadgroves of oak and other trees. It had extremely rich soil and was plowed by American settlers into farmland. Today,less than 1 percent of the original extent remains, making it an extremely endangered natural ecosystem. West of thetall-grass prairies, a mixture of tallgrass and short-grass prairies existed, and further west, short-grass dominated. Theshort-grass and mixed prairies have also been plowed for crops, but some sizeable areas remain, primarily kept aspasture for cows. These grasslands have been greatly altered, leaving few examples of the original ecosystems. Vastherds of American Bison once grazed throughout these grasslands, with prairie dog towns covering millions of acresin the short-grass prairies.

The savannahs of East Africa, grazed by a great diversity of hoofed animals, represent a classic example of grasslandsthat are still in natural, intact condition. Although under stress from growing human populations, large reserves andnational parks protect much of this region. By contrast, the dryer grasslands of southern Africa have been severelydamaged by the introduction of large numbers of domestic cattle and the fencing off of wildlife from waterholes andprime grasslands to prevent the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease to cattle. This has resulted in a large decline inoverall numbers of both herbivores and carnivores. This is a repetition of the overuse of the Sahara and Sahel regions

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to the north, centuries before, by great herds of domestic camels and sheep, turning grasslands into sandy desert. Ethiopia, Somalia and countries to the north and east of the Serengeti in East Africa's horn were once covered in lushgrasslands. Wildlife species found only in this region became threatened when Europeans introduced livestock, whichinfected wild ungulates with rinderpest and other diseases, causing massive mortalities.

In vast steppes that once stretched from the Black Sea to western China, livestock now far outnumber nativeungulates, such as the Saiga antelope, a species that once thundered in herds of millions. Overgrazing and plowing ofthis dry land for crops has further degraded it, causing massive dust storms, similar to those that resulted from plowingthe American prairie in the 20th century. South America has extensive grasslands in Venezuela and south-centralBrazil, many of which become wetlands during rainy seasons. In Argentina and Chile's Patagonian grasslands, rheas,deer, Guanacos and other wildlife once abounded. After centuries of overgrazing by sheep and cattle, this wildlife hasdeclined greatly, and the grasslands are turning to desert. Australia's grasslands have also been converted to use bylivestock, displacing the varied marsupials and rodents that once thrived here.

Preservation of grasslands and their wildlife is now taking place in many parts of the world, including the UnitedStates, southern Africa and Australia. Reserves of remnant grasslands, with their great diversity of wildflowers,grasses and other plants, are being set aside and native wildlife reintroduced. This trend may spread to parts of Asiaas well, but the pressures of human populations requiring farmland and grazing for livestock may prevent restorationin most areas.

Activitieso Read "Epitaph for America's Lost Species and Environments" in Chapter 1 to learn about the travels of Lewis andClark through these prairies early in the 19th century, followed by the extermination of the great herds of bison, deerand Pronghorn. Read the Grasslands, Shrublands and Deserts chapter with references cited for more information onNorth American and other grasslands around the world and their endangered species. Write a short paper describingthe changes in grasslands in North America since colonial times and the effects on wildlife.

o Select a grassland from the following list to study its wildlife and present status:

- North America's Tallgrass Prairie - North America's Short-grass Prairie - Central Asia's Steppes - Australia's Grasslands and Drylands - Saharan and Sahel Drylands - East Africa's Serengeti - Southern Africa's Grasslands - Horn of Africa's Grasslands - South America's Pampas - South America's Patagonia

* What species of wildlife, plants or trees have become endangered as a result of the destruction of this region'sgrasslands or affected by related activities, such as grazing and meat hunting, by herdspeople? Which species areunique to that grassland region? Describe them.

* Select an animal or plant species native to this region that is threatened with extinction, and write a short reportabout it, using the criteria in the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of wildflower, tortoise,butterfly, bird or mammal, for example. Write about the species in the context of its grassland habitat, whether itshabitat is being protected, and other threats to it that may include pollution, trade or competition with exotic species. As source material, consult this book, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World, and otherreferences cited here or in the Books and Publications section of this book.

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* By consulting books such as those listed below, describe the threats to the particular grassland or dryland you haveselected, and discuss what is being done to protect the natural habitat and its wildlife?

o Use this project as a model to study the status of shrublands and deserts, as described in the Grasslands, Shrublandsand Desert chapter of this book, with the emphasis on desertification of drylands into desert through grazing,firewood gathering and other activities. See the reference list of the latter chapter for further reading.

o If you live within the range of these habitats, participate in a project to restore native plants to a grassland. Grassland birds have undergone drastic declines in the past decade, mainly through loss of habitat. Identify thegrassland birds in your area and help in a project to obtain habitat for them, improve existing habitat or grow seeds ofnative plants for planting. Several source books supply information on mail-order nurseries that sell native plants andseeds. Noah's Garden has chapters entitled, "In Respect of Grass" and "To Plant A Prairie," which give very specificinformation about these habitats. The National Wildflower Research Center (2600 FM 973 North, Austin, TX 78725)supplies native plant bibliographies for each region and lists native plant associations. A book written by Lady BirdJohnson, who founded this center, and Carlton B. Lees, Wildflowers Across America, is a dazzling showcase of nativewildflowers as well as an excellent source of information on these ecosystems. If you live near a shrubland or desert,plant native flowers and plants in your garden instead of grass to restore the ecosystem and conserve water. See thelist of books below for instructions on planting desert and dryland gardens.

o If you live in an area where grasslands are mowed for hay, begin a public relations campaign to convince farmers towait until after bird nesting season is over to mow. This would be in late July or August for most species of grasslandbirds. Consult reference books to determine the nesting times of grassland birds in your area. Such measures wouldbe of great help to certain birds that have lost most of their natural grassland habitat. Make up posters that illustrateone or more of the following birds, and text describing their decline and need for undisturbed nesting habitat. In theEast, the Bobolink, Grasshopper and Henslow's Sparrows and Bluebird, among others, will benefit. In the West,various species of Lesser and Greater Prairie Chicken, Sage Grouse and other bird species mentioned in theGrasslands, Shrublands and Deserts chapter are among these. Ask farmers and landowners to help preserve thesebirds and other wildlife by mowing practices. Have signs made that landowners could post on their property saying,for example, "Grassland Birds Protected Here." Publicize the campaign through letters to the local newspapers andspeeches at local organizational meetings.

o Construct nesting boxes for Bluebirds and Purple Martins to be donated to landowners in grassland with scatteredtrees or bordered by woods. Instructions on how to make and maintain Bluebird houses can be obtained from theNorth America Bluebird Society, P.O. Box 6295, Silver Spring, MD 20906. The Complete Birdhouse Book, by Donand Lillian Stokes, also gives instructions on building and upkeep for both the Bluebird and Purple Martin houses.Films made by Don and Lillian Stokes include advice on planting for birds by species, such as hummingbirds andgrassland birds; advice on how to construct, place and maintain bird nesting boxes is also given (CPTV Offer, P.O.Box 82, Hopkinton, MA 01748). The placement and maintenance of bird nest boxes should be long-term so that theymay provide permanent nesting homes. It is important to keep records on the occupancy and breeding success of eachbox.

o Help native butterflies by planting wildflowers of species that are needed for their life cycle. The MonarchButterfly, for example, requires Milkweed plants for feeding and laying its eggs. Learn about the species of butterfliesand other pollinating insects in grasslands in your area, especially those in decline. For species listed on the USEndangered Species Act, all conservation projects should be coordinated with the US Fish and Wildlife Service andyour state Natural Heritage Program (affiliated with the Department of Game or Wildlife in each state). Roadsidesnext to highways or in median strips and along country roads or railroads provide important habitat for butterflies,especially in areas where grasslands are disappearing. Contact your state and local transportation departments toobtain permission to plant wildflowers in these areas. The North American Butterfly Association (909 Birch St.,Baraboo, WI 53913) provides information about helping butterfly habitat and butterfly watching, a new andfascinating activity for which there are guide books. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future, by

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Phil Schappert, is a primary source of information about butterfly life histories, habitats, conservation and threats. Italso contains beautiful photography of hundreds of butterfly species worldwide. More information can be obtainedfrom Dr. Schappert via the Internet: www.aworldforbutterflies.com. Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic inYour Garden, published by the Sierra Club, was compiled by the Xerces Society, a conservation organization fornative American butterflies, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution. Be careful not to use commercialwildflower seed mixes that include species not native to your area or even to the United States. Certain exoticwildflowers, such as Purple Loosestrife, a European plant, are spreading in the United States, drying up marshes andcrowding out native wildflowers.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Grasslands: Books and PublicationsAjilvsgi, Geyata. 1984. Wildflowers of Texas. Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, TX.Art, Henry W. 1990. The Wildflower Gardener's Guide: California, Desert Southwest. Storey Communications, Inc., Pownal, VT.Brown, L. 1985. Grasslands. National Audubon Society Nature Guides, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Craighead, John J., Frank C. Craighead Jr. and Ray J. Davis. 1963. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Dannen, Kent and Donna. 1981. Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Tundra Publications, Estes Park, CO.Dodge, Natt N. 1985. Flowers of the Southwest Deserts. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, Tucson, AZ.Emmel, Thomas C. 1975. Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Feltwell, John. 1992. Butterflies of North America. Smithmark Publications, Inc., New York.Hook, Patrick. 1999. The World of Butterflies. A Fully Illustrated Guide to These Delicate Jewels of Nature. Gramercy Books, New York.Knopf, Jim. 1991. The Xeriscape Flower Gardener. Johnson Books, Boulder, CO.Johnson, Lady Bird and Carlton Lees. 1993. Wildflowers Across America. Abbeyville Press, New York.Madson, J. 1993. Tallgrass Prairie. Nature Conservancy. Falcon Press, Helena, MT.Martin, Laura C. 1986. The Wildflower Meadow Book. East Woods Press, Charlotte, NC.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. A Guide for Nature- Lovers. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.National Wildflower Research Center. 1989. Wildflower Handbook. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX.New England Wildflower Society. Nursery Sources: Native Plants and Wildflowers. (Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701).Niehaus, Theodore F. 1984. A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas

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Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Niering, William A. and Nancy C. Olmstead. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Nokes, Jill. 1986. How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, TX.Phillips, Harry R. 1985. Growing and Propagating Wildflowers. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.Pyle, Robert M. 1994. National Audubon Society Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Schappert, Phil. 2000. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.Scott, James A. 1992. The Butterflies of North America. A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, New York.Spellenberg, Richard. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Sperka, Marie. 1984. Growing Wildflowers: A Gardener's Guide. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stein, Sara. 1997. Planting Noah's Garden; Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1985. A Guide to Enjoying Wildflowers. Little, Brown & Co., New York.Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1993. The Wildflower Books. From the Rockies West and East of the Rockies. An Easy Guide to Growing Wildflowers. Little Brown and Co., New York. (Companies that sell wildflower seeds are listed.)Stokes, Donald and Lillian. The Hummingbird Book

The Complete Birdhouse Book The Bluebird Book The Bird Feeder Book.

Little Brown & Co., New York.

Grasslands: FilmsAll films mentioned below are reviewed in the Video section.

"Crane River" is a celebration of the huge flocks of Sandhill Cranes that migrate across North American prairies."Durrell in Russia" is a 12-part series which includes films on the Saiga, European Bison and grasslands of Russia."Emas. High Plain of Brazil" centers on this large grassland, surrounded almost entirely by agriculture that serves as an island for Brazil's unique grassland animals, including the Giant Anteater and Maned Wolf."Grasslands," a Canadian Broadcasting Company documentary, describes the biodiversity and ecology of North American grasslands and their destruction."Land of the Eagle," a series, concerns North America as it was prior to settlement by Europeans, with segments on the prairies and their wildlife.

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"Mysterious Black-footed Ferret" focuses on this extraordinary and highly endangered prairie native, filming its graceful, sinuous movements and rapid leaps while hunting prairie dogs. "Nature of Australia" explores the natural history of the continent in six parts, from its grasslands to drylands, how native wildlife has been affected and what ecological harm has been done by humans."The Saiga of Kazakhstan" chronicles the decline in the herds that numbered more than 1 million animals as a result of hunting, fencing off of grasslands and loss of habitat. They have disappeared from the center of their original range in Central Asia."Sea of Grass" (segment of "The Living Planet") is one of the parts to this BBC series that describes the evolution of various ecosystems of the Earth."The Tiny Carnivores" introduces one to Australia's small marsupials, many of which are nocturnal and endangered, driven from their habitats in grassland, savannah and desert by human activity."Vanishing Prairie," a Disney classic, shows the inside of a prairie dog burrow and the wildlife that teems in this habitat."Varmints" documents the decline of prairie dogs in the American West through systematic poisoning programs by federal, state and local authorities, placing them in endangered status, and explains their important role in prairie ecosystems."Wildebeest Race for Life" follows the trail of 1 million of these odd- looking ungulates as they migrate in a large circle around the Serengeti.

Aquatic EcosystemsProject SummaryAquatic ecosystems are the most varied of all ecosystems, ranging from freshwater ponds to rivers, lakes, saltmarshes,coasts, mangroves and coral reefs to open ocean. Although a single type of ecosystem will be chosen for the project,it is hoped that the reports will be presented to the class to acquaint students with the characteristics of as many ofthese habitats as possible. The project will consist of selecting a particular type of aquatic ecosystem that isthreatened in a geographical area listed below. This ecosystem, the threats to it--whether through pollution, damming,diversion or other activity--will be described, including its wildlife. Also certain aquatic species that are in sharpdecline will be among the subjects listed for special attention. The ways in which this aquatic ecosystem, species orgroup of species is being conserved or destroyed will be a major focus.

Background

The aquatic ecosystems of the world have never been more stressed and degraded. The rise in human population tomore than 6 billion people by the end of the 20th century placed strains of overuse and pollution on the limitedsupplies of fresh water, leaving billions of people without adequate clean water supplies and creating rising tensionsover water rights. In these conflicts, wildlife pays a high price, losing pristine habitat and becoming contaminatedwith toxic chemicals and oil spills that are killing wildlife around the world. Dams have endangered numerous fish byimpeding their migrations, and developing countries have been damming their rivers at an increasing rate. Rivers thatflowed swiftly become still ponds after damming, an alteration to which many fish cannot adjust. Many of these fishare also declining as a result of the introduction of non-native fish, which are out-competing them. The Nile Perchwas introduced as a food fish in Lake Victoria, and it has virtually eliminated hundreds of species of native cichlidfish, colorful and ancient species. The Colorado River of the US west has many dams on it, which have totally altered

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the river's flow patterns and temperature, endangering many fish that had evolved in the swift-flowing, silt-ladenwater. The most dramatic example of a dam endangering a wide variety of plants and animals, and dislocating 1million people, is the Three Gorges Dam being built on the Yangtze River of China. It will almost certainly result inthe extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin, a very ancient freshwater species, the Yangtze Sturgeon and numerousplants that will be inundated by the waters. Although far upstream, it will also have the effect of drying up wetlandsdownriver and at the delta. With inadequate provision for sewage treatment for the millions of people and industryliving alongside the new lake formed by the dam, the Yangtze is expected to become extremely polluted. Large damsinundate vast areas, displacing thousands of people from their homes and drowning rare trees, plants and wildlife.

Diversion of rivers for agriculture or water supply has left many riverbeds and deltas dry, causing entire ecosystems tocollapse. An increasing problem with rising temperatures has been violent storms which cause severe flooding ofrivers, made worse by the deforestation that robs hillsides and riverbanks of protective trees that absorb rainfallthroughout the year and hold the soil in place. Lakes and spring ponds that dry up in the summer are also being filledin by developers and government projects, eliminating habitat for myriad aquatic creatures, from frogs andsalamanders to turtles and water birds.

Overfishing, pollution and destruction of ocean environments have reached crisis proportions, with 70 percent of allfish caught commercially in depleted status or worse, including some of the most ecologically importantspecies--sharks, tuna and others at the top of their food chain. Toxic chemical pollution has increased, especially incolder waters, where whales and other cetaceans are dying from massive build-ups of chemicals such as PCBs(Polychlorinated Biphenyls), pesticides, heavy metals and other toxins. Along the pristine coast of Washington state,Killer Whales are dying from these toxic chemicals, as are white Beluga Whales in the St. Lawrence River. A SpermWhale that died recently of toxic chemicals had to be disposed of as highly toxic waste. Other waste in the oceans iskilling wildlife. Abandoned driftnets drown thousands of birds, seals, sea lions and sharks, and fishing line entanglesendangered Northern Right Whales and other wildlife, drowning them. Plastic sheeting, balloons, plastic fromsix-packs and other trash are killing seabirds, such as the long-lived and declining albatross, which unknowingly feedthis trash to their chicks, killing them, or swallow the items themselves, later dying of blocked intestines. Collisionswith ships and motor boats are causing large numbers of deaths in Florida Manatees and whales.

Coral reefs, the most beautiful and biologically diverse ocean ecosystems, are dying from many threats. Dynamiteand cyanide used to kill and capture fish destroy the entire reef. Overfishing, pollution and silt that washes off nearbylands from agriculture and development can combine to kill a reef. Global warming causes coral bleaching that isaffecting a growing number of reefs. More than one-third of all coral reefs are now dead or dying.

Wetlands have declined in the United States by 50 percent. This has resulted in more destructive floods and losses infisheries production. Wetlands filter pollutants, and their reduction has lowered water quality. Elsewhere in theworld, similar declines have taken place. Both fresh and saltwater marshes provide important benefits in cleaningwater through a natural filtration system. In fact, the worldwide value of this benefit to the Earth and human societyhas been calculated at $1.7 trillion. Marshes also provide important flood controls by absorbing large amounts ofwater from nearby sources or rainfall, as well as a multi-billion dollar benefit of serving as nurseries for fish, shellfishand other wildlife. Traditionally, however, they are filled in for development, airports, seaports and other commercialuses which are considered to be far more beneficial to society. It is important to reexamine such an approach,especially in view of the tremendous costs of flooding in human lives and property and the decline in fish andshellfish harvests.

