Download or read book Gopher Tortoises Nature s Ecosystem Engineers written by Dr. Richard A. NeSmith and published by Applied Principles of Education & Learning. This book was released on 2021-07-28 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people have never seen an endemic North American gopher tortoise. They have limited habits but can be found west and east of the Mississippi River. There are small regions in the American southwest, but the largest population is found in the "Deep South," particularly southeast Texas, southeast Lousiana, southern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, and most of Florida. These land tortoises are threatened and federally protected. Their importance in the ecosystem is vital. They have been identified as keystone species as many plants and more than 350 other animals, rely upon the gopher tortoises for survival. Ensuring that gopher tortoises do not lose their habitats ensures that the ecosystem is healthy and vibrant. At the current rate of change, gopher tortoises will lose 20 percent of their habitat in the next 40 years.
Download or read book Gopher Tortoises in the Anthropocene written by Weston Curtis Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gopher tortoises are ecosystem engineers whose burrows provide habitat to >350 species. Prescribed fire is used to manage tortoise habitat, but fire timing is mostly restricted to the vegetative dormant season. Restricted fire timing in combination with white-tailed deer competition may negatively affect tortoises. To address these concerns, we quantified these species’ dietary overlap and conducted a field experiment to examine impacts of fire phenology on plants and animals. Although tortoises and deer consumed ~75% of the same plants, their diets were statistically dissimilar. Fire altered plant community composition and increased foliar crude protein and phosphorus while decreasing calcium. Deer detections were unaffected, but tortoises were detected more in fire treatment plots. We simultaneously monitored burrow and surface temperatures and found burrows provide thermal refuge. Our data suggests that fire timing affects plants in ways that can affect gopher tortoises, and burrows may mitigate some negative impacts of climate change.
Download or read book The Gopher Tortoise written by Ray E. Ashton and published by Pineapple Press Inc. This book was released on 2004-06 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full-color book for children ages 10 and up. Details the life of the gopher tortoise and how it is tied in with other animals. Also discusses how the encroachment into the gopher tortoise's habitat is affecting the environment and the tortoise.
Download or read book The Gopher Tortoise written by Ray E. Ashton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-08-28 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full-color book for children ages 10 and up. Details the life of the gopher tortoise and how it is tied in with other animals. Also discusses how the encroachment into the gopher tortoise's habitat is affecting the environment and the tortoise.
Download or read book Gopher Tortoises written by Christopher Blomquist and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2003-12-15 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet natures little bulldozer. Gopher tortoises specially designed front legs allow them to dig deep into the ground, creating homes for themselves and for dozens of other species that might not survive without them. These tortoises do immeasurable good to their habitat by sifting soil and moving minerals to the surface. They also help to spread seeds so that new plants can grow. As they read, kids will learn to appreciate this quiet, helpful creature.
Download or read book Habitat Structure and the Dispersion of Gopher Tortoises on a Nature Preserve written by Mary Catherine Stewart and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Keystone Species Nature s Maintenance Managers written by Dr. Richard A. NeSmith and published by Applied Principles of Education & Learning. This book was released on 2021-09-22 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many years biologists and ecologists focused on the bottom-up approach to how an ecosystem managed itself. However, in the late 1960s, Dr. Robert Paine began seeing a different ecological trend. His data began revealing that some organisms, often apex predators, actually managed (secured) the characteristics of their habitat by either predation or some behavior that maintained the health and vitality of the ecosystem. Paine called these “keystone species,” based on the idea that were these organisms removed, then the environment would decline in health and eventually fail, falling prey to becoming a monoculture. His studies with starfish and mussels are a classic, and he was able to replicate the hypothesis in other habitats. This book revisits 14 of the organisms addressed in the first 39 issues of the Love of Nature series.
Download or read book The Gopher Tortoise and Commensals written by Richard Cary Paull and published by . This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Natural History and Management of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Daudin written by Ray E. Ashton and published by Krieger Publishing Company. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook is the first book on tortoise management and research techniques that can be applied to any species. It is designed to be the manual that can serve for certification for various institutions and State and Federal agencies. Many tricks of the trade on how to count burrows, excavate, and trap tortoises are given based on the 20 years of experience of the Ashtons. No other publication currently exists that brings together all the methods and techniques for tortoise management which can be used with other tortoises and turtles. Students and environmental consultants working with gopher tortoises and other upland species will find this handbook indispensable.
Download or read book Gus the Gopher Tortoise A Tortoise Tells His Story written by Thomas Kibalo and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-03-20 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a children's book about Gus a Gopher tortoise. In this book Gus shares his life and story.The book contains custom art illustrations to help Gus in his discussions. Gus lives in a burrow located in sand dunes on the coast of Florida. He describes in first person how Gopher tortoises live and eat, and how they provide shelter to other creatures on the dunes.Gopher tortoises are recognized as a keystone species, in that their presence and activities are essential to the dunes ecology, and the well being of different animals in that habitat. Gus will introduced us to some of these animals. Gopher tortoises are some of the oldest living land species here in Florida and are now threatened. The threat comes mainly from humans that are competing with Gopher tortoises for their habitat.Gus lets us know how we can help.The book also describes conservation actions underway to help preserve the Gopher Tortoise population. Proceeds from sales of this book will go to the Friends of the Marine Science Center to support that center in their tortoise rescue efforts
Download or read book Tainted written by Kristin Sharon Shrader-Frechette and published by Environmental Ethics and Scien. This book was released on 2014 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three-fourths of scientific research in the United States is funded by special interests. Many of these groups have specific practical goals, such as developing pharmaceuticals or establishing that a pollutant causes only minimal harm. Kristin Shrader-Frechette uses the analytical tools of classic philosophy of science to evaluate the conclusions of science tainted by the influence of special interests. She challenges accepted scientific findings regarding risks such as chemical toxins and carcinogens, ionizing radiation, pesticides, hazardous-waste disposal, development of environmentally sensitive lands, threats to endangered species, and inadequate standards for workplace-pollution exposure.
