Slide #1: “The Kangaroo Rat: a species hopping to
extinction.
At first, the thought of losing a species isn’t that bad. After all, isn’t the
kangaroo rat only one species out of the many that support Death Valley
National Park’s food chain? However, the loss of a species can be
detrimental to its ecosystem as a whole.
Slide #2: What will happen to the food chain?
As a primary consumer (in other words, a herbivore), the Kangaroo Rat
feeds on producers such as mesquite beans, grass seeds, and lupine
flowers. This small rodent is then prey to a variety of predators: Coyotes,
Desert Sidewinders, Bobcats, kit foxes, and even the Great Horned Owl.
These secondary consumers, in turn, provide a source of energy to the
Mountain Lion. Without the Kangaroo rat, all of these animals would lose a
significant source of their food. Thus, thinking about it as a whole, one
small rodent really does influence a whole lot of species!
Slide #3: Will the food webs still be intact?
With the kangaroo rat’s disappearance, food webs would be severely
shaken, causing a trophic cascade. Predators would lose an important food
source, and thus populations of coyotes, snakes, and foxes would
decrease. With the decrease of these predators, populations of primary
consumers would initially increase, as there would be less animals that eat
them. As more predators die out, there would be less energy for
decomposers and scavengers (which would further hinder their population).
Therefore, less nutrients would return to the soil, and ironically producers
such as plants (which would have benefitted in the beginning) are now
suffering from the infertile soil. Finally, in the last twist of fate, the kangaroo
rat’s own counterparts would die out due to the decreasing food source.
Slide #4: What effect would this have on the relationships
that exist within that ecosystem?
Though there are plenty of other prey, such as the jackrabbit or small birds,
no other organism can fit the Kangaroo rat’s ecological niche. Fleas and
botflies rely on the kangaroo rat’s blood for nutrients, sharing a parasitic
relationship with the rodent. The kangaroo rat also has a mutualistic
relationship with multiple organisms. By consuming grass seeds, kangaroo
rats disseminate the plants’ population. Additionally, they accidentally help
plant grass seeds by forgetting where they stored their seeds, causing
them to sprout.
Mutualism also occurs between kangaroo rats and harvester ants. They
help the ants through soil disturbance (moving the soil so it’s easier for the
ants to build nests) and selective seed consummation (leaving behind
seeds that the ants can then eat).
Without the help of kangaroo rats, these organisms could not survive.
These organisms rely on kangaroo rats for food, shelter, and reproduction.
Slide #5: Conclusion
With the disappearance of the kangaroo rat, populations in Death Valley
are becoming increasingly unstable. Factors such as climate change and
global warming are already making the hottest place on Earth even hotter,
and animals including the kangaroo rat may die out in the wild or move to
new locations due to such extreme climate. Nonnative species such as
burros are also becoming invasive and prove as hard competition,
overconsuming native plants and damaging springs. To help, you can
donate, or, even better, share this video with your friends. Nature is
powerful, but the destructive capability humans hold is even more so. We
can save these vulnerable species. Together.