User:Izabeau17/sandbox

Animal in the Lower Colorado Region

Mule deer

One type of animal is the mule deer in which they are mostly recognized by their large ears with them being three fourths the length of their head and have a distinctive black forehead that differs with a light gray face. In addition, during the summer they are tannish brown and in the they winter are a brownish gray. Furthermore, they have a white rump patch as well as a small white tail with a black tip. The mule deer is essential to the lower Colorado Region with it only being found in the western Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, along the southwestern side of the U.S., and on the west coast area of North America. For over a decade the Colorado Western side has been a fertile land to these species of animals with herds to the portion size in the northwestern area becoming so prolific that it was known as ‘’the mule deer factory’’. However, there's been a decrease in their population. It has been shown that it has been dropping across the U.S for several years with more than 100,000 in the early 1980’s to the current estimate being 32,000. One possible cause of this dramatic drop is due to the development such as the increased oil, gas drilling, and continuing growth of the human population according to the National Wildlife Federation's analyzation. Regardless, they have a tremendous benefit to the environment due to them being browsers with them feeding on herbaceous plants and the leaves and twigs of woody shrubs. They are selective feeders through eating plants that are the most nutritious in which due to this they have more specific forage requirements rather than those of cattle or elk that share their habitat with them (National Wildlife Forest, 2020).

Plants in the Lower Colorado Region

Apricot Mallow

One type of plant is the apricot mallow grows to 3 feet in height and speads 2 to 3 feet in width. The leaves are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, palmately veined, and on long stems, the number of which increase in age. The fruit is a brown capsule containing many seeds with it first being quite spherical as implied by it original name, and later flattening to a disk. The flowers are bowl-shaped, five-petaled, apricot to orange in color, and bloom in the spring. It grows well in alkaline soil, both sandy or clay with it usually being in the company of the creosote bush scrub and desert chaparral habitats. It is a larval host to the common checkered skipper, northern white skipper, painted lady, small checkered skipper, and west coast lady (Wikipedia, 2019).

Climate and Geology

Physical Geology

The lower Colorado region is considered to be one of 21 major geographic areas or regions that have successfully been able to divide and sub-divide the U.S. into smaller hydrologic units. These areas either contain either the drainage area of a major river or the combined drainage areas of several rivers. This region includes the drainage within the U.S. of the Colorado Basin below the Lee Ferry, streams that originate within the U.S. and ultimately discharge into the Gulf of California, and the Animas Valley, Willcox Playa, and among others. It is included in parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. In addition, it is the approximate size of 140,146 square miles and has eight subregions.

Land and Water Use

Mule Deer Trailhead

The mule deer trailhead is a 9.6-mile loop trail that is located near Golden Colorado by which features beautiful wildflowers with being rated as being moderate. The trail is usually used for hiking, trail running, camping, and nature trips. The best time to visit the mule deer trailhead is from May until October. Also, dogs are also able to use the trail, but they have to be kept on a leash at all times (Mule Deer Trailhead, 2020).Furthermore, the trail is a one loop option through as said earlier the Golden Colorado with the expected variety of terrain from rocky single-track through denser pine forest to smooth trails winding through alpine meadows. When going through the trail you will first start at the Ole Barn Knoll and then climb up to Panorama Point where you will experience gradually steepening terrain along wider paths. Once you are past Panorama Point you will then be in dense pines and will eventually make your way back down through some meadows (Mule Deer Trail Hiking Trail, Central City, Colorado, 2020)

Opportunities and Threats

Animal Threats

One species that is endangered is the green turtle with its species being apart of the Chelonia Mydas. The dorsal area of the shell or carapace can be brown, rusty reddish brown, or a light brown. They also have markings such as spots, streaks, or mottling which are common especially with older ones. The underside of the shell or plastron is typically a whitish or yellowish (Bioweb, 2020). They often can move across three habitat types depending on their life stage as well as lay their eggs on the beach. Mature ones spend most of their time in shallow, coastal waters with lush seagrass meadows. Entire generations often migrate between one pair of feeding and nesting areas. The Chelonia Mydas is classified as a n aquatic species and are distrusted around the globe in warm tropical to subtropical waters. The environmental parameter that limits the distribution of the turtles is ocean temperatures below 7 to 10 degrees. They often stay near continental and island coastlines in which near the coastlines they live within shallow bays and protected shore. In areas that are protected shores and bays their habitats are coral reeds, salt marshes, and nearshore seagrass beds. Luckily the coral reefs provide red, brown and green algae for their diet and give protection from predators and rough storms within the ocean. In addition, the salt marshes and seagrass beds contain seaweed and grass vegetation which allows an ample habitat for them. Unfortunately, the green turtle has repeatedly been listed in the red list with it being considered a endangered species. Specifically, in the area of my own region they are listed as critically endangered. This is because of the human use of their meat and egg which has shown to steadily increase over the years and continues to do so. Even though the sea turtle has been a spiritual importance in many cultures across the globe it has not prevented humankind to consume their eggs or meat. For instance, in many coastal communities such as Central America and Asia they have been provide as a source of food. During their nesting season, hunters will comb through the beaches at night looking for nesting females. Often times they will wait until the female has birthed her eggs to kill her and then take the eggs and meat. In addition, many people will use other parts of the turtle for products such as oil, cartilage, skin, and shell(Conserveturtles, 2020).

References

1. Mule Deer. (n.d). Retrieved May 4 , 2020,from https://www.google.com/searchclient=safari&rls=en&q=%E2%80%9CMule+Deer.%E2%80%9D+National+Wildlife+Federation,+www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Mule-Deer.&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
2. Sphaeralcea ambigua. (2019, November 11). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaeralcea_ambigua
3. Mule Deer Trailhead. (2020, March 26). Retrieved May 4, 2020, from https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/mule-deer-trail--2
4. Green sea turtle. (2020, April 16). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle
5. Information About Sea Turtles: Threats to Sea Turtles. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-sea-turtles/
6. Chelonia mydas - Green Turtle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2020, from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio210/s2013/lightbod_step/classification.htm