I have decided to look at the various factors that are affecting the species richness, abundance, and distribution of butterflies in Canada. Currently, there are six different families of butterflies that are found in Canadian regions. Climate change is a problem that is affecting many species, butterfly species are one of the many affected. Anthropogenic climate change, which is climate changes due to human impacts are directly affecting butterflies because the changes in temperatures are affecting their migration patterns, their habitats as well as reproductive cycles. Climate change is not the only factor affect the butterflies in Canada, loss of habitat is due to logging, as well as the increase in agriculture intensity in the Canadian plains is also affecting butterflies because of the herbicides and insecticide. Butterfly species distributions will be subjected to …show more content…
Butterflies located in the Tundra Zone of Canada are the most diverse because of their climates, however, there has been a recent decline in the diversity of these butterflies. Which can be the causation of climate change as well as habitat loss. In the Borel Zone butterflies take full advantage of the forest in which they live in. It is a good habitat in-regards to food, protection and also good for caterpillars to go through metamorphosis. Habitat destruction is a large problem throughout the prairies due to agricultural pressures increasing which leads to negative effects. Areas, in western Ontario, and St. Lawrence River as well as in areas of the maritime provinces there is a high diversity of butterflies due to the deciduous woodlands. However with the diversity of butterflies in Canada, it is currently experiencing changes due to habitat disturbances like large timber and logging areas which affect the butterflies natural habitats, leading to a decrease in their survival and
Monarch Butterflies and Butterfly Weed, a type of milkweed, have coevolved as plant and pollinator. This means that they both rely on one another to survive. Milkweed is the primary source of nutrition for monarchs. Monarchs only eat Asclepias tuberosa a particular species of Milkweed. The monarch relies on toxins in the milkweed to fend off predators such as birds. The toxic tendencies of the milkweed plants caused the government to attempt o eradicated the plant along roadsides and in cow pastures. This has caused a major decline in population of milkweed, which is also endangering monarchs. Milkweed relies on the monarch to pollinate it so that it can reproduce.
Isle Royal is located fifty-six miles north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the largest wilderness area in Michigan (USNPS, 2014). The island is surrounded by Lake Superior, which creates a cooler temperature. This results in arctic plant species growth on the island. There are only eighteen mammal species present on the island because most mammals cannot make the trip across the frozen great lake (USNPS, 2014). The need for an ice bridge is not the only environmental factor that is stopping the migration of animals; there is also the severe cold, and also wind and fog (Vucetich, 2012). Some species such as caribou and coyote have found the island to be too intense and have gone extinct (Vucetich, 2012). Due to the harsh weather and isolation of the island, humans have never regularly lived on the island (Vucetich, 2012). Some of species that are present such as the red squirrel are becoming their own subspecies due to its separation from the mainland (USNPS, 2014). The isolation of Isle Royal is what makes it a great place to conduct research, it has very low human interaction and the species that are on the island will have been and continue to be isolated from the mainland.
...ricia icarioides missionensis is one method that will allow scientists to understand which areas the butterflies are more populous in order to determine which areas need more protection. Monitoring will also help scientists know which conditions need to be mimicked in order to create a stable environment for the butterflies. Enhancing the Icaricia icarioides missionensis habitat is another plan that can assist in repopulating the species. It will create environments that are conducive to the goal of repopulation. A third plan is the relocation of Icaricia icarioides missionensis butterflies. This plan will remove them from their currently endangered habitats and reintroduce them to a similar, but safer habitat. In conclusion these are three methods with which human beings can attempt to reverse some of the damage they have caused to Icaricia icarioides missionensis.
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
Canada is a very large country, with areas of land in various climate regions, and land regions, thus having many ecozones that differentiate from another. The most populated ecozone in Canada is the Mixedwood Plains; the ecozone we are located in, named after the mixedwood forests that are native to the area. The Mixedwood Plains is one of the smallest of the Canadian ecozones, spanning only 175 963 kilometres squared. The Mixedwood Plains is bordered by three of the great lakes on the southern side of the ecozone, and comes up along the St Lawrence river to southern Quebec, and fills the tip of Ontario. It has rolling plains and small rock formations and escarpments. The Mixedwood Plains contains over half of the Canadian population as it contains some of Canada’s largest cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Windsor. The Mixedwood Plains has a relatively temperate climate with summers ranging an average temperature of 18o c – 22oc and winters ranging from -3oc - -110c.[2] Native mammals to the ecozone are black, brown and grizzly bears, grey wolves, coyotes and foxes, raccoons, squirrels, and other small mammals. Avian species include brown sparrow, hawks, crows, cardinals and bluejays. Fish are bass, trout, carp and pike. The Mixedwood Plains is made up of about 40% water, and contains over 20% of the worlds freshwater. One of the major problems in the world today is freshwater shortage. Because we have ample supply, we don’t notice, but much of the world is short on water. There are more water resources, but one of the largest is being quickly polluted and populated by invasive species .
