User:Juliannechen/Ornate shrew

Description:
Due to the large variation in the coat of the shrew, it is not a reliable means of identifying the subspecies associated with the coat. Many scientists have turned to gene sequencing and tooth morphology to be more accurate.

Of all invertebrates, shrews have the largest brain-to-body mass.

Distribution and Habitat addition:
Shrews like dense vegetation close to a water source. At places where shrews have been captured, the environment has been more moist than dry so removing wetland habitats reduces the land for shrews.

Behavior and Ecology
A litter can consist of 4 to 6 baby shrews which are expected to live for about 12 months. They do not hibernate however some species can enter a state of inactivity in harsh situations such as extreme cold. Their small size means they have a quick metabolism and lose heat quickly. Their short life expectancy leads to a high annual turnover rate. This is why they often have problems maintaining their body temperature, especially in colder environments. Shrews need to eat at least 24 insects per day especially during colder seasons when a large portion of their energy goes towards staying warm.

Behavior and Ecology
The ornate shrew primarily occupies areas based off of vegetation composition instead of species competition because it needs dense vegetation as shelter from predators and places for nesting. Habitat destruction rather than food shortages is the biggest threat to the ornate shew population.

Ornate shrews are active at both night and day but are mostly nocturnal during breeding season during spring to late summer. Typically, ornate shrews are not aggressive towards each other unless under stressful circumstances. In studies, mature shrews have been shown to become antagonistic when food and water supplies are low. Observations of interactions between male and female ornate shrews' behavior is female dominant dynamic.

Feeding
The shrew needs to eat throughout the day because of their fast metabolism and small size. They can eat more than their weight and mostly consume insects. This could be beneficial because many of the insects that they consume negatively affect crops. Depending on the time of year, shrews will eat spiders, worms, snails, and slugs.

Life Cycle
The Buena Vista ornate shrew life cycle is less than a year. Breeding season for the shrew is from around February and lasts until June. Female ornate shrews give birth to 2 litters with 4 to 6 young.

Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew (Sorex ornatus relictus)
 Appearance 

The Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew is apart of the subspecies of the ornate shrew native to California. The subspecies of ornate shrews have a similar appearance to a mouse with a long snout, small bead eyes, concealed ears, and soft fur. The Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew, specifically, has a primarily black coat with brown speckles and a gray undercoat.

Threats
The Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew is classified as an endangered species. The biggest contribution to their decline has been habitat fragmentation and the loss of water supply. Main contributors to these factors include water diversion for agricultural use, pesticides, and drought. Human made threats have largely affected the Buena Vista Lake shrew. The increase in concentration of Selenium is considered a large threat to the Buena Vista Lake shrew. At locations where it has been captured, selenium concentrations in shrews have been 3 to 25 times higher than other mammals. The few populations of this shrew that are left are separated from each other so it is easier for natural causes to kill the species. Human intervention like removal of branches and drying out marshes have also threatened this species.

Habitat
The Buena Vista Lake shrew previously could have been found at the Buena Vista Lake and the Tulare Basin in the swampy areas. Drying out of lakes and nearby water has restricted the range of the shrew.

There are four regions where the Buena Vista Lake shrew are found: the Kern Preserve, on the old Kern Lake bed, the Kern Fan recharge area, the Cole Levee Ecological Preserve, and the Kern National Wildlife Refuge.

The Buena Vista Lake shrews are more commonly found in moist habitats that have large and dense overstories for cover. They do not migrate. They also prefer habitats that have a variety of insects, both marine and terrestrial, as a food source.

Conservation Status
There was a small effort to save the shrew in 1988, but the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service did not take action as the habitats for shrews were destroyed. It took until 2002 for the shrew to be recognized as endangered.