An atmospheric phenomenon caused, apparently, by CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, chemicals used in refrigerationand for other industrial purposes, is thinning the ozone layer, a protective shield that filters the sun's raysbefore they strike Earth. Large holes have developed over the Poles, especially the South Pole, allowing hugeamounts of ultraviolet rays from the sun to enter the atmosphere, causing many cases of skin cancer in humans andhaving unforeseen effects on animals with sensitive skin like frogs and salamanders. Frog species are disappearing ata catastrophic rate, especially those that lay their eggs in the open, exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Frogs are

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also suffering grotesque birth defects, which may be caused by pesticides or virus outbreaks. Frogs� decline may be awarning sign that serious problems exist in the aquatic ecosystems of the world that will soon begin to affect humanbeings.

Activitieso Read the Aquatic Ecosystems chapter, which describes many of these problems in detail and parts of the worldwhere large numbers of animals and plants are endangered. The references cited will provide more information.

o Select a species of wildlife or plant that has become endangered as a result of the destruction of aquatic ecosystemsor related activities. Describe its status, threats to its habitat and what--if anything--is being done to prevent itsextinction.

o Select an aquatic area from the following list to study its wildlife and present status:

- United States� Colorado River - Florida's Everglades swamp - Rivers and wetlands of the US East and Southeast - Russia's Lake Baikal - Central Asia's Aral Sea - East Africa's Lake Victoria - Southern Africa's Okavango Delta - Brazil's Pantanal wetlands - Amazon River and its dams - China's Yangtze River - Australia's Great Barrier Reef - Mississippi River Delta and adjacent waters

All are described in the Aquatic Ecosystems chapter. See also Video and Books and Publications sections.

o The following wildlife has become endangered as a result of the destruction of these aquatic ecosystems or relatedactivities. Select one and discuss threats, species involved and conservation programs:

- albatross and other large seabirds - frogs - whales and dolphins - sharks - sea turtles - penguins

o Select an aquatic animal or plant species that is threatened with extinction and write a short report about it, usingthe criteria in the project, "Profile of an Endangered Species." It can be a type of fish, frog, turtle, aquatic insect (suchas a dragonfly), bird or mammal, for example. Write about the species in the context of its aquatic habitat, whether itshabitat is being protected, and other threats to it, which may include pollution, trade or competition with exoticspecies. As source material, consult this book, Threatened Birds of the World, Walker's Mammals of the World andother references cited here or in the Books and Publications section of this book.

o Make comparisons between natural means of flood control, including marshes, beaver ponds and heavily forestedstream and riversides, and artificial means, such as levees, dikes and canals. Water, A Natural History, listed below,is helpful in pointing out the differences. Compare the cost and success of natural means of controlling pollution,such as sewage through marshes that filter waste, and artificial means through sewage plants. Individual homes in

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suburban and rural areas use septic tanks and cesspools to store sewage. In times of heavy rain, however, they oftenoverflow into rivers, as do urban sewage plants. In many parts of the world, no sewage treatment exists, causingrivers and waterways near cities to become severely polluted. Some cities in California and elsewhere haveconstructed artificial marshes to filter sewage water, creating, in the process, wildlife havens. New types of toilets,known as compost toilets, are another less-polluting innovation. Read Chapter 9, "Aqueducts and Toilet Bowls" inWater, A Natural History, and write a short report on improvements needed in the present systems.

o Grassroots organizations throughout the world have been successful in restoring rivers and other aquaticecosystems. Using a book, such as How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action, select a river, wetland, pond(including beaver ponds), lake or vernal pool (temporary wetland that dries up in the summer) to help preserve orclean up from pollution. Small projects can be of importance in conservation. For example, some high school classesin the Midwest sampled a nearby marsh for the types of frogs found there and discovered that the majority weredeformed, having five or more legs, misplaced eyes or other grotesque malformations. The situation was givenpublicity, and research began on the causes. Pesticide contamination was considered the most likely cause, sincewater from the marsh used to grow frogs in captivity produced similar deformities. One organization, The RiverlandsConservancy, has helped purchase river habitat in Oregon, Missouri and Washington totaling 17,174 acres since1993. Measuring pollution in local waterways is an excellent class project that can lead to environmental action onthe part of state or federal authorities. Save Our Streams program, run by The River Network, headquartered inPortland, Oregon, and its sister organization, The River Clearinghouse, provide information to activists throughout thecountry on an 800 "hot line," using a database of volunteer experts who provide advice. The River Watch Networkhas been instrumental in helping communities monitor water quality in order to restore and protect rivers. (See Howto Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action for more information and other organizations, which includeAmerican Rivers, the International Rivers Network and Riverkeepers, working to preserve aquatic ecosystems.) Using these examples, propose a class project to help conserve a local aquatic ecosystem.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Aquatic Ecosystems: Books and PublicationsBolling, David M. 1994. How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action. Island Press, Washington, DC.Barlow, M. 1999. Blue Gold. The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World's Water Supply. International Forum on Globalization, San Francisco, CA.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.Blakeslee, S. 1997. New Culprit in Deaths of Frogs. The New York Times. Sept. 16.Blaustein, A.R. 1994. Amphibians in a Bad Light. Natural History, Oct.Bolling, D.M. 1994. How to Save a River. A Handbook for Citizen Action. Island Press, Washington, DC.Browne, M. 1996. Dams for Water Supply Are Altering Earth's Orbit, Expert Says. The New York Times, March 3.Bryce, R. 1995. Aid Canceled for Gold Project in Indonesia. The New York Times (International Business), Nov. 2.

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Carson, Rachel. 1955. The Edge of the Sea. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Carter, J. 1997. Crown Jewel of the Caribbean. Wildlife Conservation. July/ August, pages 36-41, 64.Chadwick, D.H. 1999. Coral in Peril. National Geographic, Jan., Vol. 195, No. 1, pages 30-37.Clancy, P. 1997. Feeling the Pinch. The Troubled Plight of America's Crayfish. Nature Conservancy, May/June, Vol. 47, No. 3, pages 10-15.Colborn, T., D. Dumanoski and J.P. Myers. 1996. Our Stolen Future. Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story. A Dutton Book, New York.Collins, M. (ed.). 1990. The Last Rain Forests. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 1995b. Freshwater Mussels Facing Mass Extinction. The New York Times, Oct. 3, pages C1, C7.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 1996a. Clinton Backing Vast Effort to Restore Florida Swamps. The New York Times, Feb. 18, pages 1, 26.Daily, G. (ed.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC.Douglas, M.S. 1947. The Everglades: River of Grass (reprinted in 1992, Mockingbird Books, CA).Dugan, P. (ed.). 1993. Wetlands in Danger. A World Conservation Atlas. Oxford University Press, New York.Dugger, C.W. 2000. Opponents of India Dam Project Bemoan Green Light from Court. The New York Times, Oct. 20.Earle, S.A. 1995. Sea Change. A Message of the Oceans. Fawcett Columbine, New York.Eckholm, E. 2000. China Plans to Divert Rivers to Thirsty North. The New York Times, Oct. 17.Eckstrom, C.K. 1996. Pantanal. A Wilderness of Water. Audubon, April, Vol. 98, No. 2, pages 54-67.Hedges, C. 1993. In a Remote Southern Marsh, Iraq is Strangling the Shiites. The New York Times, Nov. 16, pages A1, A10.Hilts, P.J. 2000. Dioxin in Arctic Circle is Traced to Sources Far to the South. The New York Times, Oct. 17.Lanz, K. 1995. The Greenpeace Book of Water. Sterling Publishing Company, New York.Lewis, P. 1993. U.N. Finds Baghdad is Gaining in South. Iraqi Marshland is Drained for a Military Campaign. The New York Times, Nov. 24.Lewis, P. 1996. U.N. Report Warns of Problems Over Dwindling Water Supplies. The New York Times, Jan. 20.MacInnis, J. (ed.). 1999. Saving the Oceans. Key Porter Books Ltd., Toronto, Canada.Mason, C.E. and S.M. Macdonald. 1986. Otters: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Maxwell, G. 1961. Ring of Bright Water. E.P. Dutton, New York.McCollum, C. 1990. Save the Otters! Wildlife Conservation, Vol. 93, No. 2.Mostert, N. 1974. Supership. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Mydans, S. 1996. Thai Shrimp Farmers Facing Ecologists' Fury. The New York Times, April 28.Mydans, S. 1997. In Indonesia, Where There's Gold, There's Squalor. The New York Times, Dec. 25.NG (National Geographic). 1999. Polar Bear Cubs Deformed by Toxins? Earth

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Almanac, Jan.NG (National Geographic). 2000. Contaminated: PCBs Plague British Columbia's Killer Whales. Earth Almanac. May.NGS (National Geographic Society). 1995. Whales Dolphins and Porpoises. (J.D. Darling, C.F. Nicklin, K.S. Norris, H. Whitehead and B. Wursig, authors). Washington, DC.Neves, R. 1996. Rescuing Ohio River Mussels. Endangered Species Bulletin, March/April, Vol. 21, No. 2, pages 16-17.Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.O'Neill, T. 1996. Irian Jaya. Indonesia's Wild Side. National Geographic, Feb.Outwater, Alice. 1996. Water. A Natural History. Basic Books, New York.Phillips, K. 1994. Tracking the Vanishing Frogs. An Ecological Mystery. St. Martin's Press, New York.Postel, S. 1997. Last Oasis. Facing Water Scarcity. Worldwatch Environmental Alert Series. W.W. Norton, New York.Reisner, Marc. 1986. Cadillac Desert. The American West and its Disappearing Water. Penguin Books, New York.Reynolds, J.E. III and D.K. Odell. 1991. Manatees and Dugongs. Facts On File, New York.Rezendes, P. 1996. Wetlands. The Web of Life. A Sierra Club Book, San Francisco, CA.Safina, C. 1997. Song for the Blue Ocean. Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas. Henry Holt & Co., New York.Schreiber, R.L., A.W. Diamond, R.T. Peterson and W. Cronkite. 1989. Save the Birds. A Pro Natur Book. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA. Senner, S.E. 1989. Exxon Valdez: A Major Disaster for Birds. World Birdwatch, July-September, Vol. 11, No. 3, page 1.Simon, N. 1995. Nature in Danger. Threatened Habitats and Species. Oxford University Press, New York.Stein, B.A., L.S. Kutner and J.S. Adams (eds.). 2000. Precious Heritage. The Status of Biodiversity in the United States. The Nature Conservancy and the Association for Biodiversity Information. Oxford University Press, New York.Stevens, W.K. 1997. How Much Is Nature Worth? For You, $33 Trillion. The New York Times. May 20.Tyler, P.E. 1996. Cracks Show Early in China's Big Dam Project. The New York Times, Jan. 15.Wells, S. and N. Hanna. 1992. The Greenpeace Book of Coral Reefs. Sterling Publishing Co., New York.Wheelwright, J. 1994. Degrees of Disaster. Prince William Sound: How Nature Reels and Rebounds. Simon and Schuster, New York.Yoffe, E. 1992. Silence of the Frogs. The New York Times Magazine, Dec. 13.

Aquatic Ecosystems: FilmsAll films mentioned below are reviewed in the Video section.

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General: "Acid Rain. Clouds with a Sulphur Lining" discusses the severe problem of acidification of rainwater causedby air pollution and its effect on forests and other environments. "Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster" is anexamination of the 1989 oil spill in Alaska from many aspects. "Pollution: World at Risk" is a general look at varioustypes of pollution and toxic chemicals and their environmental effects. "Vanishing Wetlands," produced by theCanadian Broadcasting Company, explains the ecological benefits of wetlands and threats to them. "The Wasting of aWetland" focuses on the Everglades but describes the abuse of wetlands as it affects wildlife.

Ocean environments: "Cities of Coral"; "Coral Reefs. Rainforests of the Sea"; and "Jewels of the Caribbean Sea" allcenter on coral reefs. They show the great beauty and diversity as well as the threats to them. "Creatures of theMangroves" and "Margins of the Land" (segment of "The Living Planet") treat the shoreline areas, and "Messagesfrom the Birds" concerns the decline in shorebirds in North America. "The Open Ocean" (segment in "The LivingPlanet") explores the evolution of this habitat on Earth. "The Mirage of the Sea" discusses the overfishing andexploitation based on the assumption that there would always be plenty of fish. "Blue Whale: Largest Animal onEarth" is the first film to follow these giants in the ocean. "Desert Whales" are the Gray Whales that winter off BajaCalifornia, Mexico. "The Forgotten Mermaids" is a film about Florida Manatees. "Sperm Whales: The Real MobyDick" gives glimpses into these deep-diving whales and discusses the fact that they have not recovered from whaling,with large males still very rare. "Colony Z" is about the very rare Yellow-eyed Penguin of the New Zealand region. "Whales Down Under" focuses on a population of newly discovered Southern Right Whales east of New Zealand,following them for a long period.

Freshwater environments: "Sweet Fresh Water" (segment in "The Living Planet") is an in-depth look at the planet'slimited supply of water and the creatures who inhabit these environments. "Giant Otters" follows a boisterous groupof these largest of otters in South America, discussing the causes for their decline. "Journey to Save a Crane"describes a project of the International Crane Foundation to preserve the endangered Siberian Crane through delicatenegotiations with Chinese and Russian authorities. "White Water, Blue Duck" is a film about this threatened NewZealand duck and its remarkable adaptation to a very swift-flowing river. "Jewel of the Rift" (segment in "Heart ofAfrica" series) concerns Lake Victoria, its geology and the amazing, colorful fish native to it, which are now beingeliminated by the Nile Perch. "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari" explores this huge wetland, second largest in Africa,set in the middle of a desert. "Amazon. Land of the Flooded Forest" illustrates how the flooding of the Amazon Rivereach year nourishes a diverse ecosystem of fish, freshwater dolphins, fruits and trees. "Journey to the Sacred Sea"travels to Lake Baikal, where the unique fish and seals inhabit an extremely ancient and deep lake threatened bypollution. "Cadillac Desert" is an expose of the diversion of lakes and rivers to supply Los Angeles with its watersupply at the expense of wildlife and the environment. "Prairie Waters" visits the potholes of Midwestern NorthAmerica, temporary ponds and lakes that provide breeding habitat for millions of ducks and other birds each spring,yet are routinely filled in by farmers. "The Wild Colorado" is a thorough look at the geology and ecology of theColorado River and the effect of dams on its wildlife and ecology.

TradeProject SummaryTo better understand the international wildlife trade in live animals and animal products, focus will be placed on oneor more major categories of the trade. The major categories are: whaling, fur, reptile skins, Traditional Medicineproducts, fisheries, wild pets (including cage birds, lizards, turtles, snakes and frogs). Selection by a student of aspecies, group of species or general subject under one of these categories allows an overview that can be thorough andinvolve much research, or result in a short report. A classroom project could involve a subject such as TraditionalMedicine, in which groups of students would select individual species or groups of species, such as rhinos (killed fortheir horns), Tigers (killed for every part of their bodies), seahorses, snakes, turtles, monkeys and other primates andsharks. The reports would be presented together.

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BackgroundTrade in live animals, plants and the products made from them has caused extinctions and has pushed many to theedge of extinction. At least 15 percent of highly threatened mammals and birds have declined as a result of trade,according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (see Hilton-Taylor2000). Internationally, billions of dollars are earned legally and illegally, and each year, more species becomeexploited. The trade is second only to the international drug trade in overall profits, worth an estimated $3 billion ayear in protected live animals and animal products. As soon as one species becomes rare from exploitation andreceives protection, the trade switches to a similar one, pushing it into threatened status. Much of this trade is forluxury products or to supply collectors and the wealthy who wish to own rare birds and other wildlife; wear the furs ofendangered species, such as Snow Leopards or Cheetahs; purchase purses or clothes made from rare snakes or otherreptiles; or consume luxury foods, such as endangered fish, whale and even Tiger meat. The wool of the TibetanAntelope, the Chiru, ivory from elephants, the caviar of the endangered Beluga Sturgeon, rhinoceros horn and liveSpix's Macaws, captured for collectors of rare animals, are worth far more than gold. The Traditional Medicine tradedeals in a wide variety of animal products and plants and is a major factor pushing the Tiger, rhinoceros, seahorsesand a host of other species toward extinction. For the majority of species exploited for this trade, substitutes exist orthe products are not effective remedies. Ecological systems worldwide are being disrupted with the removal ofpredators and other keystone species, causing a loss of biodiversity.

This trade is taking place in spite of the landmark Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora (CITES), enacted in the 1970s and now ratified by a majority of the countries in the world. It placesanimals at greatest risk of extinction on Appendix I, which prohibits commercial trade, and threatened species onAppendix II, which limits or controls trade on a species-by-species basis. CITES bans trade in species listed on eitherAppendix if the trade will be detrimental to the species' wild populations. In practice, many species that arethreatened with extinction and listed on CITES Appendices are traded illegally or in countries which lack nationallegislation restricting wildlife trade. Although endangered spotted cat fur coats are no longer seen in New York Cityclothing stores, the fur trade continues to use the skins of rare cats and other wildlife, which are openly sold in manycountries around the world. Enforcement funding is inadequate in the majority of countries, even the United States,where only 10 percent of shipments are inspected. Moreover, certain products, such as powdered rhino horn or Tigerbones, can be easily secreted in packaging while in transit. CITES has been an important deterrent to trade inendangered species, however, providing many threatened animals and plants with needed protection. Also, a growingnumber of countries have strict legislation prohibiting trade in protected species, including exports.

