Endangered Animals

A species is “endangered” when it is at immediate risk of extinction, rapidly declining in population [Ricciuti]. While this could be caused by geological changes such as earthquakes or volcanoes, in recent years, human activity is the more pertinent culprit [Ricciuti]. This can be anything from habitat destruction for infrastructure, to illegal hunting and the introduction of a new species. The extinction of a species has a ripple effect, dooming others in the ecosystem. A single plant may have provided food or shelter to over 30 various animals; without it, those animals may also die out, perpetuating a vicious cycle [Ricciuti]. Population estimation is necessary because it allows researchers to obtain a better understanding of not only the

Snow leopards are top predators in ecosystems along the highest mountains of Inner Asia [Jackson]. Controlling populations of the wild ungulate species they pray on, such as ibex, they prevent herbivores consuming all the available seeds, roots, and other fauna; which can lead to over depredation of the natural resources [Drew]. They are even an indicator of health in their height-altitude habitat, the thought being if snow leopards thrive, so will an array of other species; especially humans, as millions of livelihoods are dependent on water from Central Asia's mountains [Drew]. Preserving snow leopard population is key to protecting larger ecoregions, like the grass/wet lands of the Yangtze Source Region

Says Jan Janečka of Duquesne University, “Previous studies observed error rates (amplification failure, allele dropout, false alleles, etc) in microsatellite analyses, significantly affecting population size estimates. Most errors are attributed to low quantity/quality of DNA and other inconsistencies. Errors may also result from genomic and evolutionary factors, such as repetitive elements and sequence divergence” [Janečka 401]. In support of this, another study reads, “Only half of the snow leopard samples were genotyped across all 6