I am applying for an internship-type opportunity where my senior year of high school (next year) would be spent at my local zoo researching and studying wildlife conservation. I am elated at the idea and would love to get in. For one of the application essays I have to write, the prompt is this: “If you could contribute to the conservation of one species in your career, what would it be and why?” I chose Hyaena hyaena, the striped hyena: it is an understudied species, almost a true scavenger, and they have an important role in preventing the spread of parasites and pathogens from animal carcasses. They also reduce the cost of animal carcass disposal as found in the abstract of this research paper. However, striped hyenas are still persecuted: they are often wrongly accused of killing livestock and are perceived as dangerous pests by most, and as a result, are poisoned by farmers. They are also hunted for their body parts and are part of the illegal wildlife trade. Hyenas in general have such bad reputations, but striped hyenas are especially under researched and are listed as vulnerable to critically endangered in most countries of the Middle East.
So, I know which species I would contribute to the conservation of… but what would you? I’m curious as to what the naturalists of the iNaturalist forum have to say on this thought provoking question. Which animal species would you choose? It’s so hard to choose just one.
Probably some unknown soil organism, since we would have to preserve massive amounts of habitat in order to even assess the population, and soil is one of the foundations of the food web.
I would actually pick an insect or plant. Something that is crucial to the habitat of your favourite animal in the area and preferably several of the animals in the area. The small stuff people ignore often supports the big flashy animals that everyone tends to talk about.
Well, I would probably go for one of those “flashy” species, exactly because those are the ones that is being talked about and I firmly believe any conservation effort that is not able to motivate the general public is unfortunately doomed. Conservation without including the people does not work on a long run.
So I could go and try to find funding and a listening audience for my personal interest of conserving some random spider somewhere (which would quite probably be my personal pick), or I can try and have a look at for one of those “interesting” species (large mammal, butterfly, bird..) and point out why habitat conservation is important to them.. meanwhile conserving all those other species dependent on the same habitat (even spiders) as well.
So my main argument would be that it is vital to get the public involved to be able to do meaningful conservation beyond that single species.
Awesome, many people wouldnt know much about weta. I head into the mountains again in Jan to spend some more time doing population surveys on remote mountains, in the Paparoa range.
(Australian article, but I share that one, because it was a fun interview I did with an Australian Journalist interested in the “Spiders are scared of you” angle)
Totally agree on the “It doesnt matter what gives the place protection, as long as something gets it there” approach. There are many “X animal” sancturies working with that approach.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/147745-Papio-ursinus-ursinus Cape Town’s baboons are a ‘protected’ sp. Current solution to the ‘problem animal’ does not tackle the humans who can’t be … bothered to manage their food and plastic waste. Proposed solution is to round up the urban edge troops. Find an excuse to kill off as many as possible. Vasectomise the males, and move the survivors to a tiny sanctuary - effectively a zoo enclosure. Baboons are part of fynbos, spreading seeds, helping to return plants after wildfire. More and more development, and must have more vineyards.
Lee Point in Darwin is a biodiversity hotspot. But it is threatened by a defence housing development. The best thing that happened to the protest was Gouldian finches being found there. All of a sudden the place became important in a way that the blackfooted tree rat could not achieve. Half of Darwin has hand-painted signs of gouldian finches on their fences and that bird is a publicity dream. Suddenly tree with hollows were being recognised as being important. There are weekly walks around the place looking all all the pretty biodiversity.
To protect the blackfooted tree rat and savanna forest, the gouldian finch has become incredibly important. And that will help protect rare shorebirds in the nearby beach including the far eastern curlew.
I do like the OP’s choice of mammal. If you read Lucy Cooke’s book “Bitch” there is lots about hyenas although they are the spotted variety. My question is whether the same findings are applicable to the striped. I assume so but need to look it up.
I have to agree with this point,
Even I raised some pretty butterfly species who overshadowed the other moths I was raising, I bring caterpillars and show my parents that it’ll become this as an adult and hyped everyone up at home, ofc no one can hate a pretty butterfly hehe
Now they’re used to me bringing random larvae home and raising them :)
I believe most people need an introduction in a similar way, I used the same tactic towards all the ppl around me and thus theyve stopped killing every other bug that they dont like hehe.
Instead they ask me about it (best feeling) !
Males and females being indistinguishable in the wild with genitalia looking identical with female pseudopenises and fused labia and sometimes you need blood tests to work out the sex. Females are also larger.
I would choose a keystone species whose presence was intricately woven into the success or failure of an ecosystem. Ecologically, these species provide the most opportunity to preserve and protect a multitude of other species under the umbrella of a single-species preservation approach.