The methods used to capture and kill animals for the wildlife trade are often cruel in the extreme. Steel-jaw legholdtraps and wire neck snares that cause great pain and injury produce pelts for the fur and bushmeat trades. Whales diefrom exploding harpoons thrust into their heads and bodies. Frightened live animals are crowded into cramped, dirtycages and transported to pet shops and laboratories, suffering high mortality along the way. Man's inhumanity toanimals reaches an extreme in the wild animal trade.

Activitieso Read the Trade chapter in this book and other sources referenced.

o Select a subject among the following wildlife and plant trades for further study: - fur trade - whaling and sale of whale meat - sea turtles--trade in eggs, meat, shell and stuffed curios - fine wools--Shahtoosh from Tibetan Antelope and Vicuña - bushmeat from endangered gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, turtles and other wildlife of Africa and Southeast Asia - fisheries products--sharks for their fins and meat and caviar,

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for example - reptile products for luggage, handbags and other luxury goods - wild bird pets - reptile pets, such as lizards, snakes and turtles - fish for aquariums - butterflies for collectors - plants, such as orchids and cacti, for collectors

After reading about these trades in this book and other sources, write a report that discusses the following aspects: - How many animals or plants are estimated taken per year for this trade? - What species are they? What is their status in the wild? - Where are the animals and animal products sold? Are they killed or collected in one country where they are protected and then sold in another? - What controls exist to protect threatened and endangered species traded? Are they listed on CITES or the US Endangered Species List? Are they protected in their country of origin with high penalties for illegal take or killing, or are the penalties so low that there is an incentive to capture the species illegally? In India, for example, wildlife smugglers and killers of Tigers and other protected wildlife almost never receive jail sentences or large fines, while in China, the death penalty can result from killing a Giant Panda. - What profits can be earned from sale of these animals or animal products? Find out the prices of expensive goods, such as Beluga or other Russian caviar, Shahtoosh and other items. - What are the potential ecological effects of the disappearance of these animals? African and Asian Elephants are keystone species, distributing tree seeds, creating water holes and forest openings that benefit their ecosystems. Their disappearance from many areas has already had ecological effects. Find other examples, such as Tigers, which are at the top of their food chain; monkeys and other primates who pollinate flowers or distribute seeds; birds caught for zoos and collectors, such as hornbills, who distribute fig seeds; or animals that are important food items for wildlife.

o Traditional Medicine trade--a group project. Based on the information in the Trade chapter and the references below, divide the class into groups and have each group select from the various species used in this trade, such as Tigers and other wild cats, rhinoceros, monkeys, seahorses, musk and other types of deer, snakes, pangolins, bears of all species and rare plants. The information for each group to gather is the following:

- What is the extent of this trade? Are animals and plants being collected throughout the world to supply the trade? - What percentage is sold in China, other parts of Asia or in Asian pharmacies in other parts of the world? - What prices are obtained for these animals at the level of the captor, the local markets, exporter, importer and retail sales?

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What effect is this having on the species? Will it become extinct if the trade continues at its present level? - Is the trade legal in the animal's country of origin? Is the species listed on CITES or banned from importation or exportation? Is the species openly sold in some markets? Where and when? - Are there education programs that are trying to stop the killing, marketing and purchase of these species or the over-harvesting of rare plants? What governments or organizations are trying to help these species through protection of habitat, bans on commerce or enactment of strong legislation to protect them?

o Enforcement of existing legislation is crucial to protecting threatened and endangered animals and plants. What state and federal laws ban the sale, killing and purchase of endangered species? How is evidence gathered for wildlife crime cases? How does CITES work?

o Visit stores that sell animal products and live animals. - Fur and department stores with furs: List the kinds of animals used to make the garments being sold. It is required by US law that the species of animal and country of origin be listed on the label. List the ranched animals, such as mink and chinchilla, and wild-trapped ones, such as lynx, beaver and raccoon. Write down the number of coats and other garments of each type of animal, the date, the store and its address. Neither ranched nor wild animals are humanely treated prior to their deaths. Learn about the methods of killing of wild animals (types of traps, number of animals killed per country and US state) and the numbers and species of animals farmed. Contact the Animal Welfare Institute, the Humane Society of the United States and PETA for films that show the cruelty of trapping. Farmed animals are kept in tiny cages, where they become neurotic, and killing methods are unregulated.

- Visit department and shoe stores to determine whether reptile products are being sold. This trade kills millions of animals and threatens many species, as well as causing rats and other rodents they prey on to increase to pest proportions when too many snakes and other reptile predators are killed. List the species from which the item is made, if possible. Laws regarding labeling of reptile products are less strict than those regarding furs, and some do not list the species. If possible, determine if any endangered species are sold and how many items are being sold in your area.

- Visit pet stores to inventory reptile pets, such as iguanas, lizards, snakes and turtles. Find out how many are wild-caught, what species and whether threatened. Also visit pet stores to inventory their cage birds. Ask if the birds were taken from the wild or are captive-bred. In the United States, wild-caught parrot imports are allowed only for a few breeders, and parrots in pet stores should be captive-bred. Ask if the birds were bred in captivity. Many finches and other birds are also banned from importation. Obtain a copy of the Wild Bird Conservation Act and see if any of the species listed as �banned� are being sold. If so, tell the store owner and report this to the US Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Division. Contact the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

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for films that show the capture of wild birds in Senegal and Argentina and the cruelty involved in the cage bird trade. If any pet store is selling primates, find out the species. It may be endangered, as in the case of a Diana Monkey sold in a Long Island pet store a few years ago. Primates do not make good pets and should not be purchased. Many organizations receive unwanted primate pets to care for, after they have bitten their owners. Ask your local pet store to avoid sale of live animals. This is a trend in many pet stores that now sell only pet food, leashes, books and other non- living items. Patronize such stores. Contact your local humane society to learn of rejected wild pets and the difficulty in finding homes for them and recount these examples in a letter to your local newspaper, asking people not to buy wild-caught animals of any type.

o Attitudes are crucial to the protection of native wildlife by the people living within their habitat. Killing of animals for food and sale as pets has increased in recent years as international trade provides worldwide markets. It has become all the more important for wildlife to be valued and protected by people living in their range. Effective education is a key. A program in Saint Lucia, an island in the West Indies, is run by Paul Butler, working for the organization RARE. He has taught pride and appreciation of native wildlife and convinced the people living on the island to protect their native parrot, a species in high demand among collectors and numbering only a few hundred in the wild, as well as their forests and other wildlife (see reference below). The smuggling of the St. Lucia Parrot has virtually stopped as a result, and its forest is now protected as the habitat for this national bird. In the rainforests of the Congo, a Gorilla family being studied by a primatologist was filmed. In order to acquaint local people with these animals, the film was shown to them. They had considered these apes to be fierce, dangerous animals, worthy of being killed for the bushmeat market. When they saw the tender affection among family members and the playfulness of the young Gorillas, they were pleased and surprised, saying "They are like us!" They had the forest declared a protected reserve and now teach their children to protect these Gorillas. (This was filmed by Moses Films and shown on National Geographic Explorer, entitled "Living with Gorillas" in 2000.) Write a report about the need for similar programs and find out about others being conducted to educate people about their wildlife. Think of species that would benefit from such programs, and write a short summary of an education program you think would be effective for an individual species or group of species. For example, turtles are being heavily exploited for meat and the pet trade throughout the world, endangering many species. If they were better appreciated in their native lands, especially Southeast Asia, where tradition and folklore hold them in high esteem, their future might be brighter. Design a poster and educational brochure about Asian turtles that could be distributed in Viet Nam, Laos, China and other countries where turtles are being captured in enormous numbers.

o While great profits can be derived from the sale of wildlife, even greater ones can come from tourism. Elephants killed for their ivory bring the hunter a one-time profit of several thousand dollars, but tourism centered

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around elephants can benefit local people throughout the long life of the elephant, a life of some 60 years, totaling $100,000 or more. The capture of rare parrots, likewise, is far less profitable than ecotourism, which is worth 100 times or more the value of their sale in the pet trade. Whale meat is far less valuable than live whales that are whale watched. Whale watching now earns $1 billion per year worldwide from the 9 million people who take part in excursions in almost 90 countries, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Think of other examples of non- lethal or non-invasive programs that benefit wildlife and ones that might be started to provide local people with income without harming wildlife. Another form of non-lethal business concerning wildlife involves the placement of videocameras in wild habitats, connected with the Internet. Internet users pay a small fee to see live views of the animal or scene, or to access the website for more films and information. South Africa's national parks are profiting from such a system, and the potential is great for other such videocamera placements. Videocameras can be solar- powered, as engineered by Daniel Zatz in Alaska, who has placed these cameras near bear feeding areas, with the images sent to a museum in Washington state (seemorebears.com). They also have the advantage of not injuring or invading the habitat of shy species which might be disturbed by large numbers of tourists. Think of species that might benefit from videocameras in their habitats. Examples might be wild parrots at their nests or Tigers filmed in national parks along trails.

Books and PublicationsFilms

Trade: Books and PublicationsAWI (Animal Welfare Institute). Secret Slaughter of Blue Whales Exposed; Validity of Whaling Data; Russian Pirate Whaling. AWI Quarterly, Winter 1994, Vol. 43, No. 1; Whales: Two Steps Forward and One Step Back at IWC. AWI Quarterly, Spring 1994, Vol. 43, No. 2; A History of Lawlessness--Can Whalers Ever be Trusted? AWI Quarterly, Spring 1995, Vol. 44, No. 2. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Butler, P.J. 1992. Parrots, Pressures, People, and Pride. In: New World Parrots in Crisis. Solutions from Conservation Biology. Ed. by S.R. Beissinger and N.F.R. Snyder. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Carr, A. 1973. So Excellent a Fishe. A Natural History of Sea Turtles. Anchor Books, New York.Chadwick, D. 2001. Pursuing the Minke. The most abundant baleen whale is still a mystery to science and a target for whalers. National Geographic, April, Vol. 199, No. 4.Chan, S., A. Ishihara, D.J. Lu, M. Phipps and J.A. Mills. 1995a. Observations

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on the Whale Meat Trade in East Asia. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 3.Chan, S., A.V. Madsimuk and L.V. Zhirnov. 1995b. From Steppe to Store: The Trade in Saiga Antelope Horn. Compiled by S.V. Nash, TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.Chivers, C.J. 2000. Eve's Revenge, The Python's Sorrow. The snakeskin business is booming, but what it means for the snake is unclear. The New York Times, June 18.Cunningham, C. and J. Berger. 1997. Horn of Darkness. Rhinos on the Edge. Oxford University Press, New York.Currey, D. 1996. The Political Wilderness. India's Tiger Crisis. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Cushman, J.H., Jr. 2001. Whale Watching Grows into a $1 Billion Industry. The New York Times, Sept. 9.DeSalle, R. and V.J. Birstein. 1996. PCR Identification of Black Caviar. (Scientific Correspondence) Nature, May 16, Vol. 381(6579), pages 197-198.Duc, L.D. and S. Broad. 1995. Exploitation of Hawksbill Turtles in Vietnam. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 2, pages 77-82.Ellis, R. 1991. Men and Whales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Ernst, C.H. and R.W. Barbour. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Galster, S. and R. Chen. 1994. Investigation Uncovers Japanese Whale Meat Smuggling Operation. AWI Quarterly, Spring 1994, Vol. 43, No. 2.Galster, S.R., S.F. LaBudde and C. Stark. 1994. Crime Against Nature. Organized Crime and the Illegal Wildlife Trade. Endangered Species Project, San Francisco, CA (Fort Mason Center, E-205, San Francisco, CA 94123).Galster, S.R. and K.V. Eliot. 1999. Roaring back: anti-poaching strategies for the Russian Far East and the comeback of the Amur Tiger. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson.Highley, K. and S.C. Highley. 1994. Bear Farming and Trade in China and Taiwan. Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC.Hill, G. 1994. Observations of Wildlife Trade in Mergui Tavoy District, Kawthoolei. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 14, No 3, pages 107-110.Hilton-Taylor, C. 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.Howell, S.N.G. and S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Cambridge, UK.Knights, P. 1996. From Forest to Pharmacy. The Global Underground Trade in Bear Parts. The Investigative Network and The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC.Koshkarev, E. 1994. Snow Leopard Poaching in Central Asia. Cat News (IUCN Cat Specialist Group), Autumn, No. 21, page 18.Kristof, N.D. 1996. Shimonoseki Journal. Japan's Whalers Start to Take on a Hunted Look. The New York Times, June 24.Kumar, A. 1993. Shahtoosh--King of Wool. TRAFFIC Bulletin, Vol. 14, page 39.Kumar, A. and B. Wright. 1999. Combating tiger poaching and illegal wildlife trade in India. In: Riding the Tiger. Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Ed. by J. Seidensticker, S. Christie and P. Jackson.

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Martin, E.S. and M. Phipps. 1996. A Review of the Wild Animals Trade in Cambodia. TRAFFIC Bulletin, August, Vol. 16, No. 2, pages 45-60.Matthiessen, P. 1997. The Last Wild Tigers. Audubon, March-April, Vol. 99, No. 2, pages 54-63, 122-125.Munn, C. 1988. The Real Macaws. Animal Kingdom (New York Zoological Society, now Wildlife Conservation Society), Vol. 91, No. 5, pages 20-26.Nash, S.V. 1993b. Sold for a Song. The Trade in Southeast Asian Non-CITES Birds. TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.Pepin, Jacques. 2001. A Delicacy's Delicate Future. The New York Times (Op-ed page), July 3. (Beluga sturgeon and its caviar).Revkin, A.C. 2000. U.S. Is Asked to Ban Beluga Caviar Imports. The New York Times, Dec. 19.Schaller, G. 1998. Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Stevens, W.K. 1994. American Box Turtles Decline, Perishing Cruelly in Foreign Lands. The New York Times, May 10, pages C1, C4.Tagliabue, J. 2001. U.N. Agency Won't Ban Caspian Sea Caviar. The New York Times, June 22.Talmadge, E. 2000. Japan defiant in face of whale hunt outcry. The Boston Globe, Sept. 6.TRAFFIC Bulletin. TRAFFIC International, c/o WCMC, 219 Huntington Rd., Cambridge, CB3 0DL UK (e-mail: traffic@wcmc.org.uk).TRAFFIC (USA), 1250 - 24th St., NW, Washington, DC 20037.

Trade: FilmsAll films are described in detail in the Video section.

General: "The Business of Extinction," produced in 1977, is a classic film on wildlife trade and is extremelyhard-hitting, showing smuggling and animal cruelty in the wildlife trade. "The Rangers of Nepal" profiles the braveryand dedication of Nepalese rangers who protect Indian Rhinoceros, Tigers, Asian Elephants and other animals frompoachers. "Wildlife for Sale. Dead or Alive" is a Canadian Broadcasting Company film documenting the multi-billiondollar trades--legal and illegal--in wildlife that endanger thousands of species worldwide.

Ivory trade: "Echo of the Elephants," "Elephant," "The Elephants of Tsavo" and "Daphne Sheldrick and the Orphansof Tsavo" all deal with the slaughter that elephants endured during the 1980s and the effects on their populations andbehavior. These sensitive and intelligent animals are traumatized when a family member is killed. The last filmconcerns the orphan elephants, tiny victims of the killing for ivory, affectionately cared for by Daphne Sheldrick inKenya.

Fur and Traditional Medicine Trade: "Empire of the Red Bear" is a series about Russian wildlife that includes thediscovery of two dead Siberian Tiger cubs who starved to death when their mother was killed. "Tiger. Lord of theWild" profiles many of the activists trying to stop the trade in Tiger pelts and body parts in India and elsewhere. "Giant Otters" was filmed in Guyana, one of the few places left where these animals can be seen because of theirkilling for fur throughout their South American range, which is discussed.

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Whaling, Sealing and Sea Turtle Killing: "The Great Whales," "Return of the Great Whales," "Blue Whale: LargestAnimal on Earth," "Sperm Whales: The Real Moby Dick" and "Whales Down Under" all discuss the effects ofwhaling on the great whales. The latter film focuses on the Southern Right Whale, a species heavily hunted and onlybeginning to recover 50 years after receiving protection. "Sea of Slaughter" is based on Farley Mowat's history of thedecimation of wildlife along the North Atlantic coasts. Walrus, whales, seals, sea mink, seabirds and other speciesthat teemed in these waters in colonial times were killed for market sales--several species to extinction. "Long Livethe Turtle" is part of a series on Japanese wildlife. "In the Shadow of Fujisan" discusses Japanese killing of sea turtlesand their trade in these animals, as well as whaling and dolphin-killing. "Ancient Sea Turtles Stranded in a ModernWorld," by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project of Earth Island Institute, chronicles the many threats to sea turtles,especially drowning in shrimp nets, urging remedial effort to protect them.

Cage Birds: "Bird Traffic" is an excellent expose of the illegal capture of Salmon-crested Cockatoos at the roosts inIndonesia, showing the trauma and cruelty of their caging and shipment to Singapore and other Asian markets,endangering the species. "Caribbean Cool" is a film about the work of Paul Butler in St. Lucia and other Caribbeanislands to protect the native parrot and its habitat. Children are taught about the parrots and dress in parrot costumes,singing songs about these birds and other wildlife of the island. The parrot is the national bird and is given muchpublicity and positive attention on the island.

Predator PrejudiceProject SummaryThe purpose of this project is to research the general subject of predator prejudice and its effect on predators in variousparts of the world. Read the material below and the Persecution and Hunting chapter in this book. The subject ingeneral or a particular predator which has become endangered as a result of prejudice and persecution will be selectedfor a short report, including information on past and present distribution, control measures taken and the present statusof the species.

