Biodiversity and Conservation: Presentations

Argos skipper

Habitat: Grasslands and prairies

Geographic range: from South Texas to central Minnesota and southeast North Dakota

Status: Endangered

Threats: habitat fragmentation, predation, fires, and habitat change

Variable Cuckoo Bumblebee

Habitat: Forests and grasslands

Geographic range: throughout the great plain region, southern Texas, and southeast US

Diet: nectar from flowers

Status: Critically Endangered

Threats: habitat loss, reduction of host species, low genetic diversity, pollution, and pesticides

Conservation strategies: Improve pollinator habitats, protection of host species, and restoration of native plants used for food

Fun fact: uses hosts to reproduce

Ottoe Skipper

Habitat: Tall grasses, plains, and prairies

Geographic range: through north Texas, Montana, Nebraska, Illinois, and Michigan

Diet: Nectar from flowers and grasses

Status: Endangered

Threats: habitat fragmentation, pesticide use, intensive grazing, agriculture, loss of the coneflower, and fire suppression

Conservation strategies: Increase awareness of prescribed fire needs, managing grazing, fire management, and preservation of prairies

Sei Whale

Habitat: Subtropical, temperate, subpolar water

Diet: cephalopods, copepods, krill, and fish

Status: Endangered

Threats: pollution, climate change, and entanglement in fishing gear

Conservation strategies: Protection via law, modification of fishing gear, and habitat protection

Migratory Monarch Butterfly

Habitat: Lives near milkweed populations

Geographic Range: North America, southeastern Canada, and northern Mexico

Status: Nearing on endangered

Threats: milkweed population crash, habitat loss and fragmentation, deforestation, urbanization, climate change, invasive species predation, and all forms of pollution

Conservation strategies: Community cooperation, education, and political activism

Fountain Darter

Habitat: Clean, good flowing spring fed streams with lots of plants

Geographic range: the San Marcos and Comal Rivers

Status: Endangered

Threats: hydrology changes, water pollution, invasive species, droughts and habitat loss, ecological instability, and dams

Conservation strategies: Community consciousness, education, vegetation restoration, decrease of pollution, Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, and the reduced use of groundwater

Texas Pigtoe

Geographic range: Used to be widespread across Texas, but habitat is now fragmented

Diet: Detritus and microorganisms

Threats: Habitat loss, declining host populations, nutrient pollution, dam construction, and drought

Conservation strategies: Reduction of runoff, changing of dam releases, and raising mussels in hatcheries

Mexican Blindcat

Habitat: Lives in subterranean cave systems

Geographic range: Mexico and Texas, within the Edwards Aquifer

Diet: Small invertebrates

Status: Vulnerable and Endangered

Threats: aquifer depletion, contamination, and reduced spring flows from over pumping

Conservation strategies: Groundwater conservation, minimum water levels, and wastewater treatment

Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

Habitat: Warm tropical and subtropical water, continental shelves, coral reefs, and coastal zones

Geographic range: Worldwide and seasonally off the Texas coast

Diet: fish, squid, rays, and small sharks

Status: Critically endangered

Conservation strategies: Marine sanctuaries, tagging and tracking research, and bycatch restrictions

Ocelot

Habitat: Grasslands and forests

Geographic range: the southern tip of Texas and in Mexico

Diet: rodents, rabbits, reptiles, and small animals

Status: Least concern and Endangered

Threats: habitat fragmentation, car crashes, genetic isolation, hunting, and captive breeding programs

Conservation strategies: Education, genetic management, policy for hunting and zoning laws, and local community involvement

Austin Blind Salamander

Habitat: Aquatic caves and open waters

Geographic range: has a small geographic range in outflows of Barton springs, only 56 km

Diet: Snails, worms, and insects

Status: Critically endangered

Threats: habitat fragmentation and pollutants in the water

Conservation strategies: Barton springs conservation programs, fix pollutants in the water, and close the water to the public

American Burying Beetle

Geographic range: Originally lived across 35 US states and 3 Canadian provinces, now can only be found in 9 states, if that many

Diet: Carrion and fly larvae

Status: Critically endangered

Threats: habitat alteration, climate change, and being easy prey

Conservation strategies: Reintroduction and protected areas

Whooping Crane

Geographic range: Canada and US

Diet: blue crabs and wolfberries

Status: Endangered

Threats: habitat loss, human related mortality, collisions with power lines and fences, hunting, and low reproductive rates

Conservation strategies: Protection of migratory habitats and recovery programs

Smalltooth Sawfish

Habitat: Lives in shallow and subtrobical waters

Geographic range: Can be found in the Gulf of Mexico

Diet: Crabs and shrimp

Status: Critically Endangered

Threats: pollution, habitat loss, overfishing, and coastal development

Conservation strategies: Legal protections, protected areas, education, and the reduction of pollution and litter in their habitat

Fun fact: Can reproduce sexually and asexually

Texas Kangaroo Rat

Habitat: Deserts or pastures, but doesn’t like protected land

Geographic range: very small range

Status: Vulnerable

Threats: cattle grazing, destroyed habitat, fire suppression, and the destruction of the mesquite bushes

Southern Plains Bumblebee

Habitat: Grasslands

Geographic range: throughout plains in the southeast and midwest US

Diet: pollinators and are foraging generalists

Status: Endangered

Threats: habitat destruction, pesticides, and diseases from non-natives

Conservation strategies: Better restoration of its habitat

Fun fact: uses nests that already exist to reproduce