Conclusions

Now that you have learned more about the struggle to save the Puritan tiger beetle, you can appreciate how challenging it is to save a species that is threatened by extinction. For some of the scientists, teachers, students, and others who share a passion for maintaining biodiversity, learning about, and rescuing this beetle, and threatened species like it, is a lifetime passion. Remember that you too can play a role in maintaining biodiveristy.

It is natural to ask, "Why do these people bother?" Does this one species of beetle matter very much? The nation's leading expert on the Puritan tiger beetle says that in many ways, the answer is no, but he has devoted his career to their preservation nonetheless. Read more about reasons to advocate for the Puritan tiger beetle.

//Cicindela puritana// is part of a well-studied class of insects that are tied closely to their environments. Reminder - what is an indicator species? The fact that the Puritan tiger beetle is struggling in its native range is a warning that their systems are in danger. If the problems that are causing their decline are not identified and remedied, other species are likely to follow.

Every species has a place in its ecosystem. It is very difficult to determine how much the stability of an ecosystem depends on the services that are provided by an organism like the Puritan tiger beetle until it is gone, and by then it is too late to do anything about it.

Even more fundamentally, it is important to remember that the genetic material of every living organism holds an ancient record of its adaptations that date back to the dawn of life. This is unique for every species. Losing a single species represents a loss of an irreplaceable part of the story of life on Earth. Once that happens, it can never be restored. Extinction is forever.

You may not have expected the effort to save a species like the Puritan tiger beetle to be so complex. There are many types of experts who contribute biological, ecological, geological, engineering and political expertise to this effort. Even so, you have seen that the battle to protect habitat, and restore the species population to long-term viability is failing; the fate of the Puritan tiger beetle is more precarious than ever. When a species' population sizes declines too much, it is possible that it can slip into an extinction vortex - key concept. In the activities that you completed earlier, you had a chance to study factors that can contribute to the rate of decline in smaller, threatened populations. These factors include changes caused by **global warming**, and **invasive species** that disrupt ecosystems.

It is your turn to weigh in now. Go to the poll and assessment page to test yourself on the course material and contribute your opinions concerning issues related to the conservation of the Puritan tiger beetle.

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