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Briana Ancalmo

English Composition II

Professor Hellmers

March 25 2021

Endangered Animals’ Effects on their Ecosystems

Endangered animals have become a normality due to the ever changing world, the

expansions humans are making and climate change. The loss of these animals is tragic, which is

why it can be continuously seen in the news and in ad campaigns that people need to work

together to save these animals so that the day does not come when they are never seen again. The

loss of animals such as polar bears or rhinos would be tragic to see, but do these animals only

have an effect emotionally or will their loss harm others? There are 469 endangered species in

North America and if these species became extinct, not only would people never see them again,

but there would be untold loss of other animals and resources in their ecosystems causing the

ecosystems to become unbalanced.

Although the loss of animals has been going on for hundreds of years, only in 1966 did

the US decide to make the Endangered Species Preservation Act which gave endangered species

some protection and allowed lists to be published to show which animals were endangered (US

Fish & Wildlife). This Act was created too late for some species however, like the passenger

pigeon who became extinct in 1901. Additionally, this Act was still not good enough because it

did not have enough authority to truly make an impact. In 1973 Richard Nixon signed the

Endangered Species Act into Law. With this Act as law more than 100 species on the

endangered species list had a 90% recovery rate (History.com Editors). This Act made great

strides in helping the environment and the animals; however, despite the fact that these animals
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made a comeback many more are still fighting for survival. Another issue with this Act is that

species are being deemed “recovered” despite the fact that their populations are not going up and

may even go down. Resit Akcakaya a professor at Stoney Brook University believes that a

species should not be recovered unless they can perform their roles in their ecosystem

(Akcakaya, H. Resit).

Every animal plays a role in their ecosystem, whether they are a small ant or a mighty

mountain lion, but if they are unable to perform their roles in their ecosystem, it begins to fall

apart. People have always seen large animals as threats to them and unfortunately when a large

predator, like a wolf, threatens them they are going to value their own life (and the life of their

livestock) over the wolf’s life. This was an issue in the 1800s when wolves and other large

predators were hunted by humans because they were seen as a threat. In the early 1970’s there

was no evidence that wolves were still living in the United States (Guz). This may have seemed

good for farmers or others who felt threatened by the wolf populations, but on the contrary this

was a major issue for their ecosystems (Figure 1). Wolves help their ecosystems by keeping

populations such as deer, elk and moose from becoming over populated and they help keep other

threats in check like coyotes (Akcakaya, H. Resit). If these animals populations were to grow in

size there would be over grazing causing the loss of plant life and the loss of the animal’s food

sources. This forces them to either perish or leave to find more food; this is exactly what began

to happen.
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Figure 1 the side on the left shows how the land has become overgrazed with too many deer and elk, and the right shows the land
healthy and full of life with the wolves (How Wolves Help).

Without the wolves the deer and elk populations rose and they proceeded to eat willows

and riparian plants almost wiping them out completely. With these food sources being eliminated

song birds did not have enough food which threatened their survival. This in turn caused the

insect populations to rise because the song birds were unable to keep them in check (Akcakaya,

H. Resit). Thankfully, in 1973 the Endangered Species Act allowed Fish and Wildlife to

reestablish endangered populations and Yellowstone became one of three recovery sites for the

wolves. In 1994 they began moving wolves from Canada into Yellowstone and other recovery

sites and the ecosystems began to make a recovery.

Unfortunately wolves are not the only predator facing this issue, and their ecosystem is

not the only one being affected. The California Mountain Lions have been feeling the effects of

humans moving closer and closer to their habitat and these effects have been negative for not

only them, but also for the ecosystem. Apex predators, top predators, affect everything in their

ecosystem and if something were to happen to them it would cause a negative trickle-down

effect. Mountain Loins specifically help to keep animals in check so they do not overpopulate,

and by eating these animals they leave food for the scavengers. If they were lost the prey would
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become overpopulated and the scavengers would lose a big part of their food source (Dr. T.

Winston Vickers).

The reason these animals are being effected negatively is once again because of human

interference. Humans have been infringing on the mountain lions land, which causes them to be

introduced to domestic animals. These domestic animals bring diseases and poisons and if the

mountain lions were to eat these animals or just come in contact with them they could become ill

and die (Dr. T. Winston Vickers). Additionally, humans are causing deer and other animals to

only have a small space to live. These close quarters allow disease to spread which can infect the

mountain lions. So not only are the mountain lions affected, but so are the other animals in their

ecosystem.

Predators are not the only animals that affect the ecosystem, smaller animals like fish,

beavers, deer and even mussels can greatly affect an ecosystem. The beavers are famous for

affecting Yellowstone National Park drastically (along with the wolf) by changing the course of

rivers, and decreasing plant and animal diversity when they were gone from their ecosystem.

Beavers were forced to move elsewhere for food because deer and elk populations were eating

their food source, aspen and willow trees. Without beavers there weren’t any slow moving

streams or marshes for aspen and willow trees to grow meaning there were almost no aspen or

willow trees. The loss of these streams also meant the loss of homes for many amphibians, birds

and other animals (Guz). The loss of a seemingly unimportant animal was detrimental for this

environment causing issue for not only animals, but also for plant life.