Download or read book The Evolution Underground written by Anthony J Martin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humans have "gone underground" for survival for thousands of years, from underground cities in Turkey to Cold War-era bunkers. But our burrowing roots go back to the very beginnings of animal life on Earth. Many animal lineages alive now—including our own—only survived a cataclysmic meteorite strike 65 million years ago because they went underground.On a grander scale, the chemistry of the planet itself had already been transformed many millions of years earlier by the first animal burrows which altered whole ecosystems. Every day we walk on an earth filled with an underground wilderness teeming with life. Most of this life stays hidden, yet these animals and their subterranean homes are ubiquitous, ranging from the deep sea to mountains, from the equator to the poles. Burrows are a refuge from predators, a safe home for raising young, or a tool to ambush prey. Burrows also protect animals against all types of natural disasters. Filled with spectacularly diverse fauna, acclaimed paleontologist and ichnologist Anthony Martin reveals this fascinating, hidden world that will continue to influence and transform life on this planet.
Download or read book Biology of Rove Beetles Staphylinidae written by Oliver Betz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are common elements of the soil biota, living in the litter and deeper soil layers. Although they are one of the most diverse and speciose groups of insects, no comprehensive books on their general evolution and ecology are as yet available. This book fills that gap, discussing significant aspects and active research examples in the fields of phylogeny and systematics, ecology and conservation, and reproduction and development. The combination of review chapters and case studies provides an excellent introduction to the biology of rove beetles and enables readers to become familiar with active research fields in this megadiverse group of beetles. Offering easy access to these fields, it also demonstrates how staphylinids are used as bioindicators in applied ecosystem research, including that concerning conservation issues. Experienced scientists and beginners alike find the diversity of subjects covered intriguing and inspiring for continuing and starting their own research. The book is intended for students and researchers in biology and zoology (entomology), including morphologists, ecologists, soil scientists, evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, biogeographers, taxonomists and systematists.
Download or read book Tortoises of the World written by George R. Zug and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2024-04-23 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book dedicated entirely to the fascinating ecology of the world's tortoises. Tortoises of the World is the only book to offer a comprehensive exploration of the biology, natural history, and conservation of the fascinating family Testudinidae. Renowned reptile scientist George R. Zug and acclaimed science writer Devin A. Reese bring a wealth of research to life in this beautifully illustrated volume, the first dedicated wholly to tortoises. Focusing on the diversity of the 47 known tortoise species and their evolution from ancestral turtles, this approachable and informative work explores: • Tortoise adaptations, their unique body plan, and their behavioral ecology • The odd anatomy and physiology that enables tortoises' life in shells • Their resilience to extreme temperatures and aridity • Tortoises' role as ecosystem engineers in the diverse habitats they occupy • Their intricate life cycle, from mating rituals and nesting to the tenuous survival of eggs and hatchlings Zug and Reese also examine the challenging nature of interactions between tortoises and humans while highlighting ongoing conservation efforts to secure their futures.
Download or read book At Home with the Gopher Tortoise written by Madeleine Dunphy and published by . This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the habitat, physical characteristics, and behavior of the gopher tortoise, and describes its role as a keystone species and how over 360 other kinds of animals live in the burrows it builds.
Download or read book The Effects of an Ecosystem Engineer the Beaver on Patterns of Species Richness at Multiple Spatial Scales written by Justin P. Wright and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Backs of Tortoises written by Elizabeth Hennessy and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful exploration of the iconic Galápagos tortoises, and how their fate is inextricably linked to our own in a rapidly changing world. Finalist for the 2020 E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, sponsored by PEN America Literary Awards The Galápagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. For sixty years, conservationists have worked to restore this evolutionary Eden after centuries of exploitation at the hands of pirates, whalers, and island settlers. This book tells the story of the islands’ namesakes—the giant tortoises—as coveted food sources, objects of natural history, and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, it brings into stark relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The tortoises, Elizabeth Hennessy demonstrates, are not prehistoric, but rather microcosms whose stories show how deeply human and nonhuman life are entangled. In a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by global history, Hennessy puts forward a vision for conservation based on reckoning with the past, rather than trying to erase it. “Fresh, insightful . . . Hennessy’s melding of human and natural history makes for thought-provoking reading.” —Booklist (starred review) “Gripping . . . well-researched and thought-provoking . . . whether you’re well-versed in the intricacies of conservation or have only just begun to long for a look at the tortoises yourself. On the Backs of Tortoises is a natural history that asks important questions, and challenges us to think about how best to answer them.” —Genevieve Valentine, NPR “Wonderfully interesting, informative, and engaging, as well as scholarly.” —Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place
