Florida panther: Difference between revisions
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Despite these findings it is still listed as subspecies ''Puma concolor coryi'' in research works, including those directly concerned with its conservation.<ref name=improving>{{cite journal |first=Michael J. |last=Conroy |coauthors=Paul Beier; Howard Quigley; Michael R. Vaughan |year=2006 |month=January |url=http://www.wildlifejournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-pdf&file=i0022-541X-70-1-1.pdf |title=Improving The Use Of Science In Conservation: Lessons From The Florida Panther |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=1-7 |doi=10.2193/0022-541X(2006)70[1:ITUOSI]2.0.CO;2 |accessdate=2007-06-11}}</ref> Responding to the research that suggested removing its subspecies status, the Florida Panther Recovery Team notes "the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the results of Culver et al. and the proposed change in taxonomy is not resolved at this time."<ref name=FloridaRecovery>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/Florida%20panther%20files/Panther%20Recovery%20Plan%202006_01_31%20-%20no%20figures.pdf |title=Florida Panther Recovery Program (Draft) |accessdate=2007-06-11 |author=The Florida Panther Recovery Team |date=January 31, 2006 |format=PDF |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref> 7id wtqrft |
Despite these findings it is still listed as subspecies ''Puma concolor coryi'' in research works, including those directly concerned with its conservation.<ref name=improving>{{cite journal |first=Michael J. |last=Conroy |coauthors=Paul Beier; Howard Quigley; Michael R. Vaughan |year=2006 |month=January |url=http://www.wildlifejournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-pdf&file=i0022-541X-70-1-1.pdf |title=Improving The Use Of Science In Conservation: Lessons From The Florida Panther |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=1-7 |doi=10.2193/0022-541X(2006)70[1:ITUOSI]2.0.CO;2 |accessdate=2007-06-11}}</ref> Responding to the research that suggested removing its subspecies status, the Florida Panther Recovery Team notes "the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the results of Culver et al. and the proposed change in taxonomy is not resolved at this time."<ref name=FloridaRecovery>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/Florida%20panther%20files/Panther%20Recovery%20Plan%202006_01_31%20-%20no%20figures.pdf |title=Florida Panther Recovery Program (Draft) |accessdate=2007-06-11 |author=The Florida Panther Recovery Team |date=January 31, 2006 |format=PDF |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref> 7id wtqrft |
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Sierra Club Says Ave Maria Will 'Threaten' Everglades<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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==Threats== |
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Recovery efforts are currently underway in Florida to conserve the state's remaining population of native panthers. This is a difficult task, as the panther requires large contiguous areas of habitat — each breeding unit, consisting of one male and two to five females, requires about {{convert|200|sqmi|sqkm|-2}} of habitat.<ref>[http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/WhatsNew/Press_release/Panther%20Recovery%20Plan%202006_01_31%20-%20no%20figures.pdf Florida Panther Recovery Plan]. The Florida Panther Recovery Team, South Florida Ecological Services Office, ''[[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]''. Published [[1995-03-13]]. Last Retrieved [[2007-01-30]].</ref> A population of 240 panthers would require 8,000 to {{convert|12000|sqmi|sqkm|-3}} of habitat with sufficient diversity due to inbreeding as a result of small population size. The introduction of eight female cougars from a closely related Texas population has apparently been successful in mitigating inbreeding problems.<ref>[http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2006/images/PantherGeneticFactSheet.pdf Florida Panther and the Genetic Restoration Program]. ''[[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]''. Last Retrieved [[2007-01-30]].</ref> |
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Southern Florida is a fast-developing area, and declining habitat threatens this species. The two highest causes of mortality for the Florida panthers are automobile injuries and aggression between panthers for territory. The primary threats to the population as a whole include habitat loss, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. The development at [[Ave Maria, Florida|Ave Maria]] near [[Naples, Florida|Naples]], is controversial for its location in prime panther habitat.<ref>[http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/Fish/southflorida/news/maria2004.html Sierra Club Says Ave Maria Will 'Threaten' Everglades<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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== Controversy == |
== Controversy == |
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Revision as of 18:12, 11 March 2008
| Florida Panther | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Subspecies: | P. c. coryi
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| Trinomial name | |
| Puma concolor coryi Bangs, 1899
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| Synonyms | |
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Proposed taxonomic revision: aggregation with other subspecies of Puma concolor into a single subspecies of North American cougar, P. c. couguar[2], following Culver (2000). | |
The Florida panther is a critically endangered representative of cougar (Puma concolor) that lives in the low pinelands, palm forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) is unresolved.
