Biodiversity Hotspot Lab 12

According to the international joint initiative group, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a region must meet this criteria- 1,500 endemic species of vascular plants or more than 0.5 % of the world’s total vascular plant species and a minimum of 70% habitat loss- to be classified as a biodiversity hotspot.  California Floristic Province or region meets all criteria and is one of five Mediterranean climates that exist in the world, all of which are on the hotspot list.

 

1.    Location and ecosystem

The California Floristic Province is on the western side of California between the latitudes 30° to 50° N and 30° to 40° S latitudes.  California’s Floristic Province biodiversity hotspot biomes are chaparrals, and grasslands sagebrush steppe, prickly pear shrub land, coastal sage scrub, juniper-pine woodland, upper montane-subalpine forest, alpine forest, riparian forest, cypress forests, mixed evergreen forests, Douglas fir forests, sequoia forests, redwood forests, coastal dunes, and salt marshes. This region is a Mediterranean climate, in other words, wet and windy winters (due to the prevailing westerly winds) and dry, hot summers.  CEPF apprises that only approximately 50,000 miles or 24.7 percent of the original vegetation remains unspoiled.  This ecosystem is home to 2,120 or 61% endemic plant species that provide a foundation for the habitats ecosystem.  These plants as well as other native plants support over 150 endemic vertebrate species and over 9,000 endemic invertebrate species among many other native and nonnative species that all interact to support and sustain their ecosystem. 

2.      Native endemic plant species-

Common name: Butterworth’s buckwheat

Binomial Name: Eriogonum butterworthianum

Trophic level: Producers (first trophic level supporting all other organisms in an ecosystem).

Interactions with the biotic and abiotic ecosystem-

Through the process of photosynthesis this autotrophic organism produces chemical energy that is stored in its biomass providing its own nutrients as well as nutrients to other organisms making it a producer in the trophic food chain.  This plant is also a foundation species that provides a habitable diverse environment for other species through drawing in other species whose survival depends upon its nutrient supply.  For instance-this species supports primary consumers or herbivores, such as, the Smith’s Butterfly or Euphilotes enoptes smithi that is endemic to this region.  The Smith’s butterflies eat the nectar and mate then lays its eggs on the flowers of this species after the eggs hatch the larvae feed on the plants flowers for several weeks before entering the pupa stage where it transforms into a butterfly.  It spends its entire life cycle with the buckwheat species.   In turn these species pollinate Butterworth’s Buckwheat and feed secondary consumers, such as, birds, lizards, ants and tertiary consumers such as the American Peregrine Falcon or Falco peregrines anatum. Ants whom also live and eat off of the Butterworth Buckwheat have developed a mutual relationship with the butterflies: the ants protect the species from predators and parasites during the larvae and caterpillar stage in return the caterpillar feeds the ants with the sugary liquid it excretes.  They also provide nectar for bees and in turn the bees are pollinators for the species. Through photosynthesis this species is chemically cycling carbon dioxide from the abiotic environment and turning it into oxygen to be used by the biotic environment, including humans.  The Butterworth’s buckwheat organic dead waste provides nutrients to decomposers and detritus feeders in an ecosystem.  In turn, these organisms return nutrients back to the soil to be used by the plants.  This shrub species aids in the prevention of soil erosion thus aiding in sustaining the nutrients in the soil as well as the stability of the banks in an aquatic systems causing them to be more fixed thus helping support the geography of the landscape and species within the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem. 

Reproductive Pattern and basic physical characteristics-

This shrub is a perennial (lives for two years) herb with a single stem that grows from a stout, woody root.  Leaves on the stem are smaller and arranged alternately.   Each panicle has a cluster of 15 to 20 flowers.   Bees, butterflies and other pollinators pollinate these plants although self fertilization is possible but rare.  Germination of the seeds takes approximately one month or less.  However, to remain viable shrub Butterworth Buckwheat populations require surface fire at intervals of 5 to 20 years.        

Native endemic animal species-

Common Name:  Smith’s Butterfly

Binomial Name: Euphilotes enoptes smithi

Trophic Level: Primary Consumer (herbivore)

Interactions with the biotic and abiotic ecosystem-

The Smith’s butterfly spends its entire life cycle with the buckwheat species. In late spring and early autumn the adults mate and lay their eggs on the flowers of this species after the eggs hatch the larvae feed on the plants flowers for several weeks before entering the pupa stage where it begins its ten month transformation into a butterfly.   In turn, this species is a pollinator for the Butterworth Buckwheat shrub.   Ants whom also live and eat off of the Butterworth Buckwheat have developed a mutual relationship with the butterflies: the ants protect the species from predators and parasites during the larvae stage in return the caterpillar feeds the ants with the sugary liquid it excretes.  Insects and spiders feed on the larvae.  Birds, reptiles, insects, and arachnids feed on the butterflies.  The organic waste from each stage of the butterflies development as well as the dead butterfly provide food for decomposers and detritus feeders who break down the waste into nutrients that are returned to the soil for use by other organisms.      

Reproductive Pattern and physical characteristics-

The Smith’s butterfly spends its entire life cycle with the buckwheat species. In late spring and early autumn the adults mate and lay their eggs on the flowers of this species after the eggs hatch the larvae feed on the plants flowers for several weeks before entering the pupa stage where it begins its ten month transformation.  The following year, as the Eriogonum butterworthianum flower again, the new adult butterflies emerge living for only a week.   Male butterflies have bright blue wings. And females are brown with red-orange markings. The underside of the wings of both males and females is white or grey with black dots.

