Category: Invertebrates

Why Should We Care About Endangered Species?

by Lindsey Brendel, Technician

As summer melds into early autumn, migration comes underway.  The nesting season for beach nesting birds is drawing to a close, and shorebirds can be seen feasting along the beaches as they fuel their bodies for their journey south. This was my first season working with endangered beach nesting birds.  Watching territory disputes and courtship displays early in the spring transitioned into nest searching and anxiously awaiting the hatch dates of our incubating pairs.

 

I feel an incredible sense of pride in the birds that have survived to fledge. It is impossible not to become attached when you spend weeks closely watching tiny chicks who take a tumble, are then brooded under their parents’ bodies, and finally mature into independent, fully feathered young birds, preparing for their first migration.

 

The start of fall migration also marks the reason I originally came to New Jersey one year ago, that being to study the monarch butterflies’ southward migration along the Atlantic coast. Last year was my first season as a field technician with the NJAS Monarch Monitoring Project, a research and education program that performs daily censuses of migrating monarchs, public tagging demos, and educational outreach. The project runs from September 1 through the end of October, and I will be back and working with the team again this fall.

For me, I see the monarch butterfly as the perfect gateway animal into the larger world of conservation.  Their widespread range in North America, and easy recognition means that many people are already familiar with this royal insect. Many school age children have learned about their life cycle in school, and may have even raised caterpillars and been witnesses to metamorphosis. Even if you have never learned about monarchs, their bright and bold appearance, sporting the warning coloration of orange and black, make them hard to miss.

 

That is one of the big differences I see between the beach nesting birds I have grown to love this summer and monarch butterfly. Cryptic and camouflaged are words that describe our beach nesters, specifically the endangered piping plover, who, when standing still, blends in perfectly with the sandy beach landscape. When I talk to people who have gone inside the fenced areas we have on the beaches for the nesting birds, a common response that serves as their rebuttal is that they “didn’t see” any birds, so they thought it would be okay. Situations like this happen frequently, and I have found that teaching, rather than scolding, is a better use of time. I love being able to show people the birds and highlight the fenced off areas as a family zone for our feathered friends; removing any mystery as to why these spaces are off limits.

 

Coming from a background in the arts, outreach is the arena I feel best suited for. I have had the pleasure of leading the beach nesting bird walks at Cape May Point State Park this summer. I love being able to share with others the life of a beach nesting bird, emphasizing that it really is a family affair, and a difficult one at that. The State Park will serve as a major hub for my work this fall, as that is where the Monarch Monitoring Project holds its butterfly tagging demos, and where we teach the public about the 2500-mile migratory journey the monarch butterfly undertakes to reach its wintering grounds in the mountains of Mexico.

 

The beach nesting birds I have worked with this summer are endangered. Currently, the monarch butterfly is also under consideration to be listed as an endangered species. One question that comes up at both the bird walks and the butterfly tagging demos is, “Why would it matter if this species was gone?”

 

Sometimes it is asked with genuine curiosity, and other times it is said as a jab. Either way, it is a difficult question for me to answer, and I have to evaluate why I care. I think and worry a lot about the loss of milkweed, lack of nectar sources, and loss of wintering habitat for the monarchs all the time.  After working with beach nesting birds, I will never be able to enjoy a summer thunderstorm the same way again because I will always be picturing a tiny least tern or plover hunkered down on their nest trying to protect their eggs through the wind and the rain.

 

We protect things of value, but what value do these birds or this butterfly have? Why should we care about endangered species? One argument often made about rainforest deforestation is that there are possible undiscovered medicinal properties that could be cures for diseases. It is unlikely that piping plovers or monarch butterflies hold untapped medical value. So, why should we worry about their declining numbers?

 

For me, my fear is less about losing individual species, and more about the dangers of a widespread ideology where everything is treated as a commodity. I see this as the reason these two species have been pushed to dangerously low numbers and one of the hardest challenges conservation efforts have to face.  We live in a very “me centered” culture, and conservation asks us to acknowledge our place as just one of the many functioning pieces in the world around us. If we are going to be on the beach with our family, we need to understand that the least tern flying with a fish in its mouth is bringing food back for his family on that same beach. If we are going to invest in monoculture farms that heavily rely on herbicide use for our food, then we need to realize that we are taking away the food source for monarchs, and many other insect species.

