Endangered Species, They are Everywhere.
In doing this assignment I learned some interesting things. I did not realize there is a difference between threatened and endangered animals/plants. A species is considered endangered when the species is threatened with extinction. A species is considered threatened when the species is likely to become endangered in the near future. The other thing I learned that was very interesting to me was that there is so many animals and plants that are endangered in my home state of Minnesota. It is really quite sad and surprising.
In finding out there is endangered animals in Minnesota, I decided to find out more information about one of them. I choose the Ammodramus bairdii, more commonly known as the Baird's sparrow. The Baird's sparrow is most frequently found in mixed grass prairies or in lightly grazed pastures where conditions are dry and vegetation is sparse. These shy and inconspicuous birds have declined drastically in past years especially in Minnesota and Manitoba. About eighty to eighty-five percent of prairies and grasslands that the Baird's sparrows called home is now gone.
According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the population of Baird's sparrows has declined by twenty-four percent from 1966 to 1990. Researchers accredit this decline in population to the loss of their habitat. The loss is generally due to the conversion of native prairie and grasslands to agriculture practices such as haying, mowing and plowing. These practices are resulting in a failure to reproduce for the birds. The expansion of exotic vegetation and the increase of predation in prairies and grasslands are also factures attributing to the decline in Baird's sparrows population. .
There have been some efforts to help conserve the Baird's sparrow, and there is some things that people can do to help. We need to preserve the remaining areas of prairie and grasslands.