BackgroundIn the United States, Grizzly Bears, Gray and Red Wolves were eliminated from 98 percent of the country south ofCanada by European settlers in control programs using poisons, guns and traps. Today, through natural recolonizationand reintroduction, these predators are reoccupying small portions of their original ranges. Unfortunately, outsidenational parks, these animals are encountering prejudice. Local livestock owners, whose ranches surround theprotected national parks and forests, oppose their presence. Livestock owners near one Gray Wolf reintroduction sitein Yellowstone National Park in Montana attempted unsuccessfully through a lawsuit to have wolves removed fromthe park. Wildlife research over the past century has found that wolves rarely kill domestic livestock, and theirpredation on deer, elk and other ungulates keep these species strong and healthy. Grizzly Bears are mainly vegetarian,with occasional predation on small rodents or the calves or fawns of elk or deer, yet they have been hunted out of allbut about 1 percent of their original range in the western United States south of Alaska.

Predator prejudice is common throughout the world wherever livestock is grazed in large numbers. In Ethiopia inEast Africa, the Simien Wolf, a small canid that preys mainly on rodents, has been killed off by livestock owners whomistakenly believe them to present threats to their sheep and cattle. The species is near extinction. Likewise in SouthAmerica, Europe and Asia, predators have been heavily persecuted, with wolves, bears, big cats and others eliminatedfrom areas near human habitation and many wilderness areas. Seals, sea lions and otters are also the object of prejudice from fishermen who believe that they take too many fish. Infact, they often prey on fish that are not taken for human consumption, many of which are predators of food fish. TheCaribbean Monk Seal was persecuted to extinction, and its close relative, the Mediterranean Monk Seal, is nowcritically endangered as a result of killing by fishermen. Its remaining populations, numbering fewer than 1,000

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animals, hide in caves along the coasts. Sea otters eat invertebrates that eat kelp and sea grass, thereby playing a keyrole in maintaining these ecosystems in which fish and shellfish flourish, but abalone fishermen consider themunwanted predators.

Birds of prey have also been persecuted as threats to livestock or because they competed for the same food ashumans. The Bald Eagle was killed for a bounty in many parts of the United States because it fed on fish, causingfishermen to believe that it was an unwelcome competitor. Hawks and eagles around the world are shot and poisonedby ranchers and others, reducing many species to endangered status. In some areas, birds of prey are shot on sight. Legal protection for these birds has only recently been enacted in the United States, but many other countries fail toaccord protection. They have an important ecological role to play by preventing rodents, snakes and other speciesfrom multiplying to pest proportions. The majority of species specialize in killing rodents, which helps farmersraising and storing grains.

Likewise, bats prey on insects and are important pollinators of plants, but they are persecuted in most parts of theworld.

Snakes are also important predators of rodents, yet they, too, are routinely killed around the world. They are eitherconsidered pests or inspire great fear that they might present a threat to human beings. Snakes tend to be afraid ofpeople, who are not their natural prey, and if left alone, will not attack.

Crocodiles perform a useful role in preying of overpopulated fish, yet they are killed as potential threats or for theleather trade. A majority of crocodile species are now endangered.

Activitieso Research: Using the sources listed in the Persecution and Hunting chapter, and others listed below, as well as thoseavailable in your library and through computer on-line searches, learn about the subject in general. Consider thefollowing aspects of the issue:

1. Laws have been enacted since the Middle Ages in Europe encouraging the killing of predators and even punishingthose who did not kill and deliver their hides to authorities. Many of these laws have been altered over the years andnow remain in the form of bounties paid for pelts, and regulations permit and encourage persecution of predators. Arethere state laws that allow persecution of predators, including endangered species? (Read the US Endangered SpeciesAct and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to find examples of legalized killing of species considered predators oflivestock or fish.)

2. What attitudes prevail in various parts of the world toward predators? While negative fears and hatred dominatein many areas, trends are changing in many countries. North American native tribes traditionally revere predators andincorporate them into their folklore. Europeans settling America had an opposing view, instituting predator controlprograms. What is unusual about the legal status and attitude toward the Gray Wolf in Italy? (See Persecution andHunting chapter.) What happens to endangered Cheetahs when white ranchers who hate predators take over land inNamibia and South Africa? What education programs are taking place to change prejudices? The reintroduction inthe United States of both Gray and Red Wolves was a result of this new view and the application of the USEndangered Species Act, but education programs have had mixed success. In some areas, such as YellowstoneNational Park, however, tourists are coming in large numbers, spending money in local towns, and watching the GrayWolves in an open environment considered the best "wolf watching" area in the world. Could tourism help savepredators? The survival of predators depends entirely on attitudes of people living in their habitats.

3. Biological Studies: Studies on Gray Wolves in Alaska in the 1940s by Adolph Murie began a major change inknowledge of these animals and their relations with their natural prey that overturned previous misconceptions, manyof which assumed that they were destructive to their prey. These studies have been augmented by other biologists onvarious predators throughout the world, confirming the important and positive role that predators play in ecosystems.

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What studies can you find that examine the biological role of predators of various types, including birds, fish (such assharks) and reptiles (such as snakes and crocodiles)?

4. Economic Damage: Control programs against predators are based on real or assumed damage to livestock or otherproperty or assets, but they have rarely been based on fact. Exaggeration and fear have distorted estimates of actuallosses to predators. Moreover, the ranchers or herders tend to release their livestock into the wild without guard dogsor other protection. When their animals are found dead, predators are blamed, when proof is often lacking. Whenlivestock is guarded by dogs or fences, or housed in buildings or pens at night and when giving birth, mortality isusually very low. Unfortunately, US government programs, such as the Animal Damage Control (ADC) Division ofthe Department of Agriculture, routinely trap and poison hundreds of thousands of animals each year without proof oftheir predation on livestock. Contact the ADC and ask how many traps, how much poison and how many animals ofall types have been killed in recent years. Also ask for the numbers and species of no-target animals, such asendangered Grizzly bears, Bald and Golden Eagles and other wildlife, taken in these programs. Ask the ADC how itavoids killing endangered animals? How much is spent on these programs per year, and what alternative programscould protect livestock in non-lethal ways, including guard dogs or other guard animals, such as llamas and donkeys,and by providing information on protecting livestock for far less money?

o Reports and Discussion: Select the subject of predator control in general for a report based on the information youhave gathered in accordance with the categories above. Discuss this issue in class.

o Select a particular species that has been persecuted to endangered or threatened status by predator controlprograms. What was the original range of the species? What is its present range? What are the natural prey speciesof the animal and its habitat? When did control programs begin to eliminate the species and what were the reasons onwhich they were based? Was the species gradually, or rapidly, reduced in both numbers and range? Were controlmethods directed at adult animals only or on the young, such as killing pups in the den? What is the natural behaviorof the animal in terms of its social nature with others of its kind, number of young, number of breeding adults in agroup, whether it is solitary, and whether it can easily recover its population once control is stopped or tends todecline to extinction? What are the attitudes of the people who live within its habitat? What is being done to help thespecies? What do you think should be done to prevent its extinction?

o Conservation: Describe various means of protecting predators that are persecuted. For example, bats have beenconserved through education programs in local communities and schools about their ecological role and how tobat-proof buildings. Ecotourism is another means of protecting bats, since their flights at dusk can be spectacular. The economic value of predators in controlling insects or rodents, for example, is an important argument in theirfavor. Many approaches are needed, depending on the attitudes held by the local people, the type of damage allegedand the economic factor. In some cases, the same species can be reviled in one part of the world and admired inanother. The Gray Wolf is now a valued and protected predator in a growing number of countries, but in Russia andother countries, it is still tainted by folklore that bears no relation to fact. Make recommendations for the conservationof the Gray Wolf or another species in a country where it is persecuted. Write a brochure and design a poster for aspecies of your choice that would educate the public about why this species should not be persecuted.

Books and PublicationsFilms

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Predator Prejudice: Books and PublicationsAWI. 1995. Grisly Video Ends Alaska Wolf Kill. AWI Quarterly, Winter, Vol. 44, No. 1, p. 5.BBC Wildlife. Oct. 1996 (Mediterranean Monk Seal).BI (BirdLife International). 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.Brett, J.J. 1973. Feathers in the Wind. The Mountain and the Migration. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, Kempton, PA. (Establishment of sanctuary to protect birds of prey from hunters.)Busch, R.H. 1995. The Wolf Almanac. Lyons & Burford, Publishers, New York.Carley, C.J. 1975. Activities and Findings of the Red Wolf Field Recovery Program from late 1973 to 1 July, 1975. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, NM.Chadwick, D. 1990. The Kingdom. Wildlife in North America. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Chadwick, D. 1998. Return of the Gray Wolf. National Geographic, May, Vol. 193, No. 5, pages 72-99.Chambers, G. 1978. Little fox on the prairie. Audubon, July, Vol. 80, No. 4, pages 62-71.Chanin, P. 1985. The Natural History of Otters. Facts On File Publications, New York.Earthwatch. 1996. Wolves of India. July/August.Gottelli, D. and C. Sillero-Zubiri. 1994. Highland Gods, But For How Long? Wildlife Conservation, July/August, Vol. 97, No. 4.Higgins, A.J. 2000. The wolf at region's door. Some decry proposal to reintroduce species. The Boston Globe, Sept. 3.McIntyre, R. (ed.). 1995. War Against the Wolf. America's Campaign to Exterminate the Wolf. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Morris, D. 1990. The Animal Contract. Warner Books, New York.Murie, A. 1944. The Wolves of Mount McKinley. Fauna of the National Parks of the United States. Fauna Series 5. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Newman, S. 1999. Au Revoir to Wolves. The Boston Globe, Nov. 1.Nilsson, G. 1985. Bringing Back the River Otter. Defenders, May/June, Vol. 60, No. 3, pages 4-9.Nowak, R.M. 1972. The Mysterious Wolf of the South. Natural History, Jan.Nowak, S. and R.W. Myslajek. 1999. The Wolf in Poland. The Association for Nature "WOLF," Godziszka, Poland.Papich, B. 2000. Some fight plan to reintroduce grizzlies. The Boston Sunday Globe, Aug. 20.Pelletier, K.J. and C. Servheen. 1995. Grizzlies in Swan Valley. Endangered Species Bulletin, Vol. XX, No. 5. Sept./Oct. US Fish and Wildlife Service.Rancourt, L.M. 1997. Red Wolf Redux. National Parks, May/June, page 47.Revkin, A.C. 2000. Rules Shielding the Gray Wolf May Soon Ease. The New York Times, July 3.Robbins, J. 1997. Return of the Wolf. Wildlife Conservation, March/April, Vol. 100, No. 2. Schaller, G.B. 1998. Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.Seton, E.T. 1899. Wild Animals I Have Known. (Reissued in 1966 by Grosset

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& Dunlop, New York; other editions available.)Sink, M. 1998. Deaths Hinder Plan to Place Gray Wolves Into the Wild. The New York Times, Nov. 26.Verde, Tom. 2002. Handsome Highlander. Wildlife Conservation, Jan./Feb., Vol. 105, No. 1, pages 36-43. (Simien Wolf in Ethiopia.)

Predator Prejudice: FilmsAll films are described in detail in the Video section.

Wolves: "Crying Wolf," "Wolf" (Spain), "Wild Wolves" (general), "Return of the Wolves" (Yellowstone NationalPark). All discuss the persecution, disappearance from large portions of its original range, and facts about the GrayWolf's true ecological role and behavior. "Wild Dogs of Africa" is a sensitive portrayal of these endangered canids,including discussion of their persecution by ranchers, especially in southern Africa.

Bears: "Grizzly and Man--Uneasy Truce" (US persecution); "Grizzly Bears:Losing Ground" (British Columbia, Canada). These two films show the extreme ignorance and fear with which thesebears are seen in North America, resulting in their killing for presumed threats and a lack of commitment on the partof the public and some officials to preserve the species.

Seals: "Orphans of Time" concerns the two surviving species of monk seals, the Mediterranean and the Hawaiian,both of which are highly endangered. "Seals--the Salmon Eaters," a film about seals in the Pacific Northwest(primarily Washington state) describes the intense hatred felt by fishermen toward seals and their desire to kill largenumbers of them to increase the take of salmon.

Birds of Prey: "Anna and the Honey-Buzzards" is an inspiring film about a woman who has protected migrating birdsof prey in southern Italy from being killed illegally by hunters who shot them from bunkers on hillsides. She has beenjoined by others who help her patrol the area since the film was made. "Eagles: The Majestic Hunters" is a beautifulfilm about these superb hunters and their life histories. It includes shocking footage of persecution of eagles invarious parts of the world where they are killed and nailed to fences or poisoned.

Snakes: "Snake" is an excellent film to dispel irrational fears about snakes, 85 percent of which are harmless tohumans, and to show their value in controlling rodents and other snakes.

Bats: See film list at end of "Bats: Ecologically Important Mammals" project.

Saving the American Elm and Chestnut TreesProject SummaryThis is an action-oriented project in which students or individuals obtain seedlings of these endangered trees and plantthem to help restore the species, which were once widespread. For those living in areas outside the range of thesespecies in Eastern North America, other threatened trees may be planted.

BackgroundBoth the American Chestnut and the American Elm have been decimated by diseases brought to the United States on

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wood or trees. Millions of these magnificent trees have died, but within the past decade, plant geneticists haveproduced disease-resistant types. The Elm Research Institute distributes seedlings grown from trees that have naturalresistance to Dutch Elm Disease and have survived exposure to it. The tree that is cultivated by this institute is calledthe American Liberty Elm, and since 1983, more than 250,000 seedlings have been distributed to organizations, suchas the Boy Scouts of America and others, who grow them from seedlings, then sell them to local towns, public parksand organizations for planting. The organization hopes to bring back the American Elm to Main Street America. TheElm Research Institute also provides advice on saving diseased elms. One teacher in Michigan organized localneighborhood groups who located diseased trees and succeeded in treating them to prevent their deaths.

The American Chestnut, a massive tree of eastern forests, made up about one-fourth of the original eastern forests incolonial times. It provided nuts that were fed on by populations of the now extinct Passenger Pigeon, AmericanTurkeys, Black Bears, squirrels and other wildlife. These trees grew to heights of 100 feet or more and had deeplyfurrowed trunks, earning them the name "Eastern Redwood." Their near-extinction has been catastrophic to forestecosystems. The Chestnut Blight that attacked them was first seen in 1904 on American Chestnut trees lining avenuesnear the Bronx Zoo, and apparently entered the country on another species of chestnut tree imported for botanicalpurposes. Like Dutch Elm Disease, this disease cuts off nutrients and water, gradually killing the trees. It has killedalmost all American Chestnut trees in the east, and only a hundred or so remain in southern Canada. Some trees thatwere planted outside the natural range, such as in Oregon, survive. The stumps of American Chestnuts still producesprouts that can grow up to 20 feet tall until they die from the disease.

Old-growth Longleaf Pine forests once covered millions of acres in the Southeast, with one of the world's richestdiversity of forest floor plants and native wildlife, including the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. These forests havedeclined to 2 percent of their original size, and many of their former denizens are endangered or gone. The SouthernLive Oak, a magnificent semi-evergreen tree that has a massive, spreading crown and twisted branches, has declinedin many areas within its natural range. These native trees should be brought back through massive planting programs. In more Western areas, Redwood, native oaks and many types of pines and conifers have declined from formerabundance and should be replanted.

Activitieso Help conserve endangered trees, such as the American Elm. Plant American Liberty Elms if you live in easternNorth America. The Elm Research Institute will send an application to those who wish to receive 500 to 1,000 freeelm seedlings. Teachers who wish to participate in the program must pledge several years commitment in order tocare for the trees prior to their sale. The trees are guaranteed if properly maintained, and the Elm Research Institutewill replace any trees that die. This is potentially a fund-raising program because the trees can be sold after a fewyears of care. The Elm Research Institute can be contacted at 1-800-FOR ELMS; Fax 603-358-6305; website:http://www.forelms.org.

o Plant American Chestnut trees if you live in the range of the east where this tree once grew. The AmericanChestnut Foundation was formed in 1983 to save this species through selective breeding of resistant strains. Atpresent, they have succeeded in growing resistant trees and are developing seeds from these trees. They distribute kitsof resistant seeds, which can be grown in one�s back yard, for $50. When they are old enough, they can be pollinatedwith pollen from blight-resistant trees being cultivated in Virginia. This is somewhat more complex than the growingof American Elms, but for a high school class, it would be an excellent way of learning about plant reproduction whilehelping to save an endangered native tree. A 17-year-old resident of Somerville, New Jersey, Timothy Van Vliet, isan enthusiastic supporter of the program and has grown a number of Chestnut trees in his back yard, one of which is10 feet tall. With more people like Timothy Van Vliet, the American Chestnut may return to its former abundance. The American Chestnut Foundation can be contacted at P.O. Box 4044, Bennington, VT 05201, or telephoned at1-802-447-0110. Membership in the organization is $40.

o Plant other threatened native trees. Those who live in western North America can help a rare or declining species oftree. Contact the Redwoods National Park (1111 Second St., Crescent City, CA 95531; and the Save-the-Redwoods

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League (114 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94104) for information on obtaining seeds and seedlings. If one lives inthe Pacific Northwest, native trees, such as Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar, have beenreduced by 95 percent because of logging. Replanting these magnificent trees will help to bring back these forests andprovide habitat for the threatened Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet and other native species. Help protect thestands of these forests that remain by contacting organizations such as the Native Forest Council (P.O. Box 2190,Eugene, OR 97402); Save America's Forests, Washington DC (202-544-9219); and The Nature Conservancy (1815 N.Lynn St., Arlington, VA 22209; (703-841-5300).

