Friday is Endangered Species Day, meant to celebrate success in protecting endangered species and to recognize the species that need conservation action.
Dr. Mike Cove, the museum's Research Curator of Mammalogy and Research Associate at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, said, "The loss of those species can be pretty harmful.”
That includes several endangered and threatened animals in North Carolina, from large to small, and Cove said one concern in eastern North Carolina surrounds several bat species that live in caves.
He says white nose syndrome, a fungal disease, is estimated to have killed millions of bats in eastern North America since 2006.
"It has caused massive bat declines of upwards of 90-95% in cave roosting bats, he said, and added that the decline has an impact on more than the small, winged creatures themselves.
"Human health, agriculture,” Cove said, “Because these are important insectivores, and so they consume tons of mosquitoes, beetles, other agricultural pests. So, they're hugely important for our economy and our public health.
Red Wolves are one of North Carolina’s most high-profile endangered species, and Dr. Roland Kays, Head of the museum's Biodiversity Research Lab and professor at NC State University said they were among the first added to the Endangered Species List after it was introduced in 1966.
He said, "They were doing pretty well for a while and then they really crashed more recently. So, they've been releasing more animals and the population is, in the he last couple of years, doing better but it's still very tenuous.”
Kays added that recent North Carolina research shows the presence of the red wolf – or its absence – has a big impact on the local ecosystem.
"We found a big response by the animals,” he explained, “A lot of their competitors and prey species were definitely being limited by the red wolves, and when the red wolves declined those, those other populations started increasing.”
Cove said preservation of threatened and endangered species is not just a concern for scientists and activists, and everyone can play a role in protecting these species by, "Reducing our consumption and reusing things, recycling, and just trying to maintain a better balance in our resource use.”
And Kays added that people can also support endangered flora and fauna with the choices they make at the ballot box.
He said they can do that by, "Supporting conservation legislation and voting for politicians that are sensitive to conservation needs and realize that sometimes we do need these regulations to limit pollution, to limit over harvest, to limit our impact on the planet, to help protect these animals.”
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will host a series of short presentations on Friday about endangered species in the state and around the world, and experts will also discuss how the museum is acting to save species in North Carolina and beyond.
Participants include:
- Dr. Roland Kays, Head of the Biodiversity Research Lab and professor at NC State University
- Dr. Elizabeth Kierepka, Senior Research Biologist, NCMNS and NCSU
- Dr. Mike Cove, Research Curator of Mammalogy Mammals and Research Associate at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
- Lisa Gatens, Collections Manager of Mammalogy
- Dr. Alex Jensen, postdoctoral researcher in NCMNS Biodiversity Research Lab
People can attend in person at NCMNS in the SECU Daily Planet Theater or watch the livestream on YouTube here:
