Making Space for Bunnies

Did you know there are 20 different types of cottontail rabbit? All of the bunnies share one thing in common: their fluffy white tail.

Their other characteristics depend on where they live. The desert cottontail has adapted to living in the desert, while the swamp rabbit prefers—you guessed it—living in swamps and marshes. The swamp rabbit even enjoys swimming! Other cottontails include the mountain cottontail, the Eastern cottontail, which is the most common, and the New England cottontail, which is actually declining in numbers.

The most common rabbit in the New England states used to be the New England cottontail. These rabbits prefer living in forested areas with lots of young trees. New forests have lots of bushes and plants near the ground, called underbrush or thickets, where the New England cottontail likes to hide. They don’t like open areas. The Eastern cottontail doesn’t mind snacking on grasses in open fields, but the New England cottontail stays close to the underbrush and watches for predators.

Over the past 100 years or so, most of the forests in New England have grown older and have larger, more mature trees. As trees get taller, the tree canopy (the branches and leaves of the treetops) block the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Small shrubs and plants can’t survive without sunlight, and they die. Without those shrubs and plants, there is nowhere for the New England cottontail to hide.

Over the past 50 years, the population of the New England cottontail has dropped by 80 percent in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. At the same time, the population of Eastern cottontails has increased in those states. The populations of predators have also increased. Coyotes, foxes, bobcats, fishers, weasels, hawks, and owls all eat rabbits.

Fortunately for the New England cottontail, conservation groups want to help the bunny survive the changing environment. The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve is creating 400 acres of young forest habitat in southern Maine. In addition to helping the New England cottontail, this young forest area will also help a bird called the American woodcock and pollinators such as butterflies. The American woodcock is a short, plump bird that lives in young forests. Its spotted brown color helps it blend with leaves as it walks on its short legs across the forest floor. As it walks, it searches for worms with its long bill.

In addition to creating young forest areas, the Wells Reserve is also teaching landowners in the area how to help the New England cottontail. The program is a partnership with several other organizations, companies, and groups, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the American Forest Foundation, Avangrid Foundation, Eversource, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

When groups who care work together, they can make a difference for animals such as the little New England cottontail.

Tracking Birds Using Tiny Tags

Have you ever taken a long trip with your family? If so, you know how it must feel to be a red knot.

The red knot is a type of small shorebird with a cinnamon-orange belly, gray, black, and orange wings, and an amazing travel schedule. These birds spend winters in Argentina, Chile, or Brazil, in South America. Then, they fly thousands of miles north to the eastern United States, where they hang out on the beach for a big snack. After that, they head even farther north through Canada and spend the summer near the Arctic Circle, where they nest and raise their babies.

Scientists who study these birds are worried about them. Red knots are disappearing, and scientists don’t understand all of the reasons why. How can we help these birds? Where are the birds getting in trouble? Since they travel such great distances, they could have trouble where they nest, along the route where they fly, or even where they live during the winter. Biologists and bird watchers have studied the migration of shorebirds such as the red knot for many years, and there is still a lot we don’t know. But now, a new technology can help. Scientists are using tiny devices called nanotags that work with radio signals to study the red knot’s long journey.

Nanotags are about the size and weight of a button. They have a thread-like antenna and a battery. Scientists attach them to the birds. As each bird flies, the nanotag gives off a signal that is heard by a special network of antenna towers. The towers collect the signal and store the information for scientists to read. Each nanotag has a unique code, so scientists can tell which bird is flying past the tower. The towers can detect birds up to 10 miles away!

An organization called Bird Studies Canada is tagging about 100 rufa red knots in Chile. (Rufa red knots are one of six types of red knots in the world.) Bird Studies Canada will study the birds’ behavior in Chile and then follow the red knots’ trip north to the Arctic Circle. These birds spend most of their time in large flocks with other birds, so tagging just 100 birds gives scientists information on the entire flock.

The scientists from Bird Studies Canada added more antenna towers in Chile to better understand how the birds live in South America. As the red knots fly north, the scientists will collect information from the network of antennae called the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Many researchers use this system to study the behavior and movements of birds.

All of this information will help them understand where the birds might have trouble on their journey. Scientists and bird watchers can then develop the best plans to help the birds in the future.

Frogs at Risk

South America's frog populations are on the decline. That spells trouble for the environment.

The mountains and thick forests of Ecuador, in South America, are home to 417 types of frogs and toads. Tiny red-eyed tree frogs hide inside flowers. Bumpy-skinned toads use their sticky tongues to catch mosquitoes and other prey. Colorful poison dart frogs rest on tree branches. These brightly colored frogs are packed with poison, which protects them from their enemies.

Now, many species, or types, of frogs and toads in Ecuador are at risk of dying out. According to a report in 2005 by the group NatureServe, eight frogs had become extinct, or died out, in North and South America by 2005. "It's the same magnitude event as the extinction of the dinosaurs," says scientist Luis Coloma.

What Are Amphibians?

Salamanders, frogs, and toads are all amphibians. Amphibians are animals with backbones that spend part of their life in water and part on land. Frogs and toads lay jellylike eggs in water. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, which breathe through gills. As the tadpoles grow into frogs or toads, they develop lungs and live on land.

Like reptiles, such as lizards and snakes, amphibians are cold-blooded. That means their body temperature depends on the environment. Unlike reptiles, amphibians lack protective scales. Amphibians must live near water so that their skin stays moist.

Vanishing Species

Over the last several decades, many amphibian species have become extinct. In the early 2000s, two of every five of the 3,046 species that live in North and South America were at risk of vanishing.

Why are these creatures in trouble? Much of their habitat has been destroyed as loggers have cut down trees to make room for farms and roads. A habitat is a place in nature where a plant or an animal makes its home. Disease, weather changes, and pollution are other causes of the decline in amphibian populations.

Scientists are concerned about the decrease in the number of frogs. The health of frogs is closely linked to the health of the environment. "Amphibian extinction is an indicator of [a problem with the environment]," scientist Jonathan Campbell told Weekly Reader.

Because amphibians breathe through their skin, they easily absorb pollution. They are usually the first to disappear when the environment is under threat. As a result, some frogs are born with deformed, or wrongly shaped, body parts, such as extra legs and eyes. When frogs with strange body parts are found in an area, it is a clue that the environment is polluted or suffering.

What Can Be Done?

Scientists are fighting to save amphibians. Some scientists believe that South America's poison dart frogs have chemicals in their body that can be used to treat diseases, such as cancer. The scientists want governments to pass laws that will reduce pollution and to create parks that protect the amphibians' habitat.

"Almost half of the extinctions are happening for unknown reasons," scientist Robert Kaplan told Weekly Reader. "Scientists have a lot of work to do, and quickly."

Examples of Amphibians in Ecuador

Here are some of Ecuador's frogs and toads.

• Splendid leaf frogs live in top layers of trees and come down to the ground only once a year, on a moonless night, to lay eggs.

• Giant glass frogs live in trees and have translucent, or almost see-through, skin. The creature's red heart is visible from the outside.

• Harlequin toads have colorful, smooth skin, often with spots or streaks of orange, red, yellow, blue, or green. By 2020, some species of harlequin toads had become critically endangered. This means these species had become especially in danger of being extinct.