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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists put motion cameras along the US-Mexico border to spy on wildlife. The footage is spectacular — and telling.
The border wall between the US and Mexico is, of course, a barrier meant to prevent human migrants from crossing into America as they seek work, family, or refuge from violence. It's also a significant barrier to ranging wildlife. The border wall, a centerpiece of President Donald Trump's agenda, cuts through a rugged, unique ecosystem home to hundreds of native species, from jaguars and pumas to black bears and deer. These animals often need to move to survive, whether to find a source of water or a mate. We know the wall is impassable for many species, potentially lowering their chance of survival. How exactly the border affects this rich ecosystem, however, has largely been a mystery. A new study, among the first of its kind, finally offers some answers — by essentially spying on animals near the border. For the research, ecologist and lead author Ganesh Marín, then a doctoral researcher at the University of Arizona, set up 85 motion-sensing cameras in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, along and south of the US border in Arizona and New Mexico. Throughout the course of the research, when animals walked by, the cameras began recording. Over roughly two years, from 2020 to 2022, the cameras captured hundreds of hours of footage, including more than 21,000 clips with mammals, said Marín, a National Geographic Explorer and postdoctoral scientist at the nonprofit Conservation Science Partners. 'This place is so special because you see these tropical species, like ocelots and jaguars, at the same time as beavers and black bears,' Marín told me earlier this year when I was reporting on borderland jaguars. Some of the recordings are pretty incredible. In this clip, for example, a young puma, or mountain lion, makes a chirping sound, likely calling for its mother. Courtesy of Ganesh Marín Or check out this jaguar approaching the camera. This particular cat is known as Bonito. Scientists first detected this cat in 2020 and can identify him by his markings. Courtesy of Ganesh Marín Marín's cameras detected another jaguar, as well, called Valerio. He was seen by cameras multiple times in a protected area known as Cuenca Los Ojos just south of the border in Sonora. Courtesy of Ganesh Marín The camera traps caught black bears and their cubs… Courtesy of Ganesh Marín Courtesy of Ganesh Marín …bobcats and coyotes… Courtesy of Ganesh Marín Courtesy of Ganesh Marín …and even an ocelot, an elusive predatory cat. Courtesy of Ganesh Marín Analyzing the videos ultimately revealed several important details about wildlife in the borderlands. Marín found that large mammals, such as black bears and deer, as well as some smaller herbivores, spend less time near the border than in other, more remote stretches of his study region. That suggests these animals avoid border infrastructure. Other species, like the pronghorn, which have been seen on the US side of the border, didn't appear in his cameras at all. That may be because they have trouble crossing a highway that runs roughly parallel to the border in Sonora, according to Marín and his co-author, John L. Koprowski, a biologist at the University of Wyoming. Meanwhile, smaller common predators like coyotes and bobcats appeared more tolerant to human activity: They were more likely to use habitats with cattle, cars, and dirt roads, according to the footage. The study adds to a growing body of research showing that the border and infrastructure around it is disrupting wild animal communities. 'Amazing wildlife is present in the borderlands due to the binational efforts to protect and restore the flow of life between both countries,' Marín said in an email. 'We should not define this beautiful region and the creatures that roam by the existence of an imposed division.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New study reveals human intervention may be necessary to respond to elk migration: 'Can enable continued access'
Wildlife migration routes in the Western United States are likely to change significantly in the coming years because of the changing climate, a study from the Conservation Science Partners (CSP) has concluded. The severity of these changes is likely to require substantial human intervention and assistance. Based on current migration patterns from Colorado and New Mexico, researchers have projected what elk migration routes will look like by 2050. These routes are subject to change based on a variety of factors, from climate-related reasons like temperature increases, precipitation, and vegetation cover to human factors like American population evolution and its subsequent effects on real estate development, traffic, and more. Based on these projections, researchers have found that as a result of declining snowfall, migrating elk herds may spread out further across the region more in the winter. On the other hand, these herds may be more compacted during summer migrations due to declining rainfall. Wildlife migration routes can greatly affect human populations if not properly addressed. Thankfully, as studies like the CSP's suggest, they are generally predictable years ahead of time and can be accounted for with proper infrastructural changes. The benefits of wildlife road crossings are clear and long agreed upon. They not only improve driver safety and reduce animal mortality but also provide habitat connectivity and, as this CSP study suggests, can also support ecosystems in adapting to climate change. As the study's abstract reads, "Among other climate-adaptive benefits, research suggests crossings can support species range shifts and protect access to resources even as drought and human development compromise that access." Several large wildlife crossing projects have begun in recent years. What is projected to be the world's largest crossing, west of Los Angeles, completed construction on its first girders in May 2024, while the Federal Highway Administration approved a large grant for a crossing across the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 90 in December 2024. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. As far as projects specifically to combat these elk migration patterns go, no crossings out west have been formally announced yet, but scientists and researchers are adamant in proclaiming their necessity going forward. "Wildlife crossings can enable continued access to new or expanding ranges, or continued access to resources like, say, forage that's shifting in time and space," says Caitlin Littlefield director of climate adaptation science at Conservation Science Partners and the aforementioned study's lead author. "It's important that new crossings are built to withstand climate-driven extreme weather, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, and heatwaves." Meanwhile, reducing our production of pollution can slow the rate of rising global temperatures, which leads to unpredictable weather changes that shift elk migration patterns and risks damage to safe crossings. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
