Here's What We Think!
Let Us Know What You Think!
Ronan
Allie
It seems false that such a small animals that barely move could have such a crucial role in an ecosystem, but it’s in fact true. These riparian brush rabbits have an important role in the ecosystem because they are both prey of many species and they cycle nutrients in the habitat. Although their role may seems small, without them the ecosystem would be largely affected. Not only are the bunnies important for the ecosystem, but they add an irresistible aesthetic. Who doesn’t love bunnies? Who wants all these bunnies to become extinct? Riparian brush rabbits should be saved because they provide many ecosystem services and add beauty to the riparian forest.
Food chains are very specific and each species is crucial to this unique system. Without the riparian brush rabbits, many animals including bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, domestic and Feral dogs and cats, long-tailed weasels, minks, spotted skunks, striped skunks, red tailed hawks, Cooper's hawks, barn owls, rattlesnakes, and gopher snakes would be short of food resources (Norris, 2016). The list of animals that would be affected without the animals listed previously would be extensive. Riparian brush rabbits are just a small part of the food web, but have a significant role.
Riparian brush rabbits increase the biodiversity of the riparian forest because they are responsible for nutrient cycling. They process many plants and their scat contains those seeds. This allows the seeds to be planted again and so the plants keep reproducing. Without the rabbits, there would be a shortage of many plants in the riparian forest because there would be less ways for the plants to grow again and increase the population of the plant species.
Everybody loves bunnies. Bunnies are adorable animals and the riparian brush rabbit is a species of bunnies that is dying. We can’t let these lovable creatures become extinct. They add a beauty to the forest. It’s impossible to let such cute animals go down without a fight from us.
We are the ones to blame as we are the ones to add threats to their species. They are becoming extinct because of habitat loss, wildfire, flooding, drought, and disease. 90% of Central Valley’s riparian forests no longer exists (Norris, 2016). We are stealing this precious land from these rabbits for agriculture, domestic, and recreational uses. Climate change is also causing many natural disasters including wild fire and drought. We are increasing the amount of floods with the increase in riprap which causes channelization. The pest control and pesticides we use are also second hand killing the rabbits. Humans are the cause of this beautiful species becoming extinct. It is our problem to we should be the ones solving it.
Only 2% of habitat remains now (Happy Bunny Story, 2005). The government has acknowledged this species and how it is extinct which is good, but there should be additional recovery actions to the recovery plan. Riparian brush rabbits should not be put on the backburner of endangered species. Once the people begin knowing and caring about the riparian brush rabbit, the government will start taking more actions. It will definitely take everyone we can get to help our bunnies in the San Joaquin Valley.
Given the irreplaceable values the riparian brush rabbit provide to their riparian forest ecosystem and the economy built around them, it is imperative riparian brush rabbits are actively protected, ensuring the continued survival of the riparian forest ecosystem and California’s major economic artery, food production.
With an animal so immobile, it is easy to believe that riparian brush rabbits have minimal impact on their ecosystems but this is a misconception, especially ecologically. The riparian brush rabbit is the lifeline to the success of riparian forest ecosystems. Being a primary consumer, riparian brush rabbits both eat many of the forest’s native plants like California blackberry and California Rose whilst spreading their seeds and are eaten by natural predators native to the riparian forest like coyotes, red tailed hawks, and riparian woodrats (William 1998.) This interaction with their food web makes riparian brush rabbits critical in keeping the riparian forest a healthy ecosystem by managing evenness within the plant individuals and species while also keeping their natural predators feed.
Though seemingly disconnected, the health of the riparian forest is an imperative asset to the continued success of California’s agricultural and fishing industry. This is especially true in the Central Valley, where the vast majority of the riparian brush rabbit’s habitat is. The Central Valley is home to both a $131 million dollar commercial and a $73 million recreational salmon fishing industry (The Economics of Salmon, 2016) and an agriculture industry worth $46.7 billion dollars (Medina, 2014). California’s success in these industries has everything to do with the riparian forest, who’s shady trees in the riparian zone of San Joaquin river has allowed plenty of dissolved oxygen to be present, supporting the salmon population (Alley, Dettman, Li, Moyle, 1977). When the salmon population is healthy it not only supports the salmon industry in Central Valley but also Central Valley agriculture since when salmon leave the San Joaquin river to the nutrient rich ocean for two years, they accumulate these nutrients in their body. After this two year period the Salmon then return to the San Joaquin river to spawn and die, leaving their nutrient rich bodies to decompose and become part of the soil of the Central Valley (Major Stretch, 2016). This nutrient transportation is one of the main reasons the Central Valley is so fertile, helping it be the agricultural powerhouse it is today. Without riparian forest to support these salmon, we can expect a major decline in the viability of two very profitable California industries and impacts on consumers worldwide as food becomes harder and harder to produce.
While it would require a land management overhaul, the ecosystem services and long term money saved makes putting effort into the protection and restoration of the riparian brush rabbit population more than worth it. The biggest barrier in the way of the survival of the riparian brush rabbit is the fragmentation of their riparian forest habitat caused by the large amount of private property surrounding it. This is a death sentence for the riparian brush rabbits who both rarely move more than a meter from cover and do not enjoy being near each other, make the small, protected habitats they currently have unsuitable. For this to change, it would require either the acquisition of or cooperation with private property and their owners to purchase or make these land sustainable habitats for riparian brush rabbits, an intiative which has thus far been unsuccessful and seems less and less likely to change, a scary thought as the riparian brush rabbit population dwindles. It’s an unfortunate reality but even if a full restoration can’t be achieved, I believe it is still important to continue to restore and adapt what is left of the Central Valley riparian forest to accommodate the riparian brush rabbit. This would mean continued captive breeding, bunny mound creation, predator control, and habitat restoration and protection. Riparian brush rabbits are worth fighting for and if we do not, California could see a ripple effect much worth than the cost of saving the riparian brush rabbit and their riparian forest ecosystem.
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