 

Do I think compromise between humans and critical habitat for endangered species can be achieved? Absolutely. Indeed, one of my favorite parts about working with endangered species is letting go of my role as Supreme Being, and acknowledging that an insect or bird is doing something that I never could.  When a monarch butterfly emerges in the fall, regardless of the fact that it has never taken a long flight before, it starts off on more than a 2,000 mile journey to a place it has never been, but knows instinctively to navigate to. When an intruder gets too close to a plover’s nest, the adult will flop around pretending to have a broken wing, making himself look like the vulnerable and easy target, all in an effort to protect its eggs. Some of the best examples of determination and selflessness are happening right around us in the natural word, and we all have the invitation to expand, and learn, and watch it take place. That is the marvel. That is the mystery. That is where I feel the real value of protecting endangered species comes from.

 

Learn more:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Beach Nesting Bird Project
• Fight for the Flight: Monarch Butterfly Status Under Review

 

Lindsey Brendel is a Technician with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, who worked with Todd Pover on our Beach Nesting Bird Project.

A Few Tips to Attract Bees to Your Backyard

by: McKenzie Cloutier, Special Events and Fundraising Intern

Bees are essential members of our community. Some organizations estimate that we rely on pollinators to produce about 75% of the food we eat including vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts and even coffee and chocolate! Nearly all of earth’s plants rely on bees. Conserving bees will help ensure food security.

 

Despite their importance, bees are currently threatened worldwide and as a result, their numbers are declining rapidly. The most prominent threats to bees include pesticide use, loss of habitat due to construction and human development, and an increase in invasive or nonnative plant species.

 

Thankfully, there is a lot that can be done to help bees regain their numbers, starting in your very own back yard:

• First, reduce pesticide usage in your yard. Pesticides are harmful because they affect the nectar that bees consume. Ideally, go pesticide-free!
• Next, create a habitat for bees in your backyard. Plant a garden with a variety of plants for bees to pollinate. Choose plants that flower at different times so that the bees will always have food accessible to them. Native plants are the most beneficial to bees. Bees will pollinate a countless number of different plant species, but they are more attracted to certain colors such as blue, purple yellow, white and violet. A few examples of their favorites include:
  • Foxglove
  • Heliotrope
  • Blueberry
  • Sunflower
  • Lavender
  • Squash
• Next, construct homes for bees. Different structures are beneficial for different types of bees, so you can research ways to help house the various types. For example, you could purchase a mason bee house to benefit mason bees. You can also build your own bee house! Start with a milk carton or wooden box and paint it a bright color, making sure to use a zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) or low-VOC paint. Insert and layer piles of brown paper nest tubes; you can find these at a garden store or construct them yourself.
• You can also build a bee bath. Bee baths should be shallow with landing spots available for bees. For example, use a plate or bowl and line it with rocks. Add only enough water that the rocks stay dry to serve as landing spots for the bees. Be sure to position the bath at ground level and to change the water on a daily basis.
• A few last tips include choosing to mow meadow areas of your lawn less frequently and leaving an area of dirt in your yard for ground-nesting bees’ tunneling.

 

For more tips on how to help pollinators, visit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website.

 

McKenzie Cloutier is the summer 2015 Special Events and Fundraising Intern for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

New Video Showcases CWF’s Work to Protect the Garden State’s Wildlife

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager

Conserve Wildlife Foundation is thrilled to release a new video as an “introduction” to our work, keeping New Jersey’s wildlife in our future! We are a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of New Jersey’s endangered and threatened wildlife and the habitats they depend on.

 

As the video demonstrates, we utilize science, research, wildlife management, habitat restoration, education and volunteer stewardship to help conserve and protect a variety of at-risk species of wildlife in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the nation.

 

The video was produced by Tyler Grimm, a video intern with Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

 

Want to get involved? Learn more about Conserve Wildlife Foundation on our website.

 

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

Surveying for a Rare and Elusive Butterfly

By: Larissa Smith, Wildlife Biologist and Volunteer Manager

Last week ENSP Biologist, Robert Somes and I surveyed a site in Cape May County for the New Jersey threatened butterfly the Frosted Elfin. We found a few flying around near their host plant Batpisia and were lucky to see a female ovipositing eggs.