Read "Smiles of Vanished Woods," Chapter 11 of Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards, bySara Stein, which discusses the importance of planting only native trees and the threat of exotic species, such as theNorway Maple, which can crowd out indigenous species. This book also stresses the importance of preserving oldtrees with hollow trunks and snags that wildlife can use and of planting understories of native bushes that hundreds ofspecies of wild animals use for shelter and feeding.

Books and PublicationsAudubon Society Field Guides to Trees (Eastern Region and Western Region). Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Dietrich, William. 1992. The Final Forest. The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Simon & Schuster, New York.Elias, Thomas S. 1980. The Complete Trees of North America. Field Guide and Natural History. Outdoor Life/Nature Books. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York.Jonas, Gerald. 1993. North American Trees. Reader's Digest Press, Pleasantville, NY.Leydet, Francois. 1969. The Last Redwoods. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.Menninger, Edwin A. 1995. Fantastic Trees. Timber Press, Portland, OR.Peck, Robert McCracken. 1990. Land of the Eagle. A Natural History of North America. Summit Books, New York.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

Bees and Other PollinatorsProject SummaryStudy the behavior of bees, using written materials, films and observations of actual beehives. Learn about plants thatwould become extinct without pollination by bees and what species of bees are indigenous to your area, especiallythose that are rare or declining. Learn what plants and habitats these species require and, if possible, plant theirpreferred flowers and erect a bee house.

BackgroundMany native bees in North America are important pollinators. A growing number are becoming rare as a result ofpesticides, competition with non-native bee species and destruction of natural habitats. Very few types of bees stinghumans. There are 500 species of native bees in New England, for example, but the most commonly seen bees are theEuropean honeybees used to pollinate orchards and other crops. Some native bees are green, blue or red, and manyare as small as flies. Others are twice the size of bumblebees. A few are nocturnal.

The communication system bees use to identify sources of nectar and pollen to one another was first discovered in

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European Honeybees (Apis mellifera). When one bee locates a source of food, such as a flowering tree, it returns tothe hive and through a complex series of movements with its feet, called dances, communicates to the other bees thelocation of the food source. The type of dance performed by the bee indicates the distance from the hive to the pollenand nectar. This system of communication involves a highly sophisticated integration of perceived and memorizedinformation and was first discovered by an Austrian scientist, Karl von Frisch, a world-renowned animal behaviorist. He wrote two books on his discoveries: Bees, Their Vision, Chemical Senses and Language; and The DanceLanguage and Orientation of Bees. (See Reference list below.)

MethodsLearn about pollinators and their ecological importance and behavior. The Natural History of Pollination, by MichaelProctor, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack, describes bee communication in terms of the extreme importance of bees as thepollinators of many native plants. Consult various reference books that describe bee behavior in detail. "Dancing theGood News" in the book, Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects, by Christopher O'Toole, clearlyillustrates this remarkable phenomenon. This book is a companion to the excellent television series of the same nameshown on Nature, the PBS program produced by WNET and filmed by BBC, which shows the dance of the honeybeesas well as the behavior and ecology of many insect pollinators.

Activitieso Take a field trip to see a beehive. Teachers may contact local nature education centers, Audubon societies, stateNatural Heritage Programs and US Department of Agriculture extension services to learn about local bee hives thatcould be visited.

o Contact the Natural Heritage Program connected with your state wildlife department, and find out which species ofwild bees live in your area and which species are rare or declining. Discuss these species and what can be done tohelp them. What plants would become extinct if pollinating bees were to disappear? (The Natural History ofPollination is a good source of information for this subject.)

o Plant flowers and flowering trees that attract native bees. Find out which plants are preferred by bees in your area. Do not use pesticides or herbicides of any kind.

o Erect a beehouse in your back yard to attract native, stingless bees. A few holes drilled in scrap lumber andmounted under the eaves of a house, or some paper straws glued into a milk carton and placed on a tree branch, willentice native bees. To attract the large and colorful Bumblebees, build a house such as the one described in AttractingBackyard Wildlife, by Bill Merilees.

o Using The Forgotten Pollinators, by Stephen L. Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Natural History ofPollination mentioned above, and other references on insects listed in the Books and Publications section of theAppendix of this book, select one or more pollinators, whether butterflies, ants or other insects, birds, bats orprimates. Learn about these pollinators and which plants they pollinate, especially those that are threatened withextinction.

o By consulting the books mentioned above, the main text of The Endangered Species Handbook, and books listed inthe Books and Publications section of this book, learn about the importance of pollinators in maintaining the world'secosystems and how crucial it is to protect pollinating animals. Describe a pollinator or group of pollinators that arecrucial to an ecosystem. For example, read the section in the Forests chapter in The Endangered Species Handbookconcerning tiny wasps that pollinate a wide variety of figs which, in turn, nourish hundreds of species of wildlife. Learn about mammals, such as bats that pollinate many types of plants, through descriptions in this book and otherslisted in the project, "Bats, Useful Insectivores and Pollinators." Find an example of a species of plant that has lost itsnatural pollinator through extinction and now exists only through human intervention.

o The economic importance of pollinators has been calculated in several books and studies. In Nature's Services:

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Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems, edited by Gretchen Daily, for example, the role of wild pollinators, suchas insects and other animals, is valued at $117 billion worldwide. This means that the wild bees, ants and otherspecies that pollinate commercial crops, such as fruit trees and wild plants, perform tasks that are worth $117 billionper year to the world's economy. The authors of Forgotten Pollinators estimate that pollinators save farmers in theUnited States an estimated $1.6 billion annually. Select a farm crop and find out from local US Department ofAgriculture offices whether wild species of insects or other animals pollinate it. Through data from the USDepartment of Agriculture and almanacs, calculate the value of this crop and the losses to farmers should the wildpollinators disappear.

o Wild pollinators are in decline in many areas as a result of heavy pesticide use, which kills insects and otherwildlife, and habitat loss, as in the cutting of forests, which causes declines in bats, tropical birds and insects. TheForests chapter discusses this in detail. Write a report on this problem, giving as many examples as possible of theloss in these essential species and the types of threats that pollinators face.

o Select a pollinator, such as a type of butterfly, and learn about what plants it pollinates. Does it pollinate a singlespecies of plant or many species? Where does it live? What is its status? If threatened, how can it be helped?

Books and PublicationsBuchmann, Stephen L. and Gary Paul Nabhan. 1996. The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press, Washington, DC.Daily, Gretchen (ed.). 1997. Nature's Services. Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington, DC.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.Proctor, Michael, Peter Yeo and Andrew Lack. 1996. The Natural History of Pollination. Timber Press, Portland, OR.O'Toole, Christopher. 1995. Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects. Harper Collins, New York.von Frisch, Karl. 1950. Bees, Their Vision, Chemical Senses and Language. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.von Frisch, Karl. 1954. The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees. Methuen Press, London, UK.

Films"Alien Empire. An Exploration of the Lives of Insects." 1995. PBS. WETA. 1 hour."The Private Life of Plants." 1995. TBS/BBC. 6 hours. (Part 3, "The Birds and the Bees," concerns pollination.) Available from Discovery Channel School: 888-892-3484; www.discoveryschool.com.

Learning Animal Anatomy Without DissectionProject Summary Learn about animal anatomy in non-lethal ways. New communication technology may provide better knowledgeabout anatomy, through videos and virtual learning, than does dissection. Learn about these new resources anddiscuss their use in the classroom.

Background

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In a growing trend, biology classes are being taught about the anatomy of frogs, cats and other animals fromCD-ROM software, such as "Digital Frog and Cat Lab," rather than killing live animals for dissection or dissectingdead animals. An estimated 6 million vertebrates, half of which are frogs, are dissected each year by high schoolstudents, who are often so upset by the experience that they turn away from future science courses. Such schoolprojects are inhumane, often requiring that frogs be killed by the student, for example. Moreover, frogs are in declinein the wild from a variety of causes, including the capture for such dissections. Their populations need protection. Many of the cats killed for use in high school dissection had been house pets that were illegally caught and sold toanimal dealers in the United States and Mexico. Humane organizations have been promoting non-lethal substitutesfor many years.

Activitieso Find out if your state's education department allows use of alternatives to animal dissection in classrooms.

o Review a copy of "Digital Frog and Cat Lab" or another software from the organizations below. The NationalGeographic Society sells various films, film-strips and other materials on animal anatomy. The lessons includefunction, taxonomy and structure. The Society's "Educational Services" catalog lists these products (P.O. Box 98019,Washington, DC 20090; 800-368-2728; www.nationalgeographic.org).

o Contact the American Anti-Vivisection Society (Suite 204 Noble Plaza, 801 Old York Rd., Jenkintown, PA 19046,215-887-0816), which publishes the brochure "Animals in Education: An Outline for Student Activists" anddistributes audio-visual materials. Also contact the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (175 West12th St., Suite 16G, New York, NY 10011, 212-989-8073) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty toAnimals (ASPCA) (441 East 92nd St., New York, NY 10128, 212-876-7700), which publishes the pamphlet,"ASPCA Guidelines for Student Experiments Involving Animals." The Animal Legal Defense Fund (1363 LincolnAve., San Rafael, CA 94901) has a "Dissection Hotline": 800-922-FROG, and publishes the brochure "Objecting toDissection: A College Students' Handbook." The Humane Society of the United States (2100 L St., NW, Washington,DC 20037, 202-452-1100) publishes the brochure, "Does the Idea of Dissecting or Experimenting on Animals inBiology Class Disturb You?" Also, the National Anti-Vivisection Society (53 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 1550,Chicago, IL 60604, 312-427-6065) publishes "Reverence for Life: An Ethic for High School Biology Curricula" and"School Project Packet." The Student Action Corps for Animals (P.O. Box 15588, Washington, DC 20003,202-543-8983) is dedicated to empowering young people in high school to work effectively for animal rights and actsas a communication network; it began the national "Say No to Dissection" campaign in 1984 and publishes SACANews and brochures such as "Say No to Dissection," "Suggestions for High School Student Animal Rights Groups"and "1-0-1 Non-Animal Biology Lab Methods."

Attitudes and EthicsProject SummaryExamine the list of principles related to the treatment of animals entitled "An Animal Bill of Rights" (see below) andconsider how these principles relate to declining and endangered species. Suggestions are given on how to use thisdocument for classroom discussion or reports on endangered species.

BackgroundOur attitudes about animals have undergone radical changes in the past few decades. For most of human history,people have believed, like the philosopher René Descartes, that animals were merely machines, blindly obeyinginstincts. The opinions of many people have been greatly changed by the results of work with animals, for example,the intelligent Chimpanzees who make tools and exhibit many of the same emotions that humans have, such as fear,love, anger, joy and even despair. Elephants have also shown extraordinary qualities of altruism, and many examples

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of their intelligence have been documented by zoologists. Whales and dolphins, too, have been shown to beintelligent and extremely devoted to one another.

Attitudes towards animals are also changing rapidly as a result of films and books and closer contacts with domesticcats and dogs. The popularity of house pets, with whom we form strong bonds, has encouraged a growing number ofpeople to regard animals as having many of the same emotions as humans, and their friendship and loyalty toward ushave been an inspiration to many. The popularity of nature films and books has educated the public to have a greateraffection and respect for wild animals and a desire to protect and appreciate them. Still, many people treat animals ashaving neither sensitivities nor even the ability to feel pain. Fur trapping, research involving cruel experiments onanimals, and baiting or attacking animals as an amusement are examples of a lack of compassion. A comment by aCanadian forester represents such a point of view that is, fortunately, disappearing: "Our instinctive attitude towardother species seems to range from indifference to antipathy . . . Concern for other species, particularly for those thathave no immediate economic value to us, is a learned response, one we still struggle with" (Don Gayton, BritishColumbia Forest Service, "Terms of Endangerment" article in Canadian Geographic, May/June 1997).

Having a set of values and principles is a logical step in reevaluating how we treat animals--domestic and wild. Thefamed British zoologist Desmond Morris, in his book The Animal Contract (Warner Brothers, 1990), recommends 10principles that human beings should adopt in their treatment of animals. This book discusses in detail the basis for theprinciples and gives many examples of our treatment and mistreatment of animals. He states that brutality to animalsaffects all our conduct and dealings with humans as well, and that a culture that is sympathetic to animals is a culturethat is sensitive and caring in all respects. Moreover, he believes that a culture that feels a kinship with animals willbe a culture that keeps faith with its roots in recognizing that humans are also animals, relatives of other species. These principles, as related to threatened species, are discussed below. They could also be used as interesting subjectsfor classroom discussions or for reports.

An Animal Bill of Rights

1. No animal should be endowed with imaginary qualities of good or evil to satisfy our superstitious beliefs orreligious prejudices.

2. No animal should be dominated or degraded to entertain us.

3. No animal should be kept in captivity unless it can be provided with an adequate physical and social environment.

4. No animal should be kept as a companion unless it can adapt easily to the lifestyle of its human owner.

5. No animal species should be driven to extinction by direct persecution or further increases in the humanpopulation.

6. No animal should be made to suffer pain or distress to provide us with sport.

7. No animal should be subjected to physical or mental suffering for unnecessary experimental purposes.

8. No farm animal should be kept in a deprived environment to provide us with food or produce.

9. No animal should be exploited for its fur, its skin, its ivory or for any other luxury product.

10. No working animal should be forced to carry out heavy duties that cause it stress or pain.

Source: The Animal Contract by Desmond Morris. Warner Books. 1990.

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Although many of these principles relate to domestic animals and can be discussed in another setting, others relate toour treatment of wildlife, including endangered species. Discuss the way in which these principles apply to threatenedspecies.

Activitieso Principle number 1 could apply to wolves and bats, which are considered by many societies and individuals to beevil. Read the Persecution and Hunting chapter in this book for other such cases and consider the implications of suchprejudices on the survival of many animals.

o Principle number 2 can also be applied to endangered species in that Lions (now considered Vulnerable species),Tigers, chimpanzees and elephants (all Endangered species) are trained to perform tricks in circuses that degradethem. Brown Bears used by gypsies in Europe and Asia are another example. They are dragged about by leashesattached to nose rings and trained to perform extremely unnatural acts, such as "dancing" on their hind legs. Discussthis principle and learn how circus animals are trained and how they are treated. Contact organizations such as PAWS(Performing Animal Welfare Society, P.O. Box 849, Galt, CA 95632) or the Animal Welfare Institute to learn moreabout this.

o Principle number 3 can apply to zoos that house endangered species. If the captive conditions do not allow theanimals adequate physical and social environments, they would be considered to be violations of these principles. Examples might be the keeping of an elephant, a highly social species, by itself, in a small enclosure without water tobathe in or space to exercise. These animals are also chained at night in many zoos. Are there animals at your localzoo kept in such conditions?

o Principle number 4 can be applied to wild pets of many species that are kept in unnatural conditions. Tigers andother big cats, wild-caught parrots and many reptiles and amphibians are kept in peoples' back yards in cages or inindoor conditions that are highly unhealthy or psychologically traumatic for the animal. Many states ban various wildpets for this reason. Read the Trade chapter in this book for more information on wild pets and zoos. Find out thelaws of your state or country regarding the keeping of exotic pets, especially endangered species.

o Principle number 5 is an extremely critical one in relation to endangered species. Although the US EndangeredSpecies Act specifically addresses the issue of driving species to extinction as unacceptable, the law has beenweakened by its opponents and faces further weakening. Moreover, only listed species receive such protection. Manythreatened and endangered species that are not listed on the US Endangered Species Act receive no legal protection. In other countries of the world, such as Canada, no law prohibits driving a species to extinction or protects endangeredspecies. Human overpopulation is a major cause driving species to extinction. This is an extremely important moraldilemma, one that is being faced by countries such as Indonesia, which has relocated people from overpopulatedislands, such as Java, to areas still forested, such as Borneo and western New Guinea. These new immigrants areburning forests, with the encouragement of the Indonesian government, to create farms and grazing land for livestock. In the process, they are driving endangered species, such as the Orangutan, toward extinction. What should societiesdo in these circumstances, which will become more and more common in the future?

o Principle number 6 states that causing pain or distress in animals for our amusement is reprehensible and must nottake place. Most examples of such cruelty involve domestic animals, such as steers in bull fights, roosters incockfights and pit bulls in dog fights. Consider situations in which threatened or wild animals are used in such ways. For example, Asian bears are abused in street shows, and Tigers and elephants suffer in circuses. Hunting rare animalsfor sport might be considered to fall into this category, especially when it is carried out by means that do not usuallykill quickly, such as by bow and arrow, and when it is not done for food, but for amusement.

o Principle number 7 concerns causing unnecessary pain for experimental purposes. Such experiments often involvethe use of threatened animals. Chimpanzees and monkeys are involved in painful experiments to test drugs, in

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simulated car crashes or other research. The use of these animals is justified by many research laboratories and othersas being important because it can help human beings in various ways, such as finding cures to diseases. However,many experiments are unnecessary and repetitive of already published research. Does the treatment of these animals,especially long-lived chimpanzees who must spend a lifetime that can reach 60 or more years in sterile confinement,justify the research, or are there alternatives to using these animals? (Contact the Animal Welfare Institute for itspublished reports and articles on this subject.)

o Principle number 9 regards exploitation of animals for furs, skins and other luxury items. Many threatened speciesare legally traded for such purposes. All the wild cats that are listed on Appendix II of the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species of Wild of Fauna and Flora (CITES) may be traded with export permits,for example. The trade in elephant ivory during the 1980s nearly caused the extinction of both the African and Asianspecies. In 1989 all ivory trade was banned by CITES. Today, many countries want to reopen trade in African ivory,claiming they have stockpiles and overpopulation of elephants in some areas. Discuss the ethics of killing animals forluxury goods and select a species that is threatened with extinction as a result of such killing. This principle couldalso apply to the trade in live wild pets that threatens many species. Read the Trade chapter in this book for moreinformation.

