Introduction There are two main species of elephants, the African Elephants which live in the savannah and the Asian Elephants which live in more tropical forest environments. African Elephants are located in Northern Africa where it is dominated by savanna and desert biomes. Asian Elephants, on the other hand, are located in Southeast Asia which has tropical forest and temperate grassland biomes. Within each biome there are abiotic and biotic systems that coexist and create a unique environment which defines an ecosystem. A savanna consists of grasses and scattered trees and is warm year round. As a result of dry soil and lack of consistent rainfall varying from 12 to 20 inches, the savannah has wildfires often due to natural and human causes (Simon, Dickey, & Reese, 2019). It’s abundant grassy vegetation creates an ideal environment for African elephants which are natural grazers. The desert biome shares similarities to the savanna biome, but generally has less rainfall and consists of different vegetations that are adaptive to the desert’s environment. A unique feature of the African elephant that lives in this biome is that elephants are migratory species. As a migratory species, African elephants may migrate from areas that have become like a desert biome to search for water sources. Oftentimes, the routes taken during migration pass through deserts. Asian elephants live in a much different environment than the African elephant. Southeast Asia consists of Tropical Forest and Temperate Grassland habitats. Tropical Forests are defined by two categories, Wet and Dry based on the amount of rainfall (Simon, Dickey, & Reese 2019). Wet Tropical Forest receives more rainfall that allows a lot of growth in vegetation while a Dry Tropical Forest has more vegetation that grows closer to the ground and has adapted to conserve water during longer periods of no rain. Temperate Grasslands are described to “have some characteristics of tropical savanna, but are mostly treeless, except along rivers and streams, and found in regions of relatively cold winter temperatures” (Simon, Dickey, & Reese 2019). (Sentence to summarize both points). What are the African Elephants threatened by? Two major threats in Africa towards the African elephant is poaching of their tusks and loss of habitat. According to the World Wildlife Fund (2021), every-year around 20,000 African elephants were killed for their tusks. Tusks are made out of ivory which is highly valued as a material for art pieces and jewelry, but also holds a significant role in raising an individual’s status. Additionally, the African elephant has lost much of its natural habitat to human development and agricultural development. Between 2011 and 2015, the habitat loss around 90% resulted in a dramatic decrease in the African elephant’s population (World Wildlife Fund 2021). Proposal to improve and conserve African Elephant Population Due to the loss of habitat for African elephants, conservation efforts are directed to obtain and manage land that is essential for African elephants to live and be protected from poachers. In order to accomplish habitat conservation for African elephants, I propose to secure land by focusing on purchasing land surrounding existing wildlife reserves from locals and other organizations to further expand habitat and potential migratory routes. African elephants need a lot of land in order to forage for vegetation, migrate, and roam. One way to help save essential habitats for the species is redirecting human development such as agriculture and the raising of flocks (sheep, goats, or cattles). Deforestation is the removal of trees that clears land to be used for development. Another method to saving land for the elephant is incentives to the locals or educating them about the conservation issues with the elephant population to encourage them to coexist with the elephants. Hiring the local community as workers or protectors to the elephant population can provide a new workforce to support conservation efforts while giving back to the community job opportunities and training. There are two types of growth models for populations, the exponential growth model and the logistic growth model. The exponential growth model is when a population is experiencing a large amount of growth in population numbers. Abundance of food resources and land space are factors to having a boost in populations, but as the population grows and goes through their resources (food and space) will also mark a decline in population once resources run low. The logistic growth model states that there is a maximum amount the environment can support a population and as the population numbers get closer to the limit that the environment supports, the growth rate of the population decreases. African elephant populations follow the logistic growth model as due to their limited and decreasing amount of food resources and land, prevents further growth in the elephant’s population. Improving the access to more food resources and land would promote an exponential growth model that will ultimately improve the African elephant’s population. Within the local communities that share the area where African elephants live and roam, many individuals are not well informed about the issues that lie within the elephant population nor are they aware of methods to support conservation efforts. Many human communities view elephants as a hazard as elephants may trample on crops or conflict with grazing grounds that humans use to feed their animals and often kill elephants to remove the nuisance (Elephant for Africa 2021). Providing alternative methods to alleviate the tensions between human and elephant populations such as interviewing farmers to gain a better understanding of the risks they are taking and how elephant populations have affected them. Additional support to maintaining human-wildlife conflict is tackled by tying behavioral ecology by observing and monitoring behaviors of elephant populations and making efforts to change bad behaviors (crop raiding) that have negatively impacted communities near elephant populations. References African Elephant, World Wildlife Fund. (Viewed Feb 27 2021) https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant Human-Wildlife Conflict. Elephants for Wildlife. Viewed February 27, 2021. https://www.elephantsforafrica.org/research/human-wildlife-conflict/ Simon, E. J., Dickey, J., & Reece, J. B. (2019). Campbell essential biology (7th ed.). Pearson.
