RESEARCH REPORTS:
In an effort to figure out how our group should break
up monitoring and characterizing the massive amounts of fauna we were
each individually assigned to do research in a certain area.
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH/PLANS:
In our first
attempt to find our focus for our goals, we each decided that we should
research the different parts of the Amazon rainforest. We were
all assigned to do find information on a certain part of the rainforest,
and I was assigned to look for characteristics of the subterranean part
of the rainforest. One of the early ideas we were looking at to
divide up our focus was to divide the different fauna from the different
environments they live in. While looking for information of subterranean
life, I have found that many areas of were actually drying out, causing
unexpected "natural" fires to occur. Natural forest fires in the
Amazon were never a problem before because the Amazon is very humid and
wet, but with the recent drying, fires are becoming more frequent. When
farmers set artificial fires to the forest to clear the land, there were
never no worries about it spreading, but the situation is now very different.
Some major recent fires have happened because the fires started
Amazonian soil is very infertile,
but there are certain patches From the web site:
http://pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/sacred.html
, it is quoted:
"In many places of the Brazilian
Amazon, special black soil ('terra pert') alternate with the usual
poor, reddish clay or white sand that forms much of the ground... These
black soils are usually fertile."
I found that very interesting,
and I hope to share that with the Land Group, to see if this would
be of any significance to anything. Also from this PBS website, I have
found that the different forms of soil management can a microcosm of
the extraordinary wealth for the ecological and medicinal knowledge
of the flora and fauna. Perhaps through further research, and
working in collaboration with the Land Group, we can find out what kind
specific soil management will help us with our knowledge of the fauna.
THE ECOSYSTEM DIVISION:
After each one
of us in the group presented our research of our different ecosystems,
we decided that it wouldn't be the best way to divide our focus. Too
many of the different types of Fauna, especially the particular species
that we are seriously considering to use as our "indicator species"
are very mobile, and have important associations with more than just
one part of the Amazon. To decide on how to continue we researched
specific types of speies in different ecosystems. I was to briefly
look into a couple of low-order species in the Amazon river, to see if
we could any species that would be good "indicator species." Here
is what I found:
The Discus (common name)
Phylum:
Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cichildae
Habitat: They live in the Amazon river. During
the Amazon floods, they actually reside amongst the rainforest trees.
Diet: Small Crustaceans, micro-organisms
Enemies/Predators: Larger fish
Size: 5-8 inches
Other General Info: When it is time for them to lay
eggs, they lay hundreds of them. They also eat insects such as
Dragonfly when they're young.
(Source:
http://animalsoftherainforest.org/
)
The Tetra (common name)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family:Characidae
Habitat: The Amazon river.
Diet: Small Crustaceans, micro-organisms
Enemies: Larger fish
Size: 3.5-9 cm
Other General Info: There are many different species
of Tetra. Travel in schools of about seven fish. The eggs
they lay are scattered amongst the aquatic plants and hatch in 24 hours.
Swim and live in the middle and lower layers of the river.
(Source: http://animalsoftherainforest.org)
Anchovies (common name)
Genus: Anchoa
Order: Clupeiforme
Family: Engraulidae
Habitat: The river.
Diet: Small insects and crustaceans
Size: 1.4-1.8 cm
Other General Information: There are currently 12 different
species of anchovy known in the Amazon river. They are a very small
pelagic fish.
(Source:
http://amazonian-fish.co.uk
http://peterah.demon.co.uk/thefish.htm
)
From my research of these low-order fish, I have concluded
that since most of these small fish eat the smaller crustaceans or insects,
perhaps those particular fauna would be a better indicator species to
use if we want to monitor low-order river organisms. I will research
the smaller crustaceans and insects into more depth if we do decide to
monitor them.
DECISION FOR INDICATOR SPECIES:
Our group has decided that the type of indicator
species we need to find are split into two groups. Monitoring the
first type of indicator species would give us an idea of the general health
of the rainforest. That means that we will look a type of fauna
that has large populations, or look into two particular fauna species in
which the ratio of the populations effect each other. From these
population numbers, we will try to determine what the status quo for the
population number is, and if there are any large changes in these numbers,
we would try to determine what is wrong. To determine the second
type of indicator species we will monitor is by first determing a threat.
By determining a threat, such as chemical contaminant, we will try
to see if an indicator species is heavily effected by the threat, and how
they change.
GENERAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
During my research at
the library, I have found some information from the National Research Council
that had the five basic criteria that assesses biological value. According
to the National Research Council:
1. Richness - the number of species or habitat in a given area.
A region with more species per unit area is given a higher value.
Ex. Tropical forest have higher conservation
priority than an adjacent tropical dry forest with less richness of species.
2. Endemism - the narrowness of distribution of species in an
area. A region with many endemic species have a higher value than a region
with fewer endemic species. Endemics are the species that are prevalent
in or peculiar to an area.
Ex. Madagascar which has 80% of plant species found
nowhere else in the world has high priority.
3. Rarity - the rarity of species in a region. A region with
rare species is given a higher value.
4. Ecosystem Services - The importance of the natural habitat
or resident single species capable of influencing ecosystem function for
various services of importance to humans. Ex. Forested
watershed that is a source of public water has higher conservation value.
5. Protected Status - The relative protection of species
that already exists determines the value of a species or habitat.
All in all, species do not all have equal value when it comes to biodiversity
management and conservation, and we must come up with the species that
will best represent the health of the Amazon rainforest as a whole.
(Source: National Research Council, et al. Perspectives on Biodiversity:
Valuing its Role in an Everchanging World. Washington, D.C.: National
Academy Press, 1999.)
BATS:
Bats are one
of the indicator species we are very seriously considering to monitor. The
reason being is that bats are the most diverse tropical canopy mammal. The
techniques used to monitor bats include intensive roost hunting and acoustic
monitoring. Acoustic monitoring is only in its early stages, but it
shows great promise. In actuality, it almost impossible to observe
bats from their roost because they're so small, and thus technological advances
such acoustic monitoring, radio telemetry, and night-vision scope will be
key.
Bats play an indispensible role in maintaining forest diversity and promoting
the regeneration process. Bats can be great indicators of kinds of
habitat disturbances, but the overall studies of effect of habitat alterations
on bats are few, and much more needs to be done.
(Source: Kalko, Elisabeth and Handley, Charles. "Neotropical Bats int he
canopy: Diversity, Community Structure, and Implications for Conservation."
Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.)