Team Effort Saves Endangered Beetle from Extinction
By Leith Edgar
Meghan Welsh and Sarah Crosier (Henry Doorly Zoo) Steve Spomer (UNL), Aimee Johns (Lincoln Children's Zoo), Mike Fritz (Nebraska Game and Parks Commission) and Robert Harms (Service) number individual larvae and prepare to reintroduce them to suitable saline wetland and stream habitats.
This image is NOT FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN use
Photo Credit: NEBRASKAland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Going strictly by the numbers, you might think the effort to conserve the critically imperiled Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) wasn’t going so well since there are only 318 confirmed on the planet. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the beetle as endangered in 2005 due to significant population and habitat losses, efforts to conserve the species have involved propagation of larvae to supplement its wild populations and create new ones, an effort easier said than done.
Robert Harms, the species lead, says that considerable progress has been made perfecting the process for rearing Salt Creek tiger beetle larvae in the lab and reintroducing it into the wild.
“What we’re trying to do is simulate what Mother Nature does in the wild---that’s tough and I think a little presumptuous. But that’s the situation we’re in with this critter.” he said.
He should know. Harms is a Service biologist who’s worked to recover the beetle for almost a decade now. Ask him how the rearing and reintroduction process was developed and he’ll tell you it was a team effort.
“Plain and simple: the Service could not have done this by itself. It took a team of committed people with various types of expertise to develop a method for rearing and reintroducing the beetle thereby hopefully keeping this special beetle from going extinct,” he said. “The conservation partners who continue to contribute to this effort – volunteers and staff from the Henry Doorly Zoo; the Lincoln Children’s Zoo; the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission; and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Entomology – were all, each and every individual, instrumental in conserving this extremely rare insect species. These partners deserve all the credit for their conservation efforts.”
Harms describes himself as more of a cheerleader and logistics guy than a species lead.
“My job is to make sure the team has what they need to do the job. I spend a considerable amount of time organizing and coordinating the rearing and reintroduction effort,” Harms said.
Members of the team representing the Lincoln Children's Zoo, Henry Doorly Zoo, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduce Salt Creek tiger beetle larvae at a saline seep along Little Salt Creek in May 2012. Larvae will be monitored by UNL until June 2013 to determine the success of larvae reintroduction efforts.
This image is NOT FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN use
Photo Credit: NEBRASKAland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
He said that communication among all the team is a big deal.
“I am like a band director: I don’t know a thing about how to play a trumpet or clarinet, but I know what the band is supposed to sound like,” Harms said. This past year, 11 beetles were released from captivity into the wild; a year ago nine were released making the total number of beetles released 20.
Augmenting the existing populations of the beetle is important for the species’ survival since its life cycle is only two years. The principal of perpetual improvement is not lost on Harms, who’s constantly driven to improve conservation efforts for the species.
“I’ve been in the endangered species business for almost 20 years now and what I know is that if you’re not moving forwards you’re moving backwards,” he said.
Towards that end, Harms endeavors to take small, incremental steps toward recovering the species often times with imperfect information, while learning lessons and making adjustments along the journey. This broader vision for recovery is in keeping with Harms’ experience that it takes a sustained team effort and a significant time commitment to conserve fish, wildlife plants – and even invertebrates. The work of Harms’ conservation team is ongoing, but he is pleased the team was able to help bring the Salt Creek tiger beetle back from the brink of extinction by learning how to rear and reintroduce the species.
More information on conservation efforts for the Salt Creek tiger beetle: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/invertebrates/saltcreektiger/
Leith Edgar is a Public Affairs Specialist and can be reached at the Service’s Mountain-Prairie Regional Office at (303) 236-4588 or leith_edgar@fws.gov