3.      Socio-economic status in the region-

The socio-economic conditions in this area are that of a developed wealthy nation.  Generally, people are well educated, with middle to wealthy class incomes, and employment rates are relatively high.  

4.      Hotspot Criteria-

This region contains: 2,124 or 60.9% of the world’s endemic plant species; 18 mammal species  making up 11.5% endemism; 8 bird species making up 2.4% endemism; 4 reptile species making up 5.8% endemism; 25 amphibian species making up 54.3% endemism; and 15  fresh water species making up 20.5% endemism (CEPF).  CEPF reports further disclose that more than 75% of the native vegetation has been lost.  Within this region native grasslands and vernal pool habitats have been degraded to 1% of their original extent resulting from the introduction of nonnative grasses, agricultural development- conversion of the natural habitat to livestock pastures and croplands.  Logging has reduced the red wood forests natural habitat by an astonishing 75% in the past 150 years.  A 90% loss of riparian forests has already occurred and is still being degraded by legal logging operations, grazing, and development.  Coastal scrublands are being degraded by housing development, commercial development, and by of off-road vehicles.  Wetlands, riparian woodlands and southern maritime sage scrub, have experienced a 90% loss of their original area. 

5.      Causes of degradation-

Species biodiversity has decreased in this region due to increased populations of humans and human activities.  Commercial farming in California supplies approximately half of agricultural products consumed by the U.S. population every year however it has caused habitat degradation.  Habitat fragmentation and loss has occurred due to urbanization, road construction, pollution, livestock grazing, logging, off-road vehicles, and fire regulations suppressing natural fires all degrade these ecosystems and specie biodiversity. 

6.      Habitat conservationist-

One-third of this region is under federal and state protection including several national parks, 50 wildlife areas, 16 national wildlife refuges, 107 state parks that are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.    Many of these protected areas in the region are the result of conservation organizations, i.e. The Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wilderness Society.  Two of the national parks, i.e. Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park, in this region were established in 1890.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implemented conservation plans for this region utilizing these methods as well as others-corridors, restoration, and preservation and development plans.  These strategies include collecting data on the species in this region and identifying the harmful nonnative invasive species.  Also, identifying sources that caused the degradation then eliminating or reducing those threats.  The forest service and volunteer groups remove nonnative plant species and reintroducing and re-populating native plant species to the region.  Plant seeds are stored in a protected seed bank.  Mitigating the effects of degradation and restoring the habitat requires the practice of community-based conservation where biologist and willing private land owners and other residents in the community work together to protect and restore the habitats.  These willing volunteers are educated about endemic species and taught how to protect the species and support the species through planting native plants and reducing pollutants.  Monitoring of the species within the ecosystems and revaluation of the strategies used for restoration of the ecosystems is done in order to observe the effects of ecological restoration and allows for adaptive management.  Some example of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ecological restoration plans that follows this criteria are the Del Monte Forest and Preservation Development Plan and Recovery Plan for Five Plants from Monterey County, California.  The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) consists of seven global leaders who are committed to equipping nongovernmental and private sector organizations to help protect ecosystems around the world.    

CEPF contact information-

 Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Conservation International 2011 Crystal Drive Suite 500 ​Arlington, VA 22202, USA Tel: +1-703 341-2400 Fax: +1-866-733-9162

7.      I think it is important that I as well as others express and demonstrate concern through action for any loss of biodiversity in hotspots around the world.  A loss of biodiversity means a loss of natural capital resulting in a loss of natural services that purify our air, water, soil and food supplies. And a loss of natural resources that support an economy through tourism, and providing resources for material goods, pharmaceutical goods, and food supplies.  A 70% or more loss of a habitat in regions inhabiting endemic species may result in an ecological tipping point causing an irreversible shift in the biotic and abiotic functions of the ecosystem leading to the extinction of many species.  Biodiversity or the variety of species, the ecosystems in which they exist and interact and natural services they provide, e.g. water and air purification, soil renewal, and pest control, support the local and global environments and economies.  The biotic and abiotic chemical or nutrient cycles- including photosynthesis supporting air quality, soil renewal, and renewal of nutrients stored in the biomass of organisms which provide nutrients to other organisms in an ecosystem, including humans-effect the local and global environment.  A loss of biodiversity in a region will alter the behavior of the ecosystem.  For example, a change in the composition of the soil may cause population declines in native plant species thus a decline in animal species populations whose survival relies upon the endemic plant species to provide nutrients to them.  Loss of species will degrade the ecosystem altering or completely changing the  biome in which they lived rendering them unsustainable leaving behind a degraded area of land that cannot supply us with resources or provide us with free ecological services.  The change in a biomes habitat will lead to a change in local temperatures effecting temperatures in the atmosphere thus effecting global temperatures and weather systems.  Furthermore, the loss of any endemic species is permanent!                         

  

References

Arnold, R.A. Ecological studies of six endangered butterflies: Island biogeography, patch dynamics, and design of habitat preserves. Berkley: University of California Publications in Entomology, 1983.  1-161. Print. 16 Nov. 2015. 

Malone, Maureen.”Adaptations of the Smith’s Blue Butterfly.” animals.mom.me: Demand Media. Web. 16 Nov. 2015

“California Floristic Province.” cepf.net: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. Web. 16 Nov. 2015