Despite the decrease in elk population since the initial loss of beavers the willow trees

have not made the comeback necessary for beavers to return. This is because there are no dams

to create marshes and slow moving streams which is where the willows grow. Scientists have
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tried making man-made ponds to help them grow, but they still have not made a come-back

(Guz). This is why it is so important to protect these animals before anything happens to them,

because once it happens it is hard to fix. There is hope for them returning though. They have

other food sources like aspen trees and with the reduced elk populations the willows should be

able to make a comeback, but it may take a while (Guz). Insects play important roles in

ecosystem, some are positive, but others play negative roles. Bees play a positive role in

ecosystems and if they were to go extinct, humans would lose many of their food sources

(Palmer). Bees are great pollinators, and although honey bees are not endangered other species of

bees are.

About 87 of the crops people eat need to be pollinated in order to continue growing,

leaving only 27 that do not need to be pollinated (Palmer). There are other pollinators, but bees

are the primary pollinators of crops and the loss of them would cause the crops that need to be

pollinated to become extremely rare and expensive, and many people would not have access to

them (Palmer). On the contrary the native pine beetles have become overpopulated due to the

warmer weather and they are eating the white pines. These white pine trees are an important food

source for Grizzly bears and because about 80% of these trees are dead or dying the bears are

having a hard time making a comeback (Mcnamee). Although this is a negative effect of only a

tiny beetle it can cause a huge impact on the survival of a Grizzly bear. This is why eliminating

factors in an ecosystem is harmful, but so is having too many of one factor.

No matter what size any species can affect an ecosystem, even a mussel. There are

currently 300 species of mussels in North America and almost all of them are threatened.

Animals such as raccoons, otters, herons and egrets eat mussels (Bove). If muscles were to

become extinct all of these animals would lose a part of their food source and they may stop
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returning to where those mussels were found. If that happens it could throw off the ecosystem,

just as it did when the beavers left because there were no more willow trees. Not only are

mussels a good source for other animals they also filter water to get their food and by doing this

they clean the water (Bove). If they were to die out, the water would no longer get properly

cleaned, which could cause it to be an unhealthy place for amphibians and fish to live, once

again throwing off the ecosystem. Mussel beds also support fish, aquatic insects and worms

(Bove). So not only are they a food source and clean the water, but they also provide a home for

other animals. If mussels became extinct so many other animals would be effected despite the

fact that they are so small. This is why it’s important to protect all wildlife, because no matter

how small they all play a part in the helping their ecosystem.

The effect animals have on their ecosystem is not always visible to humans at first,

because it can affect tiny lifeforms such as insects, fungi and even microbes. Herbivores not only

affect animals on the surface, but they also affect biogeochemistry by affecting the nutrient cycle

in soil. For example the removal of elk caused an abundance of shrubs, leaf litter and soil water

content. This occurred because by removing the elk it upset the soil microbial communities

(Burkepile, Thurber). Referring to the scientific study on how organisms affect parts of their

ecosystems, including the microbial populations, Deron Burkepile and Rebecca Vega Thurber

found that “This fungal difference was likely responsible for the 50% increase in microbial

respiration rates and 70% increase in nitrogen mineralization rates in the areas without elk”

(Burkepile, Thurber).

This proves that animals, herbivores specifically, impact their ecosystem in great ways

above and below the soil surface. Herbivores such as snails can have an impact at the microbial

scale as well. In marshes when predators such as fish and blue crabs are removed the snails
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become overpopulated and eat more marsh grasses which causes the clearing of areas in salt

marshes (Burkepile, Thurber). Another issue the marshes are facing is an invasive fungi which

infects trees and makes a good home for bark beetles. These are normally kept in check by

woodpeckers, but with the loss of their habitat they are unable to do so. Between the beetles and

the fungi it could lead to tree mortality (Burkepile, Thurber). This is why it is so important to

protect species like the elk, woodpeckers, and crabs and fish because without them there can be a

cascade of issues that effects the entire ecosystem.

Ecosystems in the ocean are facing similar issues especially with the destruction of coral

due to environmental changes like global warming and changes in the ecosystem many of which

are caused by humans. A major issue in the destruction of coral is overfishing. This loss of these

fishes increases the amount of macroalge which means more deaths in adult coral and less new

juvenile coral forming (Burkepile, Thurber). Coral is an important, diverse ocean ecosystem and

provides homes for many species. If there is a continued decline in them and no new coral to

replace the dead coral it could mean the death of many other species who rely on the coral.

Coral faces other issues, like algae growth, caused by overfishing of herbivorous fish.

Without these fish to consume the algae, the algae and coral have to compete for space and

resources. This competition causes changes in coral microbiomes and this leads to increase

diseases and mortality (Burkepile, Thurber). The destruction of the ecosystem by the loss of

consumers and overgrowth of algae is easily seen; however, there are less obvious changes

causing problems as well. Changes at an abiotic level can change the interaction fish have with

coral (Figure 2). For example, ordinarily parrot fish can bite into coral and the coral has no

issues. However under nutrient enriched conditions the coral died 66% of the time (Burkepile,

Thurber). Burkepile and Thurber state that the reason the death rate is so much higher is that
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there is an increase in potential for “pathogenic bacteria on the surface of bitten corals in nutrient

rich areas” (Burkepile, Thurber).