Books and PublicationsAmory, Cleveland. 1974. Man Kind? Harper & Row, New York.Beard, Daniel. 1942. Fading Trails. The Story of Endangered American Wildlife. Macmillan Co., New York; hardcover.BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain; Cambridge, UK.Blum, Deborah. 1994. The Monkey Wars. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. (Activists in US fight primate laboratories.)Busch, Robert H. 1995. The Wolf Almanac. Lyons & Burford Publishers, New York; hardcover, color photo inserts, 226 pages, index.Cadieux, Charles L. 1991. Wildlife Extinction. Stone Wall Press, Inc., Washington, DC.Chadwick, Douglas H. and Joel Sartore. 1996. America's Endangered Species. The Company We Keep. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.Clark, Stephen. 1977. The Moral Status of Animals. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.Cokinos, Christopher. 2001. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds. Warner Books, Penguin Putham, New York.Collard, Andree with Joyce Contrucci. 1989. Rape of the Wild. Man's Violence Against Animals and the Earth. A Midland Book, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.Domalain, Jean-Yves. 1977. The Animal Connection. William Morrow & Co., New York.Doughty, Robin W. 1975. Feather Fashions and Bird Preservation. A Study in Nature Protection. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Douglas-Hamilton, Iain and Oria. 1992. Battle for the Elephants. Viking, New York.Drayer, Mary Ellen (ed.). 1997. The Animal Dealers. Evidence of Abuse of Animals in the Commercial Trade 1952-1997. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.Durrell, Gerald and Lee Durrell. 1987. Ourselves and Other Animals. Pantheon Books, New York.Ellis, Richard. 1991. Men and Whales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Fuller, Errol 1987. Extinct Birds. Facts On File Publications, New York.

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Goodall, Jane with Phillip Berman. 1999. Reason for Hope. A Spiritual Journey. Warner Books, A Time Warner Co., New York.Green, Alan and the Center for Public Integrity. 1999. Animal Underworld. Inside America's Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species. Public Affairs, Perseus Book Group, New York.Griffin, Donald. 1981. The Question of Animal Awareness. Rockefeller University Press, New York.Hornaday, William T. 1913. Our Vanishing Wild Life. New York Zoological Society, New York.Kaplan, Gisela and Lesley J. Rogers. 2000. The Orangutans. Their Evolution, Behavior, and Future. Perseus Publishing, New York.Linden, Eugene. 1974. Apes, Men and Language. Saturday Review Press, E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York.Linden, Eugene. 1999. The Parrot's Lament and other true tales of animal intrigue, intelligence, and ingenuity. Dutton, New York, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.Masson, Jeffrey Moussaieff and Susan McCarthy. 1995. When Elephants Weep. The Emotional Lives of Animals. Delacorte Press, New York.McIntyre, Joan (compiler). 1974. Mind in the Waters. A Book to Celebrate the Consciousness of Whales and Dolphins. Scribners/Sierra Club, New York.McNally, Robert. 1981. So Remorseless a Havoc. Of Dolphins, Whales and Men. Little, Brown & Co., New York.Milne, Lorus J. and Margery Milne. 1988. The Behavior and Learning of Animal Babies. An East Woods Book. The Globe Pequot Press, Chester, CT.Morris, Desmond. 1990. The Animal Contract. Warner Books, New York.Moss, Cynthia. 1988. Elephant Memories. Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family. William Morrow & Co., New York.Moss, Cynthia and Martyn Colbeck. 1992. Echo of the Elephants. The Story of an Elephant Family. William Morrow & Co., New York.Mowat, Farley. 1986. Sea of Slaughter. Bantam Books, New York.Nichols, Michael and Jane Goodall. 1999. Brutal Kinship. Aperture Foundation, Inc., New York; Romford, England; Denville, NJ. (Chimpanzees and humans.)Nilsson, Greta, Christine Stevens and John Gleiber. 1980. Facts About Furs. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.Payne, Katy. 1998. Silent Thunder. In the Presence of Elephants. Simon and Schuster, New York.Regan, Tom and Pete Singer (eds.). 1976. Animal Rights and Human Obligations. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York.Rollins, Bernard E. 1981. Animal Rights and Human Morality. Prometheus Books, New York.Scheffer, Victor B. 1974. A Voice for Wildlife. A Call for a New Ethic in Conservation. Scribner's Sons, New York.Small, George L. 1971. The Blue Whale. Columbia University Press, New York.Stearns, Beverly Peterson and Stephen C. Stearns. 1999. Watching, From the Edge of Extinction. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Thapar, Valmik. 1994. The Tiger's Destiny. Kyle Cathie Ltd., UK.Van Lawick-Goodall, Jane. 1971. In the Shadow of Man. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.Verney, Peter. 1979. Animals in Peril. Man's War Against Wildlife. Brigham Young University Press, Provo, UT.

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Film"The Animal Contract," based on the book by Desmond Morris. Garner MacLennan London and Lifetime Pictures inassociation with Island Visual Arts and G.C. Films, UK.

Wildlife MusicProject Summary.People once thought that animals were "dumb" because they could not speak in human language or that the seas weresilent because we were unable to hear their sounds. Many still think that birds sing for people. We now know thatwild animals communicate with one another and other species in thousands of different sounds. This project willacquaint students and others with many of these sounds. They have definite purposes and can communicate a widevariety of messages, whether territorial, warnings to members of their own species, mating calls or other meanings wehave yet to understand. Human activities are having negative effects on the communications of some animals, evencausing mortality. This project will encourage appreciation of the great variety of animal sounds, especially those ofdisappearing species. Means of preventing interference with animal communication and working to reducehuman-created noise will be explored.

BackgroundA chorus of bugles as flocks of Sandhill Cranes take flight, the eerie violin-like songs of Humpback Whales or thecroaking of frogs can evoke emotion and deep appreciation. Human response to wildlife songs reflects theuniversality of music. Virtually all human societies have their own music (see Milius 2001). Just as we are drawn tothe sounds of nature, animals have been attracted to human music. The now-extinct Laughing Owl of New Zealandwould fly close to a person playing an accordion after dusk, remaining in the vicinity until the music stopped (seeFuller 2001). Researchers in the Pacific Northwest have dangled microphones playing music from their boats andfound that dolphins and Killer Whales approached and listened for long periods. The mournful, musical howls ofwolves caused fear in the superstitious medieval times, but today they are appreciated as true animal songs, each wolfcontributing a slightly different melody. In fact, when a recording of wolf howls was released during the 1970s, themusic critic of The New York Times judged the musical talent of each wolf singer. (Wolf Education and ResearchCenter: www.wolfcenter.org provides information on howling.) Songs play an integral role in wildlife communicationand survival. Endangered denizens of American grasslands, prairie dogs, also have complex languages, givingdifferent calls to one another to warn of birds of prey, land predators, humans with guns and other threats. Some birdsongs, like those of many birds of paradise, stunningly beautiful birds of New Guinea, are so loud and bizarre thatthey seem to have been electronically produced. They are designed to penetrate dense foliage for long distances. Bellbirds and howler monkeys of Latin America and gibbons of Asia also sing so loudly that the songs carry for milesin the rainforests. Gibbons mate for life and sing duets in whoops that echo through the forest. Many wildlife songsare used to defend territories or to find a mate. Beluga whales and Mountain Lions communicate with one another inbird-like chirps. Elephants are now known to emit deep sounds, inaudible to humans, which carry for great distancesto elephant herds miles away (see Payne 1998). Likewise, bats and dolphins emit ultrasonic sounds to find their preyand to navigate. Some of these are audible to the human ear. Many of these species are now listed as Threatened, however (see Endangered and Threatened Species list in the Appendix).

As the world becomes filled with human-made noise, from the giant engines of ships, planes, trucks and earth-movingmachines to jet skis, snowmobiles, snow blowers and chainsaws, wildlife songs and calls are being drowned out. Each Humpback Whale has its own individual song. The males vary the songs each year, and females seem to beattracted to the males who emit the most complex songs. Marine mammals emit a great variety of squeaks, hums,squeals and chirps to communicate with one another and echo-locate, but they can be drowned out by ships,motorboats, jet skis and other human-made sounds. It is critical for the survival of these marine mammals that they beable to communicate.

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Some ship noises are even lethal to marine mammals. The US Navy has been testing an anti-submarine sonar calledLow Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS). Powerful sonar waves are broadcast underwater to test a means of detectingquiet enemy submarines (see White 2000a). These sonar waves can travel hundreds of miles and be extremely loud.Humpback Whale males have stopped singing or moved away when these waves were broadcast. More ominously,testing in 1995 off the coast of Greece coincided with an unusual stranding of Cuvier's Beaked Whales, resulting inthe deaths of these seldom-seen whales. In March 2000, Ken Balcomb, a biologist familiar with sonar, was present inthe Bahamas when a stranding occurred at the same time Navy LFAS tests were taking place nearby. Fifteen whalesstranded, including Dense Beaked Whales, a Minke Whale and a Spotted Dolphin. All washed up on the shores, andwhen pushed back into deep water, they were unable to remain upright, clearly unbalanced, disoriented and apparentlyin pain. Without their hearing, they cannot find their way in the ocean. Nine died. Along with Harvard biologistDarlene Ketton, Ken Balcomb performed necropsies on several whales, finding their ears full of blood. In one case,hemorrhages striped the lungs. Further testing revealed that a whale had suffered a concussion, apparently the resultof acute trauma from pressure (White 2000a). A press conference organized by the Animal Welfare Institutefollowing these findings featured Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research and other whale experts, whoattested to the fact that LFAS is reckless, unnecessary and lethal to whales. Soon after, the Navy canceled testing ofactive sonar off New Jersey and also its scheduled tests on Sperm Whales in the Azores (White 2000a). The Navy hasnot cancelled these tests altogether, however, claiming that more research by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute isneeded to reach a final conclusion.

Bird reproduction has also been affected by the sounds of highway or airplane traffic. Researchers have found thatmale birds living near such loud noises cannot hear their own songs or those of their rivals and, in a few generations,begin singing songs so different from their instinctive ones that other males do not respond, nor do females,preventing reproduction. Frogs living near highways have also been found to lose their natural calls in the din oftraffic noise. It is not known whether these animals have suffered hearing damage or are simply unable to hear fellowcreatures over the din. Much of the noise created by human machines could be reduced or eliminated with mufflingdevices. Design of machines that will not interfere with animal communication should become a priority.

Activitieso Listen to recordings, such as �Music of the Birds,� listed below. Visit websites that play animal sounds and songs. One, intended for visually-impaired people, plays bird songs: www.nhest.org; and www.naturesongs.com has manytypes of natural music. The largest collection of natural sounds in the world is at the Macaulay Library of NaturalSounds at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (www.birds.cornell.edu). It has 150,000 recordings. The BritishLibrary's national sound archive has more than 130,000 recordings: www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/wild.html). The Nature Sounds Society website (www.naturesounds.org) gives information on other sites. For an academicapproach, consult the site of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology: interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/wfae/home/. Watch wildlife films that include songs and calls, especially those of threatened and endangered species, such as birdsof paradise, whales, wolves and elephants (see list below and Video section). Write an essay on the songs of onegroup of species, such as whales, or a particular species, describing the variety of the songs or calls.

o Compare the wildlife sounds heard in environments far from highways and airports with those near them. Takewalks in several types of habitats with experts who can identify wildlife sounds, such as frog chirps and croaks, birdsongs and insect noises. Tape record the sounds heard and count the number of species in a quiet habitat versus thoseheard near a busy highway or airplane flight path. Note that each species' song can be heard in normal conditionsbecause of its own frequency and rhythm. Discuss the effect of noise on these species, and describe the various callsheard without interference.

o Learn about means of lessening human-created noise. Write the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inWashington, DC (see Organizations list, Teachers� Aids section) for information on noise pollution and how existingengines can be muffled for quieter substitutes. For example, electric-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers make farless noise than gas-powered ones. Airplane engines that are quieter than those currently in use have been designed,

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but no strong government mandate has encouraged their manufacture. Automobile and truck engines can be madequieter, and certain road surfaces can decrease traffic sounds. Snowmobiles that emit far less noise have beenmanufactured, but without legislation mandating their use, there is little demand. Consult the Internet fororganizations working actively to require that quieter machines be in use. Write a report on the need for noisepollution equipment.

o Research the effects of snowmobiles, jet skis and all-terrain vehicles on wildlife. Contacting various organizations,including the National Parks and Conservation Association (see Organizations list in Teachers� Aids section) forinformation on their work to keep these vehicles out of the national parks because of the negative effects the noise hason wildlife. Find out the decibel levels of various vehicles that are allowed in wildlife areas and off-road wildernessparks and their effects on various species of wildlife.

o The US Navy testing of anti-submarine sonar, Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS), described above, has beenshown to be extremely dangerous to some marine mammals and drives others away from their traditional migrationand feeding areas. Write the Animal Welfare Institute for more information on this program and how to help stop it.

Books and PublicationsBeland, Pierre. 1996. Beluga. A Farewell to Whales. Lyons & Burford Publishers, London, UK.Elliott, Lang. 1999. Music of the Birds. A Celebration of Bird Song. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA. (With CD-ROM.)Gorman, James. 2002. Developing an Ear for Nature's Untuned Orchestra. The New York Times, Jan. 25.Milius, Susan. 2001. Face the Music. Natural History, Dec./Jan., Vol. 110, No. 10, pages 48-57.Payne, Katy. 1998. Silent Thunder. In the Presence of Elephants. Simon & Schuster, New York.Payne, Roger. 1995. Among Whales. Scribner�s, New York.Pratt, Ambrose. 1955. The Lore of the Lyrebird. Robertson & Mullens, Melbourne, Australia.Short, Lester L. 1993. The Lives of Birds. Birds of the World and Their Behavior. American Museum of Natural History. Henry Holt & Co., New York.Snow, David. 1982. The Cotingas. Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and other species. British Museum of Natural History. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, New York.Van Tyne, Josselyn and Andrew J. Berger. 1971. Fundamentals of Ornithology. Dover Publications, New York.Walters, Mark. Jerome. 1989. Courtship in the Animal Kingdom. Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York.Whitten, Tony. 1982. The Gibbons of Siberut. J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London, UK.Thomas, Bill. 1976. The Swamp. W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York.White, B. 2000. U.S. Navy Kills Whales in the Bahamas. AWI Quarterly, Summer, Vol. 29, No. 3, pages 6-7.

FilmsThe following represent only a few of the many films concerning animal calls and music. See the Video section ofthis book for further listings. Also, many audiocassettes are available with wildlife sounds of various types.

"Attenborough in Paradise." 1 hour. Nature (PBS). BBC. 1996. David Attenborough visits New Guinea and describes the birds of paradise and

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their extraordinary calls."Crane River." 1 hour. National Audubon Society. PBS Video. 1988. Hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate in the Midwest, bugling, calling and courtship displays, which resemble minuets."Gentle Giants of the Pacific: Humpback Whales" 1 hour. Sierra Club Series. Wood Knapp Video. The amazing songs of these whales are heard in this film."In the Company of Whales" 90 minutes. Discovery Channel. (VHS & CD‑ROM.) 1992. Following great whales and hearing their sounds with zoologist Roger Payne and other experts, insights are given on whale behavior and biology. "Jaguar. Year of the Cat." 1 hour. Nature (PBS). Telenova Productions. 1995. Filmed in the rainforests of Belize, the daily life of Jaguars is seen in remarkable close-ups accompanied by the sounds these cats make as they walk in the forest or lap water in a stream, with insect and bird songs in the background."National Audubon Society's Video Guides to North American Birds." Five one-hour cassettes. National Audubon Society. These videos show and record all species in the United States and Canada for which photo documentation exists. Audiocassettes of almost all the native breeding birds are available from this organization. "Wild Wolves." 1 hour. BBC. NOVA. PBS. 1997. This film examines the true nature of wolves, their behavior and ecology and lets us listen to their howling.

Catalog of books and CDs with audio samples: www.earthear.com

LawnsProject SummaryMany biologists and conservationists are now questioning the use of green lawns in yards, in front of public buildingsand along highways. In general, green lawns have to be maintained through use of chemicals that can pollute thegroundwater and kill beneficial plants and insects; use noisy, gas-guzzling mowers and leaf-blowers; and fail topreserve native plants. This project involves examination of the effects of these lawns on the environment and humanhealth, as well as the use of energy and water to maintain them.

BackgroundMost biologists consider grass lawns to be ecological deserts because of their lack of diversity. In many areas, grasslawns cover a large percentage of land in villages and suburbs. Golf courses are increasing in number. Lawns arereplacing natural habitats, such as woodlands, grasslands, shrub and desert and, in the process, wildlife and naturallandscapes retreat. The Eastern Box Turtle has lost a large percentage of its original long grass, shrubby habitat togreen lawns, and the species has declined dramatically. These slow-moving reptiles are also badly injured or killed bylawn mowers, which smash their shells (see Stevens 1994). Migratory birds and butterflies return in the spring to findtheir natural habitats converted to green lawns, depriving them of feeding and breeding sites. In general, lawnsprovide little or no habitat for wildlife.

To keep them green, herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers are sprayed or spread in vast quantities. More than67 million pounds of chemicals are placed on US lawns annually (see Wasowski 2001). These chemicals kill usefulnative animals, such as pollinating insects, birds that disperse seeds and consume insects, burrowing rodents, andearthworms that aerate the soil. They also contaminate the groundwater. Some of these poisons are so powerful that

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they have caused sickness and death in humans. Early in 2001, the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, became thefirst in North America to order a ban on all insecticides, herbicides and fungicides used on lawns. The ban wasprimarily intended to protect human health, especially children who are most vulnerable to pesticides (see Nickerson2001). Fifty-five other communities across Canada are considering similar bans. Opposition to grass lawns andfrequent mowing along public highways is also growing. One citizen of Orleans, Massachusetts, objected to the TheBoston Globe when mowers destroyed carefully planted native wildflowers growing along a major highway in thisCape Cod area. The flowers, planted by volunteers (one as old as 85), of the New England Wild Flower Society, hadbeen clearly posted not to be mowed.