Learn more:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Online Field Guide: Frosted Elfin

 

Larissa Smith is the Wildlife Biologist/Volunteer Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

CWF Releases its First Annual Report Ever Using a Story Map Format: “2014 Annual Report“

By David Wheeler, Executive Director

Technology has proven to be vital to Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s work protecting rare wildlife species over the years. Our biologists depend greatly on modern technologies to band, track, and share online the journeys of wildlife. Our webcams broadcast the most intimate behaviors of nesting birds and bats across the web. And we seek out ever-evolving communications technologies to spread the word about the inspiring stories of wildlife, from social media and infographs to e-books and Story Maps. These technologies offer newfound abilities to share complex data on multiple levels, while still incorporating the awe-inspiring photography and videos that bring wildlife’s stories to life.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is excited to offer our 2014 Annual Report in a unique format that utilizes one of those technologies – Story Maps. In the past year, we have explored the wonders of American oystercatchers with our first Story Map – and now the annual report allows all of our projects to be highlighted in this interactive format.

Visit the multiple pages within this Story Map to learn about Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s many projects and partnerships in 2014, and the imperiled wildlife species in need of our help. Find examples of the innovative and dedicated leadership of our biologists and volunteers. And take an online journey across the state to learn how our projects made a difference in all corners of New Jersey in 2014 – a great year for wildlife in the Garden State!

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By Karena DiLeo

Cape May, New Jersey- Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) in partnership with NJDEP, Mosquito Control, Atlantic City Electric and USFWS recently completed construction of a series of vernal pools in Cape May, NJ. This is the second complex in a series of pools along the “spine” of the Peninsula to create sustainable vernal-pool habitat above anticipated sea-level rise.

These pools will also create a migration corridor for assemblages of amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates to increase meta-population dynamics and allow species to move northward off the Peninsula.

Following excavation of the pools, CWF, USFWS, and Atlantic City Electric held a volunteer

planting day to plant native shrubs along the pools to enhance habitat and stabilize berms. Native shrubs including: buttonbush, low-bush blueberry, inkberry holly, sweet pepper bush, and beach plum were generously donated by Atlantic City Electric.

FRESHWATER MUSSELS LIVING ON OTHER SPECIES & OTHER SPECIES LIVING WITHIN MUSSELS

By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager

The images above were taken during a recent survey of the Raritan River in Somerset County.  The image on the left is a Banded Killifish with the larval stage of freshwater mussels attached (the small black dots on the side of the fish are the larval mussels, known as glochidia).  Glochidia are parasites of fish, and some other aquatic animals, which will drop-off at the end of their larval stage, and then complete their life cycle in the bottom of the river, stream, or lake as the adult mussels most people are familiar with.  The host fish not only provides a meal for the glochidia, but also enables mussels to travel further than they can as an adult.

The image on the right is a crayfish which took shelter within the old shell of a freshwater mussel, in this case an Eastern Elliptio.  Other freshwater invertebrates may reside within old mussel shells, such as snails and aquatic insects.

To learn more about freshwater mussels in New Jersey, visit our Freshwater Mussel site.

A NON-NATIVE FRESHWATER MUSSEL MAY BE INVADING NJ WATERS

By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager

In 2010, a non-native freshwater mussel species was discovered in Hunterdon County, NJ – the Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana, previously referred to as Anodonta woodiana).  Not only was it the first time found in New Jersey, but it was the first documented occurrence within the entire US.

The Chinese pond mussel is native to eastern Asia.  It is a large freshwater mussel, reaching a size of almost 1-foot across; which makes it the largest species now in New Jersey.  New Jersey is home to 12 native species of freshwater mussel – you can learn more about their distribution on Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s freshwater mussel page.  Additional non-native freshwater mollusks include the Asian clam and paper pondshell.

The Chinese pond mussels discovered in New Jersey have thus far only been found within the ponds of an abandoned fish farm and an adjacent stream.  They were most likely introduced by accident as “hitchhikers” on the Asian carp being farmed within the ponds (young mussels, known as glochidia, are parasites on fish and a few other aquatic vertebrates).  The non-native mussels thrived within the ponds.

Non-native mussels are a threat to native mussels because they compete with them for space and food.  Out of 12 native species in New Jersey, 9 of those are classified as Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern.  The addition of the new potential threat of another invasive species is a great concern for the recovery of those 9 species.

The ponds where the mussels were found were treated with the chemical rotenone, which eradicated the non-native carp as well as most of the mussels.  A survey by staff from the NJ Endangered & Non-game Species Program and CWF earlier this year, however, confirmed that the mussels are still within the ponds, although their numbers have been greatly reduced.  The mussels could no longer be found in portions of the stream downstream of the ponds where they had been found in 2010.  This is significant because the stream drains into the Delaware River.  If the mussels were able to expand their distribution into the Delaware, opportunities to control their spread and establishment in the river would be much more difficult if not impossible.