A species in particular that I have researched is the red fox or Vulpes vulpes as it is known in the scientific community. The animal is native to North America, Asia and Europe where they thrive in habitats ranging from temperate deserts to boreal forests, but its range spans the entire globe (Tesky 1995). The red fox is omnivorous which means that it feeds on animals and plants equally, which, creates impacts on both types of populations within its habitat. What makes the red fox invasive is its introduction to Australia and Eastern parts of the United States, as a result of migration of Europeans t...
We don’t often stop to consider the impact that simply living our human lives has on the other species that once called our neighbourhoods their home. The Fraser Valley, “one of the most important and complex ecosystems in the country” (Thom, p. 171), has been dramatically altered to make a more convenient landscape for housing and farming. In this process, critical habitat has been destroyed and many species that were once abundant have disappeared from our area (Cuthbert p. 24). Urbanization is ongoing and is thought to be the most significant threat to the incredible biodiversity found throughout British Columbia, and particularly the population-dense Lower Mainland (Harding, p. 355). Biodiversity, the “complex web that sustains life on this planet” (Austin, et al., p. 5), is vital for our survival as humans (Cuthbert p. 74). Any loss of biodiversity affects the entire ecosystem and all organisms within it (Fetene et al., p. 52). In the quest to house the ever-expanding human population, we must also consider habitat conservation and seek to preserve the rich biodiversity found in the Fraser Valley that supports and enriches our lives.
Mills, Scott L., Daniel F. Doak, and Michael E. Soule. "The Keystone-species Concept in Ecology and Conservation." BioScience 43.4 (1993): 219-25. Apr. 1993. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
http://eaglenet.lambuth.edu/facultyweb/science/biology/RCook/community%20ecologyS10.pdf. Impacts on the Biodiversity. Quebec Biodiversity Website -. Web. The Web.
The Interior Plains is a region in west-central Canada, in the Mountain and Central time zones. It is the fourth largest region of Canada. Majority of the Interior Plains is prairie land with lots of flatlands. The total area of this region is 1, 900, 000 km². Approximately nineteen percent of Canada’s population lives in the Interior Plains region. This region includes certain points of interests and attractions such as city areas like downtown Calgary and natural sightseeing areas like the Rocky Mountains. The majority of the Interior Plains is prairie land, with many trees and grass. Most of this area is wide, open spaces and flat land. Some of the animals living here include deer, wolves, and
The monarch butterfly, as known as Danaus plexippus, is often called the milkweed butterfly because its larvae eat the milkweed plant. They are also sometimes called "royalty butterflies" because their family name comes from the daughter of Danaus, ruler of Argos. There are many other interesting facts about this butterfly including its anatomy and life cycle, where the butterfly lies on the food chain, the migration from Canada to Mexico, why the butterfly is being threatened, and lastly, what is being done to help the butterfly.
peregrines range across the treeless regions of Alaska and Canada. They are also found in
Willmer, P.. Ecology: Pollinator – Plant Synchrony Tested by Climate Change. Current Biology. Volume 22, Issue 4, 21 Feb 2012, Pages R131 – R132.
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...
One huge impact of global warming is the change in animals’ habitats. When the earth’s temperature is increasing, it creates the change of weather conditions in a certain area, which causes some kinds of animals in this area to live with many difficulties, or sometimes those kinds of animals are forced to move to new region when they cannot handle the difficulties. The arctic fox is an example for this situation. According to the article “How Does Global Warming Affect Wildlife,” arctic foxes prefer to live in the cooler environment while their habitat is getting warmer and warmer due to global warming, so arctic foxes have to leave their own home to seek a more suitable area (National W...