Green lawns require constant care and use enormous amounts of energy for mowing, edging and removing leaves. Most lawn mowers and leaf blowers consume gasoline and pollute the air with fumes, while also creating noisepollution. Mowers also damage tree trunks or kill above-ground tree roots, especially of old trees, andfrequently-applied fertilizer can harm older trees, which need slow-release enrichment of the soil (see Stocker 2001). For these reasons, gardeners recommend that no large tree be within 2 feet of a lawn. Another threat to trees is lawnwatering during droughts; an insufficient amount of water reaches the tree roots, while the lawn absorbs most of thewater (see Stocker 2001).

Lawns are also extremely costly. The American Nursery and Landscape Association estimated that Americans spent$17.4 billion on their lawns in 1999 (see Schembari 2001). The Lawn Institute, based in Illinois, estimates that thelawn care industry for North America is worth more than $25 billion (see Nickerson 2001). By planting perennialnative grasses, shrubs, trees and flowers, homeowners could save literally billions of dollars.

The grass used for lawns in the United States is composed of various European turf species, which, unlike most nativeAmerican grasses, require large amounts of water, often as much as a third of local water supplies. Householders use40 to 60 percent of their water on their lawns in the summer. Erroneously called "Kentucky Blue Grass," this andother commercially distributed grass seed needs cool, damp climates for healthy growth. The grass quickly turnsbrown in the heat of summer or when not watered enough. In dry seasons, many towns mandate water rationingbecause lawn watering has depleted local supplies. The average lawn will use up to 10,000 gallons of water of asummer and 10 times the amount of pesticides as an acre of farmland (see Egan 2001).

Communities being built in dry areas, such as southwestern deserts, tend to plant green lawns because their ownershave come from areas where they were typically used. In desert areas, green lawns can only be maintained throughdiversion of water that dries up rivers or alters the ecology of these regions. In Arizona, for example, several rivershave been reduced to dry beds by diversion for the burgeoning developments surrounding Phoenix and Tucson. Citiesof the Southwest and California use enormous amounts of their water supplies to water green lawns. In the process,several pairs of endangered Bald Eagles that nested on one of these rivers, along with thousands of other forms of life,disappeared. One new resident of Phoenix, an architect, planted native plants in his garden instead of grass, defyinglocal developers, who remove all native vegetation and cover the land with gravel. His yard was soon filled with wildmarigolds, creosote bushes and other plants that seeded themselves in his beautiful, no-maintenance back yard. InGlendale, Arizona, homeowners receive a $100 rebate for converting 50 percent or more of their grass to shrubs orplants. Studies from Las Vegas found that a city could save 40 percent of its water by converting to non-grassalternatives. With the world facing increasing water shortages, the grass lawn, especially of non-native species ofgrasses, has become a luxury that is wasting this precious resource.

Green lawns can be grown with native grasses that do not require artificial watering and chemicals, and by using thecut grass as mulch. Fertilizers and herbicides are not necessary for these lawns, which can be mowed with electric orold-fashioned, human-powered mowers. Also, smaller areas can be planted. Instead of dominating the yard, lawnscan become a minor part. Planting native vegetation, including wildflowers, shrubs and trees, in back yards and citylots is a preferable alternative to the green lawn. In shady, moist areas, mosses can be planted that never requiremowing and stay green year-round (see reference list below). Perennial plants do not need replanting each year andrequire almost no maintenance. Trees provide shade, erosion control and habitat for wildlife. Planting a garden with

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native American plants can also aid in the conservation of ecosystems and rare species. By not using chemicals,groundwater and wildlife are protected.

ActivitiesConsult the books listed below before beginning the following project:

o Select two small land plots (each about 200 square feet) each distanced from one another by at least 100 feet. Priorto planting, take samples of soil and examine them under a microscope to determine the diversity of plants andanimals, whether there are earthworms to aerate the soil, and other life forms. Measure the acidity. Describe the soil'stexture, whether rich loam, clay or sand, and whether it is dry and crumbly or moist. Are there birds that feed in thegrass or evidence of small mammals, such as tunnels? In one half of the plot, plant non-native grass and use thechemicals recommended by the grass seed company. Water and mow the lawn, if needed. On the other half of thelawn, dig up the soil and spread natural compost from leaves and other vegetation throughout, to a level of 2 feet. Sow seeds of native grasses, such as buffalograss (sold in many nurseries). Water this portion until the seeds areestablished, but not afterward. Do not apply any artificial fertilizers or other chemicals. Mow with electric or handmower only. After one month, take soil samples from both areas and examine them under a microscope to determinethe diversity of microbes and the moisture content in the two soil samples. Note whether the organic wildlife area hasabove-ground evidence of wildlife such as butterflies, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Identify themby species. Did the organic grass survive without artificial watering? Compare the two soils, their moisture content,invertebrate species diversity, water usage, environmental effects and the cost to maintain each one. A thirdalternative is described in the next project, �Living with Nature,� focusing on conversion of the lawn to nativewildflowers, bushes and trees, which requires even less water and labor.

o As a study project, select a suburban area of approximately one city block and measure the acreage in green lawns,calculating the cost in use of chemicals, as well as gasoline for lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Estimate waterconsumption and the percentage of this that must be artificially applied through hosing or sprinklers. What is thewater source? Ask the local water department how much water is used in your area for watering lawns each year. Contact the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, for information on contamination of groundwaterby lawn chemicals and their effects on wildlife and human health.

Books and PublicationsEgan, T. 2001. Grass is Gone on Other Side of these Fences. The New York Times, May 5.Eschbacher, K. 2000. Cape Officials, residents ask for cut in Route 6 mowing. The Boston Globe, Aug, 20.Forster, R. Roy and Alex M. Downie. 1999. The Woodland Garden: Planting in Harmony with Nature. Firefly Press, Buffalo, NY.Nickerson, C. 2001. A grass-roots drive for purity. Pesticide ban sparks turf war in Canada. The Boston Globe, Sept. 3.Raver, A. 2001. In the Desert's Warm Embrace. The New York Times, April 5.Schembari, J. 2001. Personal Business. Why the Grass Must be Greener. The New York Times, Aug. 26.Schultz, Warren. 1996. The Chemical-Free Lawn. The Newest Varieties and Techniques to Grow Lush, Hardy Grass. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.Stein, Sara. 1993. Noah's Garden. Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stein, Sara. 1997. Planting Noah's Garden; Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.Stevens, W.K. 1994. American Box Turtles Decline, Perishing Cruelly in Foreign Lands. The New York Times, May 10.Stocker, C. 2001. When to give up on a dying tree. Gardening. The New York Times, May 3.

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Wasowski, A. 2001. Dawn of a New Lawn. Audubon, May-June.

Living with NatureProject SummaryThis project focuses on planting a garden with native plants and creating natural habitats that will attract wildlife andprovide breeding and feeding areas for a wide variety of species. If an area for planting is not available, the principlesof a natural garden can be learned. Also, the project discusses means of avoiding any lethal methods to control insectsor animals with which one can come into contact in one's home or back yard, including Raccoons in garbage pails,deer munching shrubbery or moles burrowing in garden plots.

BackgroundThe ecological problems presented by green lawns (see previous project) have brought many people to realize thatmany gardens and yards tend to reflect a lack of ecological knowledge and concern, and fail to preserve a naturalenvironment and maintain wildlife habitat. This subject has resulted in many books and even garden magazinearticles, but only a small minority of homeowners have abandoned the green lawn or reduced its size, making it asmall part of one's yard rather than the dominant component. The long-term goal of converting lawns to naturalenvironments is to provide wildlife with habitat it has lost in recent times, a period during which housingdevelopments gobbled up millions of acres of woodland and pastures. Also, lack of tolerance for wildlife hasincreased, with homeowners moving into areas only recently converted to housing to be dismayed and often fearfulwhen they find wildlife in the back yard. These animals were the original tenants of the land, and we are the invaders,but few homeowners seem to realize this fact and want nature to be tamed and non-invasive. Common senseapproaches to this potential conflicts will be explored.

Activitieso Conversion of a yard from grass to natural vegetation can be done at once by digging up the entire lawn, excavatingat least 2 feet to aerate and compost the soil, and replanting. A natural garden can also be planted gradually, plot byplot. The most important step is preparing the soil by enriching it with natural compost and organic fertilizers so thatsoil microorganisms and invertebrates, such as earthworms, can flourish and plants will have a better likelihood ofsurviving. Acidity testing is important to create a soil condition to which the type of plants used will adjust. Conifers,mountain laurel, rhododendron and related plants require high acidity, while grasslands and meadows tend to be morealkaline. Use no pesticides or artificial chemicals. Also to be avoided are bug zappers. These electric units that hangoutside and electrocute insects have been shown to kill thousands of useful insects, such as moths, but almost nomosquitoes, for which they are intended (see Wildlife Conservation magazine, July/August 1997). A school class canutilize a plot of land of varying size according to the amount of time and effort it can expend. Many of the bookslisted below provide clear guidelines to follow in establishing a garden with native plants. Plan the garden to conformto the regional ecosystems, and use only plants native to the area. Some of the suggestions made in various books andarticles include planting non-native plants to attract butterflies or birds. This should be avoided, and such plantsshould be removed. Consult guides to native plants to determine whether a species is indigenous. The best sourcesfor native plants are organizations, such as the New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, Massachusetts, thatpropagate all plants sold and recommend that no wild plants be dug up from woodlands or other natural habitats. Themost coveted and delicate species, such as damp woodland trilliums and lady slippers, will almost surely die iftransplanted from the wild, as they live in a symbiosis with fungi. Moreover, they require many years to mature andare rare in the wild. The habitat established--whether a woodland, small pond with water plants, prairie withwildflowers, desert landscape with cacti or marsh--should be compatible with local vegetation. It might consist ofrecreating a habitat destroyed by developers on the very site. If the lot is completely open without shade trees or evenbushes, it is not possible to establish a woodland environment immediately. The planting will have to be transitional,using species that would naturally seed in such areas, such as birch and ground cover plants in northern and

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mountainous areas. Whichever habitat is chosen, carefully record which plants are introduced and their survival on aregular basis.

o If you are creating a butterfly garden, follow instructions such as provided in the booklet, "Butterfly Gardening inNew England," to establish shrub plants for the larvae, fragrant flowers to provide nectar for adults, a damp area formoisture and mineral feeding, and tangles of vegetation for the caterpillars. Keep in mind the locality. Host plantsdiffer in each region of the country. In an open environment, a field of native goldenrod, milkweed and a diverseselection of plants would have the best likelihood of survival and attract butterflies of many species. Many butterfliesspecialize in a particular type of host plants, and only these can be planted. Flowers that attract many species ofbutterflies are a good introduction to such a project. When the flowers have appeared, spend an hour each sunnyafternoon recording the species and numbers of butterflies that come to feed. Later in the season, try to find eggs,chrysalids and caterpillars among the vegetation. A good source for more information on this subject is A World forButterflies. Photograph them. Note also other types of wildlife that come, whether birds, small rodents or otherspecies. Write a report on the project, recording the successes and failures from beginning to end. The flowers maybe left indefinitely, as they are perennials.

o Animals such as Raccoons, squirrels, deer, skunk, moles and rabbits are often seen as pests to be eliminated if theycause damage, eat prize plants or vegetables, or create burrows in the soil. What seems to be a major problem that canonly result in trying to eliminate the animals can be solved or attitudes changed so that wildlife is better tolerated. Living With Wildlife, a book published by the Sierra Club, is based on the experiences of the California Center forWildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation and education center with more than 200 volunteers and a professional staff. Theyreceive more than 12,000 calls a year from people who have problems dealing with animal nuisances. Manyproblems, such as animals eating garden vegetables, can be solved with fencing, having garbage cans that cannot beopened by animals or are placed behind barriers, and spraying bushes and vegetation with substances and odors thatrepel animals. For example, to "raccoon-proof" a garbage can, fasten the lid securely with rope, bungee cords, chainor even weights. Secure the handle to a metal or wooden stake driven into the ground to prevent it from being rolledaround. Store cans in wooden bins or in a locked shed or garage. Certain smells, such as ammonia, repel animals andcan be sprayed on bushes or garbage cans. This book gives specific advice as well as encouraging a tolerant andpositive attitude toward wildlife, reflecting the knowledge that we have entered their territory, not the opposite. Ifone's home has destroyed important habitat for wildlife, it is important to consider recreating it by allowing brush andshrubs to grow, instead of neat flower beds, to provide habitat for turtles, rabbits and groundhogs to share theproperty. Consider that a graceful deer in one's yard is a privilege to see. To protect special trees or fruit, spray themwith repellants that contain milk, and hang bags of human hair. Most people choose to share their yards with deer andother wildlife, planting vegetation for them. It is also important to be tolerant of predators, such as bear, Cougar,Coyote and wolves, while staying far away from them. These predators, especially Cougar and Wolves, play animportant role in regulating populations and maintaining the strength of deer and other ungulates. Theoverpopulation of deer in many parts of the country can be blamed on direct persecution of large predators. Thesepredators should never be fed or approached, however, but allowed to exist as vital components in ecosystems. Fewpeople are aware that Coyotes and foxes are important consumers of mice. A key factor in developing tolerance ofwildlife is to understand their need to survive and to learn about and respect their natural behavior.

Books and PublicationsAdams, George. 1994. Birdscaping Your Garden. A Practical Guide to Backyard Birds and the Plants That Attract Them. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.Adler, Bill, Jr. 1992. Outwitting Critters. A Humane Guide for Confronting Devious Animals and Winning. Lyons and Burford, Publishers, New York.California Center for Wildlife with Diana Landau and Shelley Stump. 1994. Living With Wildlife. How to Enjoy, Cope with, and Protect North America's Wild Creatures Around Your Home and Theirs. A Sierra Club Book, San Francisco, CA.Harper, Peter. 1994. The Natural Garden Book. A Holistic Approach to

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Gardening. Simon & Schuster, New York.Knopf, Jim, Sally Wasowski, John K. Boring, Glenn Keater, Jane Scott and Erica Glasener. 1995. Natural Gardening. The Nature Company and Time-Life Books, New York.Merilees, Bill. 1989. Attracting Backyard Wildlife. A Guide for Nature- Lovers. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN.New England Wild Flower Society. 2000. Butterfly Gardening in New England. New England Wild Flower Society and Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701 (www.newfs.org).Schappert, Phil. 2000. A World for Butterflies. Their Lives, Behavior and Future. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.Schenk, George. 1997. Moss Gardening; Including Lichen, Liverworts and Other Miniatures. Timber Press, Portland, OR.Schneck, Marcus. 1992. Your Backyard Wildlife Garden. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA.Sweden, James van. 1997. Gardening with Nature. Random House, New York.

Lifestyles and Citizen ActionThrough small changes in our lifestyle, we can reduce our use of energy, our pollution, our unnecessary consumptionof material goods and help wildlife and the natural world. By launching programs within our community and makingother contributions to conservation, we can have an even greater impact. This project will examine some examples ofeach conservation approach and encourage activism to preserve nature and endangered species. It will makerecommendations about purchases that can either aid or damage the environment and wildlife.

Activism on the part of individuals and governments is crucial to reversing the trends that are extinguishing speciesand habitats at an unprecedented rate. The natural world is a place of beauty that provides a cornucopia of medicines,food and inspiration. The majority of scientific discoveries lie in the future. Preserving these treasures should be themost important goal of society. Future generations will not forgive us if we extinguish this precious heritage, uponwhich we depend for our very lives.

The majority of people on Earth are too occupied with survival to understand and act on the need to preserve speciesand natural environments, especially wilderness areas. Those people who can teach means of sustainable livingwithout harming nature should become far more active to prevent further extinctions and erosions of naturalecosystems. On the whole, we have failed to treat the environment and our fellow creatures with the respect needed toprevent further losses to our natural heritage. Never before, however, have we known so much about the componentsand functioning of ecosystems, nor have we had the technology and the will with which to remedy past errors in orderto live in harmony with the Earth.

Land ProtectionSustainable LivingInternet SolutionsPurchasing Power

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Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Land ProtectionBackgroundOne can contribute to the preservation of biological diversity worldwide in many ways. Land protection is key tospecies' preservation. In foreign countries, biological diversity is at great risk, with extinctions occurring on a dailybasis. Through support of international organizations, vital tracts of land can be purchased or the governmentconvinced to designate them as national parks. In the United States, bogs, vernal ponds and other temporary wetlands,longleaf pine forests, old-growth cedar forests, tallgrass prairies and desert springs are some examples. They are vitalto the survival of countless species, but receive little or no state or federal protection from destruction, and harbormany endangered species. Making a project of protecting a threatened habitat and/or species could spell thedifference between survival and extinction for a particular plant or animal species, a very worthwhile project.

