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Assignment #2: The Habitat Loss as a factor for Rhinoceros Species Endangerment
Proposed Literature Review Topic
The population of rhinos has declined sharply. This literature will focus on the impact of habitat loss on the people of White Rhinos. It will also look into some solutions that have worked, failed, or are suggested to solve the danger of extinction of these animals. The literature will also focus on Africa and Asia, especially Southern Asia, where the rhinos natively coexist with nature in large numbers.
Key Words
‘Habitat loss rhinos’, ‘Habitat Loss African rhinos’, ‘Habitat loss Asian rhinos’, ‘habitat loss endangered species rhinos’, and ‘habitat conservation rhinos’
Annotated Bibliography
Anderson, S. (2021, January 6). The Last Two Northern White Rhinos on Earth. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/magazine/the-last-two-northern-white-rhinos-on-earth.html
Anderson’s (2021) New York Times article discusses the concerns of the last two white rhinos. The article discusses that the species face two main challenges which have led to their status as endangered species. The first challenge is poaching, and the second one is habitat loss. The article discusses some developments in the wild such as the construction of megaprojects, including stadia as the main threat to the habitats of the white rhinos. The report is recent as it was only written in 2021. It is a popular source but can be trusted given the legitimacy and reputation of the New York Times. However, there is little about the author, Sam Anderson, who can verify if he has the relevant qualification to cover species and their ecosystems. The article adds essential information on the current situation on a specific species of Rhinos, one which is in the greatest danger of extinction, and how habitat loss may be a contributing factor.
Mukherjee, T., Sharma, L. K., Saha, G. K., Thakur, M., & Chandra, K. (2020). Past, Present, and Future: Combining habitat suitability and future landcover simulation for long-term conservation management of Indian rhino. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57547-0
Mukherjee, Sharma, Saha, Thakur, and Chandra (2020) studied habitats changes in two Indian (southern Asia) reserves where rhinos are reserved. They realized that the reserves had constricted in size, confining the rhinos further. They also reported that most reserves had been covered in woodlands, yet the rhinos’ natural habitats are grasslands. The study is recent and was only published in 2020. All the authors are zoology experts working with the Zoological Survey of India and therefore qualified in writing about animal species and their habitat. The article also has a Digital Objective Identifier (DOI), only assigned to articles that meet scholarly standards. The paper contributes to habitat loss as a factor affecting rhinos’ population and existence as it shows a specific case of habitat changes in rhino reserves in South Asia.
Kideghesho, J. R. (2009). The potentials of traditional African cultural practices in mitigating overexploitation of wildlife species and habitat loss: experience of Tanzania. International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management, 5(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451590903065579
Kideghesho (2009) investigated habitat loss for wildlife in Tanzania. His research reports that in 1995, the World Resource Institute (WSI) said that countries were losing natural habitats for wildlife. Among the reported habitat losses include 49% of Tanzanian grasslands. Tanzania is one of the homes of rhinos, and these animals were forced into smaller reserves. Although Mukherjee, Sharma, Saha, Thakur, and Chandra (2020) wrote the article back in 2009 and the data points may have changed significantly, it gives a grim picture of the situation in rhinos habitats. The article’s author has a background in Zoology and is an associate professor in conservative biology at the Sokoine University, thus qualified to write on the matter. The article also has a Digital Objective Identifier (DOI), only assigned to articles that meet scholarly standards. The report is essential to research concerning habitat loss for white rhinos as it introduces the importance of habitat conservation for all species, with a specific focus on an area where white rhinos are a native species; Tanzania.
Aryal, A., Acharya, K. P., Shrestha, U. B., Dhakal, M., Raubenhiemer, D., & Wright, W. (2017). Global lessons from successful rhinoceroses’ conservation in Nepal. Conservation Biology, 31(6), 1494–1497. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12894
Aryal et al.’s (2017) report on the conservation of white rhinos indicates the impacts of failing to safeguard the habitats of rhinos. The study mentions that at the beginning of the 20th century, the world had a population of about 500,000 rhinos. However, the number has decreased to under 30,000 rhinos in total globally. The study points out poaching as the greatest threat and reports that areas that reserved rhinos in protected grassland habitats reported higher success of increased life expectancy of these animals. The article is recent as it was only published in 2017. The authors are professors in varied fields dealing with natural sciences; therefore, readers can trust their research. The article is also scholarly as it has a DOI number. The report adds to the importance of preserving habitats to save the endangered rhinos’ populations.
Kenya Wildlife Services. (2017). Kenya Black Rhino Action Plan 2017-2021. Www.fws.gov, 1–43. https://www.kws.go.ke/file/2834/download?token=w8LWwNyK
The Kenya Wildlife Services (2017) developed a plan in 2017 that aimed to increase the population of black rhinos to 830 within the country by 2021, which could be a 5% population if the country achieved its population growth plan for the species. The program includes preserving and enhancing the rhino’s natural grassland habitats. Part of the plan consists of expanding the population’s habitats into developing a wider and more secure ecology for these categories of endangered species. The program shows the importance of having natural and safe habitats in saving the endangered black rhino species, which is important to the research on habitat’s contribution to the population of the black rhino species. As a government plan (grey literature), the KWS is a trusted source with primary data on rhinos and their habitats in Kenya. It is also recent as it was only published in 2017, although the plan’s lifespan is outdated (2021).
References
Anderson, S. (2021, January 6). The Last Two Northern White Rhinos on Earth. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/magazine/the-last-two-northern-white-rhinos-on-earth.html
Aryal, A., Acharya, K. P., Shrestha, U. B., Dhakal, M., Raubenhiemer, D., & Wright, W. (2017). Global lessons from successful rhinoceroses’ conservation in Nepal. Conservation Biology, 31(6), 1494–1497. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12894
Kideghesho, J. R. (2009). The potentials of traditional African cultural practices in mitigating overexploitation of wildlife species and habitat loss: experience of Tanzania. International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management, 5(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451590903065579
Mukherjee, T., Sharma, L. K., Saha, G. K., Thakur, M., & Chandra, K. (2020). Past, Present, and Future: Combining habitat suitability and future landcover simulation for long-term conservation management of Indian rhino. Scientific Reports, 10(1).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57547-0
Kenya Wildlife Services. (2017). Kenya Black Rhino Action Plan 2017-2021. Www.fws.gov, 1–43. https://www.kws.go.ke/file/2834/download?token=w8LWwNyK