BIODIVERSITY. GLOBAL

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Just as plants and animals in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin aree n t i r e l y d e p e n d e n t u p o n e a c h o t h e r, m o r e d i s t a n t e c o s y s t e m s are ultimately dependent upon the health of the LakePontchartrain Basin. The reasons for this can be traced to thecomplexities of BIODIVERSITY.GLOBALThe rapidly accelerating loss of plant and animal life on our planet can be largely attributed tohuman population pressures and the demands of economic development.Rainforests are cleared. Huge areas of forest are killed by pollution, and continued populationgrowth threatens countless plants and animals.The current extinction rates from deforestation alone are estimated to be 10,000 times greaterthan the naturally occurring background extinction rates that existed before the appearance ofhuman beings.If the current rate continues, approximately 15% to 20% of all species will become extinct within the next few years.LOCALLoss of biodiversity in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is somewhatless dramatic than these examples, yet no less significant.LouisianaIntroduced species like nutria compete with native species like muskratand dramatically increase herbivore damage to marshlands. Whereasmuskrat eat only certain plant species and do not appear to be aswidespread as nutria, nutria are ubiquitous and eat everything in vastareas of marshland, sometimes leaving only mudflats behind. These mudflat marshes are more prone to erosion than were the marshes with plants. (Refer to side story by CliffGlockner, “The Marsh’s Friend, the Muskrat,” Pages 187-188).Fewer plant species result in fewer animals which depend upon them for food and shelter.Increased development and damage to local wetlands put increased pressure upon thebiodiversity of the region.Already some plants and animals like the Louisiana Black Bear have almost completelydisappeared from the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.Other animals and plants like the Bald Eagle or the West Indian Manatee have becomeincreasingly rare and are threatened or endangered.The continued introduction of alien species threatens the health and continued existenceof local animals and plants.174 LPBF/UNO

EXAMPLESof introduced problem plants incl ude: Water hyacinths which completely clog bayous and ponds every summer, Kudzu, a tenacious vine which climbs over everything in its path and blockssunlight from other plants, eventually killing them, and Chinese tallow trees, which compete with local plants for nutrients and space.EXAMPLESof introduced animals which are presentingproblems incl ude: Nutria which eat all vegetation, and Zebra mussels which are clogging water intake pipes all across the country.“Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it. Life in alocal site struck down by a passing storm springs back quickly: opportunistic species rushin to fill the spaces. They entrain the succession that circles back to something resembling the original state of the environment.”Edward O. Wilson,The Diversity of LifeIncreased BIODIVERSITY in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin increases thelikelihood that our valuable ecosystems will continue to function properly Preserving HABITAT in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin preserves BIODIVERSITYWHERE ARE OUR ANIMALS GOING?The Lake Pontchartrain Basin contains many diverse habitat types. Before humansinterfered with the Basin’s ecosystems, these habitats supported an abundance of plantand animal life and were intricately woven together into a vast web of life whichsupported and complemented each other.Since humans have developed much of the land surrounding Lake Pontchartrain,these once-connected ecosystems have become isolated, and their delicate balances havebecome disrupted. As this isolation and disturbance continues, ecosystems become unableto support certain animals, and the animals become threatened, endangered, or extinct.LPBF/UNO175

Threatened Speciesare those species likely, in the near future, to becomeendangered species throughout all or much of their range. The range of an animal is thatgeographic region in which all of the conditions necessary for its survival are met, e.g.,temperature requirements, food supply, habitat availability, clean water, adequate space, etc.Endangered Speciesare those species of animals and plants identified bygovernmental or international organizations as being at risk of extinction because ofhuman activity, changes in climate, changes in predator-prey relationships, etc.Introduced Species are species native to some other part of the world which havebeen brought to an area for a particular reason, e.g., ornamental plants or fur-bearinganimals. These introduced species usually have some other species which keep them undercontrol in their native lands, but lack these checks and balances when they are introducedinto a different place. Without competition or predators to restrict them, introduced speciesreproduce extremely fast and can ultimately cause an ecosystem to become unstable. Someexamples of introduced species in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin are water hyacinths andnutria. These organisms have already damaged the ecosystems into which they were introduced and are costing taxpayers a lot of money in an attempt to keep them under control.(Refer to Cliff Glockner’s personal observations entitled “The Marsh’s Friend, the Muskrat,”Pages 187-188, culled from a life of hunting and trapping in the marsh. These observationsprovide one man’s perspective of the traditional role of muskrat in the marshlandssurrounding Lake Pontchartrain.)AN ECOLOGICAL BALANCING ACT176 LPBF/UNO

LPBF/UNOManatee West IndianBlack Bear LouisianaMAMMALS177Woodpecker Red CockadedVireoFISHREPTILESINVERTEBRATESMap Turtle RingedSea Turtle LoggerheadSea Turtle LeatherbackSea Turtle HawksbillSea Turtle GreenSea Turtle Gulf Sturgeon Gopher Tortoise InflatedHeelsplitter Pallid Sturgeon Kemp’s RidleyMussel Brown Pelican Piping Plover Least Tern Black CappedPeregrinFalcon Bald Eagle AmericanBIRDSANIMALSQuillwort LouisianaPLAN TSThreatened & EndangeredTHE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN

Carp Grass Carp Cattle EgretSparrow HouseStarlingGecko European European MediterraneanREPTILES NutriaFISHBIRDSANIMALS Zebra MusselCockroach GermanMosquito Fire Ant Asian TigerINVERTEBRATES Alligatorweed Water Hyacinth ElodeaAQUATIC Elephant’s EarChinese Privet Kudzu Japanese &TERRESTRIALPLAN TSSome IntroducedPlants & Animals InTHE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASINMAMMALS178 LPBF/UNO

REPTILES Gopher Tortoise Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Green Sea Turtle Hawksbill Sea Turtle Leatherback Sea Turtle Loggerhead Sea Turtle Ringed Map Turtle Louisiana Quillwort 177 LPBF/UNO INVERTEBRATES Inflated Heelsplitter Mussel

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