Activitieso Support organizations that specialize in setting aside land. This is key to saving the wildest, most pristine andimportant habitats before they are ruined. By obtaining issues of past magazines and press releases of organizations,such as The Nature Conservancy or Conservation International, learn what land they have protected that providedimportant habitat for endangered species and how they work to identify and protect biologically important areas inneed of conservation. Help an organization that is raising money for land that harbors rare or endangered species in aforeign country. One class raised more than $100,000 to purchase a sizeable rainforest tract, teeming with beautifultropical birds, in Costa Rica. Far less funds per acre are needed to acquire land in many countries where biodiversityis high than in the United States or Europe.

o On a local basis, a class could save an endangered species by helping to purchase its habitat. Information on astate-by-state basis on endangered species and habitats can be obtained from the Natural Heritage Programs connectedwith each Environment or Wildlife Department. These programs identify rare, endemic and declining species andtheir habitats, including those in need of protection. Also, national, state and local organizations and governmentdepartments can help in identifying land in need of protection. In some cases, an organization that specializes in aparticular type of animal, such as frogs, cranes or turtles, will know of such areas and may already be raising money topurchase them. The class can choose an area in need of fund-raising and begin to aid in a fund-raising campaign. Itwould be more feasible to choose land that is not so expensive or large that many years would be needed to purchaseit. The Nature Conservancy or another organization may be preserving the land. Another option is to launch acampaign to convince a town, state or federal agency to designate an area as protected. A field trip should be taken tothe site, guided by a biologist familiar with the habitat--its plants and animals. Someone in the class could bedesignated to photograph the site, while others would take notes on what the guide says for a report and write letters tothe editors of local newspapers. The site may preserve one or more endangered species, as well as an endangeredhabitat. Once successful, contact local newspapers to publicize the event, and write up the achievement in terms ofhow the goal was attained and what biological treasures were protected.

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Sustainable LivingBackgroundA growing number of organizations are providing people around the world with alternatives to destroying forests andother natural habitats to clear land, obtain firewood or raise livestock. In tropical areas, land cleared of rainforest canbe farmed for only a few years because of poor soil. Organizations are now helping these farmers survive inecologically friendly ways through donation of solar cookers and heaters, aid in establishing small farms that utilize

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bio-gas (methane obtained from manure and sewage), and promotion of self-sustaining farming methods that do notdestroy the environment. In Madagascar, primatologist Patricia Wright protected the forest home of endangeredlemurs by convincing the government to establish a large national park. It provided many jobs for local people. Shethen raised money for the construction of schools and clinics. Deforestation has virtually stopped as a result, and thepeople have become protective of the forest after learning how it prevented mudslides. Providing this type of help forpeople in poor areas of the world will be a major project of Conservation International, which plans to integrate thisapproach with its land protection and biodiversity studies, through a donation it received of more than $1 billion.

Activitieso Select one or more threatened habitats that are being destroyed as a result of over-grazing, deforestation or othermeans by people in developing countries. Many examples are given in the main text of this book. In classroomdiscussion, explore the ways in which these areas are being destroyed. What habitats and threatened species aredisappearing as a result? What do you think should be done to prevent this situation from continuing and to help thepeople at the same time? For example, in Central Asia, so many sheep, yak, horses and other livestock are grazed bynomadic people that they are ruining the grasslands, leaving little food or habitat for native gazelles, wild camels,antelope and wild horses. Native predators, such as wolves, bears and Snow Leopards, are killed as potential threatsto the livestock. Make specific suggestions that would provide for the basic needs of the people by alterations in theirlifestyle and simple technology, while preserving the ecosystem.

o Consult the Internet and other sources for organizations that distribute solar cookers and simple technology, as wellas agricultural advice. Contact them with suggestions for areas to donate that harbor many endangered species andhabitats. Ask which countries are the recipients of this aid. Find out which parts of the world are not receivinginternational aid and, if these areas are environmentally threatened, suggest that they receive aid.

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Internet SolutionsBackgroundInternet websites provide a new avenue to protect the planet through programs like "click-to-donate." Merely byclicking onto the Internet site, one activates funding for wilderness, endangered species and environmental protectionfrom corporate pledges. EcologyFund (www.ecologyfund.com) is one such website that receives more than 100,000visitors each month. In exchange for ad exposure, the fund donates sponsors' money to protect wilderness, plant treesand reduce pollution. Threatened wilderness land in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Africa, the Amazon Basin,Patagonia and Scotland has been preserved, and the fund claims to protect 187 square feet of land and save 2 poundsof carbon dioxide per visitor every day. Care2 (www.care2.com) also has a "click-to-donate" program focusing onendangered species and rainforest protection. One of its programs, "Race for Big Cats," has protected 16,000 squaremiles of key habitat for endangered Tigers, Jaguars and Snow Leopards, in conjunction with the WildlifeConservation Society. In cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, Care2 has purchased large tracts of rainforest.

A related approach to preserving wildlife and funding conservation work consists of Internet sites that tune into livevideocameras located in national parks or other natural areas, sending signals to satellites. Some websites are free,while others charge a small fee. Cameras set up in South African national parks (www.africam.com) focus on wildanimal lairs, waterholes and other wildlife spots. They have generated large sums of needed money for the parksystem. In the United States, television cameras have been trained on Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle nests andtransmitted to a cable station that plays the picture. Solar-powered videocameras have been designed that can beplaced in the most remote wilderness with no need for batteries or outside electric power sources. This concept hasgreat educational potential, simultaneously raising money for endangered species and wilderness protection, whileeducating as well. Such websites can provide important information on these subjects while providing exciting viewsof wildlife and wild places. As an alternative to eco-travel for those of lesser means or those unable to travel, such

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websites could offer tours, such as tree-top views of rainforests and their abundant wildlife, or close-ups of seabirdcolonies or coral reefs. They have the added benefit of protecting delicate ecological areas from the effects of toomany tourists. Such websites should provide a portion of the funds to local people as an incentive to preserve the landand wildlife. If significant funds were generated, countries faced with choices such as whether to allow corporatelogging, commercialization of wildlife, dams and other projects needed to repay national debts, might consider thesecameras to be a better alternative. If successful, such websites would encourage countries to maintain large areas ofwilderness. Videocameras also have a scientific potential in giving a 24-hour view of areas harboring wildlife, oftendifficult to observe through other means.

Activitieso Click onto several videocamera sites to see the various types of wildlife spectacles offered. Some examples: seemorebears.com (Alaskan bears feeding on salmon in season); www.african.com (see above);www.world-stream.com (views of ancient species of fish, the Coelacanth); zooatlanta.org (Giant Pandas). Whatthreatened species or habitat would you like to see on a videocamera placed in the wild? Would you also like theviews to be part of a menu offering information on the species and the habitat? What ideas do you have about theapplications and potentials of these live videocams linked to the Internet and television cameras broadcasting to cabletelevision stations?

o Select a country that is suffering high levels of environmental destructionbut also has beautiful scenery and many endangered species. Discuss the potential of proposing alternatives to such acountry, i.e. placing videocameras as income producers versus commercial logging, a short-term destruction versus along-term investment. What scenery and wildlife would you think would attract Internet users in this country?

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Purchasing PowerBackgroundDeveloped countries consume 80 percent of the world's natural resources. If not for consumers in these countries, nomarket would exist for many luxury products, such as mahogany, teak and rosewood. The deforestation taking placeto harvest these woods pushes many species of animals closer to extinction. Loggers take the largest and oldest trees. These are the ones most valuable as wildlife habitat, oxygen producers, carbon dioxide absorbers, soil stabilizers andwater retainers. In spite of some programs meant to encourage "green" forestry practices, even selective logging, inwhich only a few trees are taken per acre, all types of logging have negative effects on pristine old-growth forests andtheir wildlife. (See Forests chapter). Many species are directly endangered through loss of habitat and hunting. People enter previously impassable forest on logging roads to kill Gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, rare antelopes,birds and other wildlife for bushmeat markets and animal products for Traditional Medicine. (See Forests chapter). Old-growth forests in some parts of the world have been growing undisturbed, harboring the same types of trees forhundreds of millions of years. These forests are irreplaceable repositories of biodiversity and living pharmacies,precious for their scientific value as extraordinarily rich ecosystems. Scientific knowledge of the functioning of theseforests and an inventory of their species has only just begun. Cutting one tree can kill a dozen that come crashingdown as jungle vines entwine whole groups of trees and branches that stretch for long distances knock downneighboring trees. In the process, many animals lose their lives and habitats. Nest holes for birds, mammals, reptilesand insects, loose bark under which forest bats roost, tall canopies for eagles' nests--all are lost. The logs obtained arenot essential for human survival, but are sold as raw material for coffee tables, wall paneling and lawn furniture for thewealthy. Thousands are cut merely to manufacture shipping cartons or chopsticks, used once and discarded. morethan 80 percent of these old-growth rainforests have been logged in the last century, greatly reducing the production ofoxygen, water vapor and absorption of carbon dioxide. Certain products, such as Brazil and cashew nuts, can beextracted from tropical forests without harm. Ecotourism has great potential as a means of income. If profits areshared with the people who gather them, they will have an incentive to protect these trees. Other products that

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damage forests, especially tropical forests, are wooden carved boxes and tourist knick-knacks made from scarcewoodlands in India, Indonesia and other countries where forests have been decimated.

Coffee was once grown in the shade of tall forest trees, but with the development of new strains of coffee plants,forests are being cleared to grow coffee in the sun (see the Forests chapter). Coffee grown in the shade is far moreecologically-friendly, since large trees are preserved. Many North American birds migrate to the tropics and winter incoffee plantations. The sun-grown coffee has deprived wildlife of this habitat. A campaign to return to shade-growncoffee, especially if grown without pesticides, was launched by the Smithsonian Institution a few years ago. Somecommercial importers have provided a market for this shade-grown coffee, enlisting coffee farmers in many parts ofthe world to protect forests and grow coffee as an understory. Now this coffee is available in many US stores,marketed as "Shade-grown," "Bird-friendly" or "Shade-grown--Organic." Many of these coffees are comparable inprice to, or only slightly higher than, sun-grown commercial coffee grown using pesticides. They have the addedadvantage of being healthier, since they contain no dangerous chemicals. Likewise, most bananas are grown withmassive amounts of pesticides and herbicides, but many growers are now producing bananas organically. Ask yourlocal grocery store to stock them and be aware that purchasing them helps the environment. A similar problem existswith the growing of chocolate from the cacao plant in tropical areas. Its great popularity in the United States hasencouraged the clearance of forests for large-scale plantations that grow the plants in the sun, using fertilizer,fungicides and pesticides (see Khamsi 2001). Diseases have broken out in the large plantations, requiring heavy useof pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals to control them. Organic Commodity Products (OCP), a supplier inCambridge, Massachusetts, promotes the growing of cacao in shade without artificial chemicals. Fortunately, 85percent of the world's cacao is shade-grown. Some 6million small farmers who cannot afford pesticides provide thiscrop. Several chocolate companies are now marketing organic chocolate to promote environmentally friendlyagriculture (see Khamsi 2001).

Caviar from sturgeon native to Russia and the Caspian Sea is one of the most valuable wildlife products. Sales in theUnited States and other importing countries have pushed virtually all Eurasian sturgeon species close to extinction. Even famous French chefs, including Jacques Pepin, recommend a boycott of Beluga, the most valuable caviar, whichcomes from the most endangered sturgeon species. Many other fisheries products come from species that havedeclined 90 percent or more in the past decade from overfishing. Atlantic Cod, Orange Roughy, Chilean Bass,Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, sharks of many species and swordfish have been seriously overfished. Many of these fish,such as sharks, are slow-reproducing, not having young until they are as old as 20 years. It is likely that theirpopulations will never be able to sustain a commercial take. Pollack is a white fish from Alaskan waters that is beingoverfished to manufacture artificial crabmeat. The pollack fishery endangers Steller's Sea Lions, depriving them of amajor food source. Shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and many other tropical areas endanger sea turtles, which drownby the thousands in shrimp nets, which also catch millions of tons of unwanted fish that are discarded. Some shrimpis caught using nets that allow sea turtles and other non-target species to escape the net through turtle excluders, andthese shrimp are often labeled "turtle-safe." Farmed shrimp and salmon involve environmental destruction. Mangroves are being cut in tropical countries around the world to construct shrimp farms, which emit large amountsof pollution. Farmed salmon are kept in off-shore pens, but many escape to breed with wild salmon, endangering thelatter. The pens also contribute large amounts of pollution to the ocean.

Likewise, mining operations devastate entire ecosystems to obtain gold for jewelry and other minerals. The UnitedStates provides an enormous market for gold, the majority of which is made into jewelry. Even national parks inIndonesia are now permanently scarred, with large areas of land and rivers devegetated and poisoned with cyanide,which is used to separate the gold from ore. This country has the highest number of threatened species in the world, amajority of which are found only here. Orangutans are being driven from their forest homes in Indonesian Borneoand Sumatra by loggers and gold miners, their populations now facing extinction in the wild. It is such activities thatare fostered by the market for gold. Diamond extraction can destroy wildlife habitat and river bottoms, as well ascausing human rights violations when used as currency by dictatorial governments who torture their citizens. Pearlcultivation damages American aquatic ecosystems. Pieces of mussel shell are inserted into living oysters, whichcauses the oyster to exude pearl material to surround the mussel shell. The mussel shells used for this cultivation

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come, for the most part, from the United States. Millions of tons of these shells are dug out of riverbeds, threateningsome species.

As discussed in the Trade chapter and the previous project, millions of wild animals are captured for the pet trade andspecialty collectors in wealthy countries. Parrots, cockatoos, macaws, turtles, tropical fish, snakes, lizards--and evenfrogs--are plucked from their tropical homes to be sold in pet stores. Some species have been driven to the edge ofextinction by the wild pet trade, which also treats these animals inhumanely. The United States bans the import ofmost wild birds, but many species are still permitted under the Wild Bird Conservation Act. Also smuggling, amulti-billion dollar activity, funnels thousands of animals into pet stores where they are represented as legally taken oreven captive-bred. Only 10 percent of shipments entering the United States are inspected for wildlife. For themajority of wild animals in the pet trade, little protection exists. Although the US Endangered Species Act and theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have helped limit trade,strict controls exist for only a small minority of the most endangered species. Since the United States is the world'slargest wildlife importer, the effect on wildlife has been catastrophic.

Lizard, snake and crocodile handbags, shoes and luggage; ivory; feathers and other wildlife products are part of atrade that has endangered hundreds of species. Even if the product was not made from an animal on the USEndangeredSpecies List, it may be threatened by trade or inhumanely captured or killed. At present, for example, the reptileproduct trade is killing millions of snakes and lizards for leather products, causing many species to becomethreatened. Yet almost no controls have been placed on the trade, and what controls there are contain loopholesmaking them ineffective.

Many plants are endangered by harvesting for collectors. Rare cacti, delicate woodland and wetland species such asVenus Flytraps, Yellow Lady Slippers and other orchids, South African protea and a long list of other plants are beingplundered in the wild. Many of these plants cannot be raised in captivity and have been illegally dug up in the wild.

Activitieso Write a report on the effects that American consumers have on old-growth tropical rainforests and their wildlife.

o Ask local stores if they carry shade-grown and organic coffees and, if not, would they stock them? Several grocerystore chains and many health food stores sell these coffees. In restaurants and coffeehouses where coffee is served inlarge quantities, ask them to purchase at least a portion of their coffee as shade-grown, organic. Write theSmithsonian Institution's Ornithology Department for more information on the effect of sun-grown coffee on birds andother wildlife, and write a report on the subject.

o Select one of the jewelry materials mentioned, such as gold. Read the Forests chapter in this book and otherreferences to the mining of gold in South America, Africa and Asia and its effect on the environment and wildlife.Write a short report on the mining operations in a particular country and their effects on wildlife and the environment. If purchasing jewelry, choose artificial diamonds, pearls and gold. These items can hardly be distinguished from thegenuine ones because of advances in simulation technology. Other types of gem and metal mining also damage theenvironment.

o Discuss the general reasons for boycotting wild pets; fur coats; reptile products; feathers; caviar; threatened fish;turtle meat;, Traditional Medicine remedies made from wild animals, such as snakes, bear, seahorses and otheranimals; other wildlife products and rare plants that you have seen in stores. Select one species (or group of species,such as sharks) and write a report on how the trade is threatening it and how to publicize the need to boycott itsproducts.

Books and PublicationsBielski, V. 1996. Shopper, Spare That Tree! Sierra. The Magazine of the

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Sierra Club, July/August, Vol. 81, No. 4, pages 38-41.Goldberg, C. 1997. Seattle Journal. Songbirds' Plight Starts A Buzz in Coffee Circles. The New York Times, July 27.Hotton, P.C. 2001. House of steel: post, beams, frame, and roof. The Boston Sunday Globe, Jan. 14.Khamsi, R. 2001. Eating Right. Enlightened Indulgence. Organic Chocolate Companies Help Make Calories Count Toward Conservation. E Magazine, July/Aug.Newman, J.A. Ruwindrijarto, D. Currey and Hasporo. 1999. The Final Cut. Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks. Environmental Investigation Agency, London, UK.Revkin, A.C. 1997. Taking Lowly Pallets and Finding Treasure. The New York Times, March 5.Revkin, A.C. 2000b. A West African Monkey is Extinct, Scientists Say. The New York Times, Sept. 12.Stevens, W.K. 1997a. Logging Sets Off an Apparent Chimp War. The New York Times, May 13.Wille, C. 1994. The Birds & the Beans. Audubon, Nov.-Dec., Vol. 96, No. 6.

Films"Affluenza." America's materialism affects the world's environment, destroying forests and other environments. Solutions to the out-of-control consumerism are offered in "Escape from Affluenza." "Cultivating Opportunity. Self-Help Solutions to Poverty in the U.S. and Africa" focuses on small-scale farmers forming cooperatives to protect themselves against corporations taking over their land."Mountains of Gold" tells the story of Brazil's gold rush and the thousands of prospectors who pan and dredge gold in the rainforest."Secrets of the Choco" explores the survival of the Choco tribe in Colombia and its rainforest, threatened by highways and non-sustainable development. Six world experts on tropical ecology and sustainable development discuss the region's future."Super-Companies" concerns the operations of multinational corporations in terms of raw materials and how they are affecting the needs of people and the global environment.

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