Figure 2 when parrotfish eat parts of the coral it exposes them to pathogenic bacteria (worse than normal
with high nutrient levels) which leads to coral diseases and eventually death (Burkepile and Thurber).

This is why it is so important to not just protect animals in an ecosystem and make sure

that they have come back in numbers, but to also ensure they are correctly preforming their

ecological functions. Even when these animals are not lost they are still causing issues to the

ecosystem because other factors have not been restored. Looking at more than just numbers is so

important and it is important to realize that the loss of animals and the animal’s ability to carry

out their role has deadly effects on their ecosystems.

Predators such as wolves, coyotes, and bob cats threatened the wellbeing of livestock and

people giving people a “good” reason to hunt them. It is understandable that people want to keep

their farms safe from threats, but the biological issues caused by killing off these animals would

be much greater. In addition not all endangered species are large predators, but there is still fear
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of them and their visible population. This fear creates a justification in some people’s minds for

why the killing of these animals would be beneficial. Animals such as deer, rabbits and even

wild horses are threats to farmers’ land. Horses and deer can eat all the grazing land for cattle

and rabbits invade crop land and eat produce. However, animals are all connected by the food

web and if one part were to be removed the rest would fall apart. By keeping the ecosystems

enact people are not only helping the animals, but they are also helping themselves. Crops rely

on certain factors in the environment, like pollination. If these factors were taken away because

of an imbalance in the ecosystem caused by the disappearance of animal species the crops would

suffer more, than if the animals had remained. This is why it is so important to protect the

ecosystems and make sure animals are able to perform their functions not only for the animal’s

wellbeing but also for humans’ wellbeing too.

Some people also argue that extinction and the loss of animals is a part of life and that if

a few more animals were gone it would not make much of a difference. It is true that animals

become extinct naturally and death is a natural part of life; however, the extinction of these

animals is not meant to happen all at once and it was not intended to happen this rapidly.

Someone could argue that the dinosaurs went extinct all at once and the world recovered since

then and once again this is true. Despite that fact though the world did not just jump back over

night after that tragic event. It took millions of years for the earth to come close to what it is

today and if humans continue killing animals and harming the environment, there might not be

that much time. This is why it is so incredibly important to preserve the ecosystems that are here

now and not cause more unnecessary issues.

There are protections and regulations in place to protect endangered animals, but there is

more that needs to be done. For starters the definition of a recovered species needs to be updated,
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because many species are considered recovered despite the fact their numbers may lower or stay

the same. Additionally, their needs to be enough of that species to perform their ecological

functions before they can be deemed recovered (Akcakaya). People also need to be educated

more on why saving animals is so important and that just because an animal is a threat, does not

mean they should be hunted or that they do not serve a purpose.

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Work Cited
Akcakaya, H. Resit. "To Save Species from Extinction, We Must Consider More than Just

Numbers." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/JZLXDW483240263/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid

=fcec3d0a. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021. Originally published as "To Save Species from Extinction,

We Must Consider More than Just Numbers," In These Times, 17 Nov. 2019

Bove, Jennifer. “Why It Matters When Species Go Extinct.” Treehugger, Datdash Publishing, 11 Mar.

2021, www.treehugger.com/why-it-matters-when-species-go-extinct-1182006.

Burkepile, Deron E., and Rebecca Vega Thurber. “Long Arm of Species Loss: How Will Defaunation

Disrupt Ecosystems Down to the Microbial Scale?” BioScience, vol. 69, no. 6, June 2019, pp.

443–454. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/biosci/biz047.

California Mountain Lions: The Legends of California. Directed by Vickers Winston, UC Davis’ Karen

C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, 25 Apr. 2020.

Editors, History.com. “Endangered Species Act Signed into Law.” History.com, A&E Television

Networks, 7 Apr. 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/endangered-species-act-signed-

into-law.

Guz, Jackie. “Bring Back the Beavers to Yellowstone National Park.” ThoughtCo, Dotdash Publishing,

27 July 2018, www.thoughtco.com/wolves-and-beavers-yellowstone-nationalpark-1434538.

How Wolves Help [image]. Living with Wolves; 2021. [ Accessed 2021 April 3]Mcnamee, Thomas.

https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about-wolves/why-wolves-matter/

"Dooming Yellowstone's Grizzlies." New York Times, 15 July 2017, p. A19(L). Gale In Context:

Opposing
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Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A498557180/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=41c570

1b. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

Palmer, Brian. “Would a World Without Bees Be a World Without Us?” NRDC, Natural Resources

Defense Council 2021 , 31 July 2020, www.nrdc.org/onearth/would-world-without-bees-be-

world-without-us.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. “Endangered Species Act: A History of

the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service,

30 Jan. 2020, www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. “Endangered Species Act: A History of

the Endangered Species Act of 1973: Timeline.” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife

Service, 30 Jan. 2020, www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/timeline.html.