Wildlife (main)

From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Jump to: navigation, search

Wildlife

Traditionally, the term wildlife has conjured images of species which are of economic or emotional importance to humans. However wildlife life encompasses a much broader array of life on earth, referring to any undomesticated species, from the European Fire-bellied toad to the Siberian tiger.

As humans have encroached on the natural habitats of the world's wildlife, contaminated the far reaches of earth and hunted or fished some species to extinction, understanding qualities like habitat requirements, lifecycles and nutritional needs for all wildlife species has become a primary focus of many scientists and conservationists.

For many species, their survival depends upon our ability to identify the basic needs for wildlife populations to survive and thrive and act upon that knowledge.

Seven-starksia-blennies-banner 0.jpg
Smithsonian's Seven New Fish Species Smithsonian Scientists Discover Seven New Species of Fish Things are not always what they seem when it comes to fish—something scientists at the Smithsonian... More »


Catepillar 325px WikimediaCommons.jpg
Interagency Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) The White House Subcommittee on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics identified systematics as a research priority that is fundamental to ecosystem management and... More »


Blacklegged tick CDC.jpg
Anaplasmosis (Wildlife) Anaplasmosis is a tickborne disease caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum. It was previously known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) and has more recently... More »


Indopacifichumbackeddolphin.JPG
Indo-pacific humpbacked dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpacked dolphin (Sousa chinensis), a marine mammal, is a member of the family of oceanic dolphins within the order of cetaceans. The species is also known as... More »


Cheetahleadimage1298954423.jpg
Cheetah (Wildlife) The Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, isa vulnerablespecies withinthe cat family. While the fastest land animal and an adept hunter, this felid is not agressive... More »


Arnoux31305584650.jpg
Arnoux's beaked whale Arnoux's beaked whale (scientific name: Berardius arnuxii ) is one of 21 species of beaked whales (Hyperoodontidae or Ziphiidae), medium-sized whales with distinctive, long and... More »


Bats' worth to agriculture
Bats' worth to agriculture Bats Worth Billions to Agriculture: Pest-control Services at Risk Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely save the U.S.... More »


Castlelloydwindfarm.jpg
Wind turbine bird mortality Wind turbine bird mortality is a by-product of large scale wind farms, which are increasingly promoted as an alternative to fossil fuel derived energy production. To adequately... More »


IndusriverdolphinFriedrich Specht.jpg
Indus River dolphin The Indus River dolphin (scientific name: Platanista minor) is fresh water cetacean closely related to the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica). These two endangered... More »


EtoshapannamibiaIMGP3740.jpg
Etosha Pan halophytics The Etosha Pan Halophytics ecoregion is the relict landform of a prehistoric expansive, inland Pliocene lake. Today, the Etosha Pan is mostly an arid, saline desert. Typically, the intensively cracked, whitish clay is split into hexagonal salt-encrusted fragments, and wildlife is sustained only by scattered freshwater springs, which manifest as watering holes. These springs attract a diverse array of large mammals, especially during the dry season, making Etosha Pan a popular tourist destination. In unusually wet years, when the Ekuma, Oshigambo and Omuramba Ovambo Rivers receive sufficient rainfall, the pan is temporarily transformed into a shallow lake. When surface water is present, it can be classified as a hypersaline lake, due to the elevated salinity. The Etosha Pan halophytics is considered within the... More »


1280px-i-m a tiger- a cat of prey 438x0 scale.jpg
Wildlife (Wildlife) Wildlife refers to the animals and related plants in a state of nature, or the species of fauna that are not domesticated or tame and are also indigenous to an area, region or range. The expression is relatively recent in origin dating to Richard Jefferies' 1879 work discussing the various animal species in the Wiltshire Downs in southern Britain. Jefferies insisted, “glance into the hedgerow, the copse, or stream,” and “there" you find "nature’s children as unrestrained in their wild, free life as they were in the …backwoods of primitive England.” The term wildling is much older, however, as is wildness from which wildlife is derivative, being used for example by William Shakespeare to refer to those qualities of living things not under the influence or control of humans. Charles Darwin when referring to artificial selection... More »


Cavalier minier v lo3.jpg
Biological corridor (Wildlife) Biological corridor is the designation for a continuous geographic extent of habitat linking ecosystems, either spatially or functionally; such a link restores or conserves the connection between habitats that are fragmented by natural causes or human development. Such corridors are an important aspect in the preservation of species richness and biodiversity. There are different scales of biological corridors, but all share the same purpose of providing connections for species through fragmented landscapes. A biological corridor, alternatively termed habitat corridor, is used for the transportation functions of fauna and seed dispersal/propagation routes for flora and lower life forms. Specific elements of this transport for fauna include seasonal or migration movement, life cycle links, species dispersal, re-colonization of an area and movement in... More »


Cheetahwaterbergconservnamibia.jpg
Mammal (Wildlife) Mammalia is a group of warm-blooded, air breathing vertebrates. With the common name mammal, each species is endowed with the characteristic of fur and three-boned middle ear; but the most remarkable element of group identity is an advanced brain element known as the neocortex, that functions as a center of complex cognition; no species except mammals have this well defined brain structure. Having pronounced inherent sexual dimorphism, the females have mammary glands capable of producing milk. There are approximately 5400 described mammalian species comprising around 1200 genera. Mammals span a size range from the three centimeter Bumblebee Bat to the 33 meter long Blue Whale. Feeding habits vary widely among species, including carnivores and insectivores who prey on animals, to frugivores and granivores who eat fruit or seeds. Earliest mammals arose approximately 200 to 130... More »