Although most experts aren’t certain of the full potential magnitude of a Chinese pond mussel invasion, we’re in a position right now to stop it in its tracks.  Further monitoring and perhaps further chemical treatments will be necessary to keep yet another invasive species from becoming established in New Jersey.

RECENT UPDATES TO SPECIES RANGE MAPS

By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager

Just as world maps get updated with the addition of new countries (most recently South Sudan in 2011), wildlife range maps also need to be revised occasionally as new information becomes available.

There are 173 range maps available on Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s on-line field guide web pages for New Jersey’s endangered, threatened, and special concern species.  Although some of these maps were created only two years ago, 23 range maps were in need of minor to major revisions since new data had become available.  The range maps are based upon data within the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Biotics database, the official statewide database of rare wildlife.  While some new data was received from biologists’ surveys, a portion of it was received from the general public who submitted Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Forms for their own personal observations.

One of the most striking range map revisions is the Checkered White Butterfly.  Previously documented only at Newark Airport, this species has now also been documented in southern New Jersey.  Whether or not this disjunct population has been there all these years and not reported (flying under the radar so to speak), or this represents a recent natural range expansion or introduction is unknown at this point.

Take a tour of our on-line field guide – revised maps are labeled “2012”.

THE CENTENARIANS VS. THE GREAT APPETIZERS

By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager

“Can you eat them?”  That’s the question I get most often when I tell people that I search for rare freshwater mussels.  Most people don’t realize that freshwater mussels even exist and those who do often don’t know how they are related to and different from their marine cousins.  I’ve been guilty of mussel misconceptions – as a child, I had believed that all the mussel shells I saw along lake shorelines and shallow waters were discards from a clam (mussel) bake of marine shellfish.

Let’s start with mussel similarities – both freshwater and marine mussels are bivalve (two-shells connected with a hinge) mollusks (soft-bodied invertebrates).  Both live in water and are filter-feeders, straining plankton (microscopic plants and animals), bacteria and other particles from the water column.  And both are known as “mussels” because they somewhat resemble each other, having shells which are longer than wide.  That ends the similarities.

Within the phylum Mollusca and the class Bivalvia, freshwater and marine mussels are within separate subclasses:  Palaeoheterodonta = freshwater mussels; Pteriomorphia = marine mussels.  Based on this separation, marine mussels are more closely related to oysters and scallops than they are to freshwater mussels.

One obvious difference between freshwater and marine mussels is that freshwater mussels live in freshwater streams, rivers, ponds and lakes while marine mussels live in salt water oceans and bays.  There is a higher diversity of freshwater mussel species in New Jersey (12 native species) than marine species (~ 3) and most of the freshwater species are imperiled while the marine mussels are still plentiful.

Marine mussels taste wonderful in a garlic butter or marinara sauce while freshwater mussels taste like an old dirty shoe.  Most freshwater mussels in New Jersey also have a protected status and cannot be harvested or collected.  Even possessing the shell of an endangered or threatened species is illegal without a permit.

Although unpalatable to humans, freshwater mussels are prey for raccoons, otters, and crayfish.  Marine mussels are prey for some birds, sea stars, and some marine snails.

Marine mussels reproduce by releasing their eggs and sperm into the water.  The young then begin life as floating plankton for between one and six months before settling on the bottom as an adult.  With freshwater mussels, the male releases sperm into the water which then enters the female via her incurrent siphon.  The eggs are fertilized within the female’s body and the young mussels, known as glochidia, are then released into the water to attach themselves to a passing fish as a parasite.  After feeding on the fish during their larval stage, they detach themselves, fall to the bottom, and begin their adult stage.

Most marine mussels (and the invasive freshwater Zebra mussel; which is not within either the Palaeoheterodonta or Pteriomorphia subclasses) use threads calls byssus to attach themselves to underwater rocks, jetties, and other structures.  Freshwater mussels are more mobile, using their powerful foot to move along the substrate and bury themselves.

Freshwater mussels are also known for their longevity.  Some species are known to live for over 100 years.  Although some marine clams are thought to surpass the century mark, marine mussel likely do not.

For more information about New Jersey’s freshwater mussels, please visit the links below:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ Field Guide
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ Freshwater Invertebrates Project
• Freshwater Mussel Distribution & Status in New Jersey
• American Museum of Natural History – “Freshwater Mussels of the New York Metropolitan Region and New Jersey”