🌱 Hello, I am
Mitchell Victoria
Environmental Studies, MS
🌱 Hello, I am
Mitchell Victoria
Environmental Studies, MS
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The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is of special concern within the state of California (California Fish & Wildlife, 2021) because we still do not fully understand this species, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central coast. They are shy animals and not well studied. American Badgers are known as prairie mammals and are opportunistic foragers that consume a wide range of vertebrates, especially mammals, as well as invertebrates and plant material (Sovada, Roaldson, Sergeant, 1999). However, their primary diet consists of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys sp.), Ground Squirrels (Urocitellus sp.), birds, bird eggs, and other ground dwelling animals (Sovada et al. 1999).
Learn moreIn the state of California, Santa Cruz County is home to a variety of endemic and important species that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet (Ebbin et al. 2021). Among some of the endemic species of Santa Cruz County is the Ohlone Tiger Beetle (Cicindela Ohlone), which has been affected by many human impacts currently that include agriculture, recreational activities, and unnatural disturbances such as human-caused fires, urbanization, as well as invasive species preying upon the insect (Arnold and Knisley 2018). This insect was officially recognized in 1993 when they were first collected by Russell Morgan and colleagues who collected them in west central Santa Cruz from 1987 to 1992.
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Gray Whales are known to have the longest migrations than any other marine mammal on the planet. They are able to migrate 10-14,000 miles from North to South of the Pacific coastline and back. This can stretch from southern Alaska to the end of Baja California. They may also lose a third of their body weight, around 15 tons (30,000 pounds) during their migration. The reason for their migrations in the winter is due to colder temperatures within the coastal waters off the Alaska state and Baja has waters that stay relatively warm annually.
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