Males weigh about 150 pounds and live within a range that includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.[3] This population, the only unequivocal cougar representative in the eastern United States, currently occupies only 5% of its historic range. The number of living panthers is estimated to be between 80 to 100.[4]
Taxonomic status
The Florida panther has long been considered a unique subspecies of cougar, under the trinomial Puma concolor coryi (Felis concolor coryi in older listings), one of thirty-two subspecies once recognized. Under these terms, the population was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1967, [5] and it continues to be one of the most intensively and expensively protected feline populations in the world.
A genetic study of cougar mitochondrial DNA finds that many of the supposed subspecies are too similar to be recognized as distinct,[6] suggesting a reclassification of the Florida panther and numerous other subspecies into a single North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar). Following the research, the canonical Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition) ceased to recognize the Florida panther as a unique subspecies, collapsing it and others into the North American cougar.[2]
Despite these findings it is still listed as subspecies Puma concolor coryi in research works, including those directly concerned with its conservation.[7] Responding to the research that suggested removing its subspecies status, the Florida Panther Recovery Team notes "the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the results of Culver et al. and the proposed change in taxonomy is not resolved at this time."[8] 7id wtqrft
Sierra Club Says Ave Maria Will 'Threaten' Everglades]</ref>
Controversy
The Florida panther has been at the center of a controversy over the science used to manage the species. There has been strong disagreement between scientists about the location and nature of critical habitat. This in turn is linked to a dispute over management which involves property developers and environmental organisations.[9] Recovery agencies appointed a panel of four experts, the Florida Panther Scientific Review Team (SRT), to evaluate the soundness of the body of work used to guide panther recovery. The SRT identified serious problems in panther literature, including miscitations and misrepresentation of data to support unsound conclusions.[10][11][12] A Data Quality Act (DQA) complaint brought by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Andrew Eller, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), was successful in demonstrating that agencies continued to use incorrect data after it had been clearly identified as such.[13] As a result of the DQA ruling, USFWS admitted errors in the science the agency was using and subsequently reinstated Eller, who had been fired by USFWS after filing the DQA complaint. In two white papers, environmental groups contended that habitat development was permitted that should not have been, and documented the link between incorrect data and financial conflicts of interest.[14][15] In January 2006, USFWS released a new Draft Florida Panther Recovery Plan for public review.[16]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this subspecies is critically endangered and the criteria used
- ^ a b Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 544–545. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ FLORIDA PANTHER. Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last Retrieved 2007-01-30.
- ^ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida panther deaths increase from collisions with vehicles Press release, Date: June 29, 2007
- ^ "Florida Panther". Endangered and Threatened Species of the Southeastern United States (The Red Book). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1993. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ Culver, M. (2000). "Genomic Ancestry of the American Puma" (PDF). Journal of Heredity. 91 (3): 186–197.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Conroy, Michael J. (2006). "Improving The Use Of Science In Conservation: Lessons From The Florida Panther" (PDF). Journal of Wildlife Management. 70 (1): 1–7. doi:10.2193/0022-541X(2006)70[1:ITUOSI]2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ The Florida Panther Recovery Team (January 31, 2006). "Florida Panther Recovery Program (Draft)" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
- ^ Gross L (2005) Why Not the Best? How Science Failed the Florida Panther. PLoS Biol 3(9): e333 [1]
- ^ Beier, P, MR Vaughan, MJ Conroy, and H Quigley. 2003, An analysis of scientific literature related to the Florida panther: Submitted as final report for Project NG01-105, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, FL. 203 pp. [2]
- ^ Beier, P, MR Vaughan, MJ Conroy, and H Quigley. 2006. Evaluating scientific inferences about the Florida panther. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:236-245. [3]
- ^ Conroy, MJ, P Beier, H Quigley, and MR Vaughan. 2006. Improving the use of science in conservation: lessons from the Florida panther. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:1-7. [4]
- ^ Information Quality Guidelines: Your Questions and Our Responses. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Published 2005-03-21. Last Retrieved 2007-01-30.
- ^ * Kostyack, J and K Hill. 2005. Giving Away the Store. [5]
- ^ Kostyack, J and K Hill. 2004. Discrediting a Decade of Panther Science: Implications of the Scientific Review Team Report. [6]
- ^ Fish and Wildlife Service releases Draft Florida Panther Recovery Plan for public review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Published 2006-01-31. Last Retrieved 2007-01-30.
External links
