Waste Pollutants and the Pink Fairy's Reproduction

The pink fairy armadillo undergoes sexual reproduction. Armadillos give birth to four offspring. Being mammals, the babies are fed with the mother’s milk. Babies are also born with softer shells that do not completely harden until adulthood. Until then, they stay close to their mothers.

The current problem with the pink fairy armadillo is that it lives in the Arid Chaco, a region in Argentina. This would not be so bad, but the area is growing rapidly in population. People of the area farm and raise animals. As a result, a sophisticated form of waste disposal is needed. Too much inefficient waste disposal leads to the entering of pollutants into the environment and soil. Since the pink fairy burrows and resides underground, this is very bad news for its reproduction and survival. This is especially true because the pink fairy’s diet greatly includes root materials. This puts them at an even greater risk of contamination.

We really need to ensure that this waste pollution is not endangering the reproduction of the pink fairy. Since little information is known about the pink fairy’s reproduction, it is imperative that we study it. It is possible that pink fairy mothers are eating the pollutants from the roots, which may be affecting their ability to give birth to healthy babies.

In order to find out if these pollutants are affecting the offspring, we need to study two groups of pregnant females, who are due to have their babies in the same month. One group will remain in the Arid Chaco area and the other will be placed in a habitat we create with no pollutants from animal waste. Each group will consist of ten mothers. We would make this a larger number, but it is very difficult to find pink fairies. It is important that we ensure that all other factors other than the pollutants are the same for the two groups. When the mothers give birth, we will study the two groups in order to discover if any blatant differences in the number and health of the offspring exist. It is likely that the group from the Arid Chaco area will have fewer and less healthy babies. If this is true, then we can infer that the waste pollutants are most likely the cause. However, more detailed experiments will need to follow in order to ensure that this is the case.

Because the pink fairies are endangered of extinction, it is very important for us to find out if waste pollutants are the cause. If we value this species at all, we will do everything in our power to ensure their survival.



Sources:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EPG/is_11_34/ai_65651174

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.html

http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/def/aw_gen.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0701.html

Business Proposition: Pink Fairy Armadillo

In researching the chlamyphorus truncatus, otherwise known as the Pink fairy armadillo, I have thought of a new idea for jewelry and decorative plates. In carrying out this idea, we will also be assisting the rejuvenation of an endangered species, as well as boosting the economy of Argentina by hiring people in the area to carry out our plans. The Pink fairy armadillo is of the Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Xenarthra, Family: Dasypodidae, Genus: Chlamyphorus, Species: Chlamyphorus truncatus.
The Pink fairy armadillo has three interesting adaptations that assist in its survival. First is its dorsal shell, which is separated from its body, a unique characteristic of this particular armadillo. Since the pink fairy resides in dry grasslands and sandy plains with thorny bushes and cacti, its dorsal shell protects its body from being poked and punctured. Next, the pink fairy is a burrower. It usually makes its home near anthills in order to be close to its food source. This ensures that it always has something to eat and does not starve. Finally, the pink fairy feeds at night and stays in its home during the day. This way, it does not have to worry with predators and has a greater chance of survival.
Our company could benefit from the pink fairy’s shell, if we use selective breeding to ensure that the shells are thicker and have pretty patterns. We could then market these shells as decorative plates and jewelry.
The selective breeding process could be carried out by creating a special reserve for the Pink fairy armadillos with the thickest and best-patterned shells. By secluding them from other, less desirable pink fairies, a new species could potentially form with the traits that we need for our target market. This might occur because if only certain traits appear in the parents, only these traits will show up in the offspring—these traits being the profitable ones for our business.
However, in order to begin this process, we will need to discover whether or not a pink fairy can grow another shell if it loses one to our business. We will also need to find out how the mating process works. Since pink fairies live alone, we need to find out what factors are necessary to their mating system. This will ensure that we have a continuous market for their shells. Finally, if the shells do not grow back when removed, we need to discover how long they typically live—once again, so that we can make sure that we have enough shells for our business.
It will be ethical to proceed with these plans as long as we answer the questions we are not currently fully knowledgeable of beforehand. If the pink fairy does not grow another shell when one is removed, we should only use the shells of the armadillos who have already passed away.

Sources:
http://www.biologydaily.com/biology/Pink_fairy_armadillo
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.htm

Survival of the Pink Fairy Armadillo

Why is the pink fairy armadillo endangered?
Due to the spread of human civilization
Is the species widespread or localized?
Localized
About how many individuals remain?
I was unable to find this answer in any of my research.
Does the pink fairy armadillo have special attributes that make it a high priority for conservation efforts?
It may be used in research for curing leprosy and AIDS.
The study of the pink fairy may be beneficial to the Society for the Conservation similar to the research of the ruffed lemur by Yael Wyner found at http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/aroundtheworld/pages/lemur.html.

The pink fairy armadillo’s DNA might help to delineate certain things that would be beneficial to know about the species?
Researching the DNA of this little armadillo may help me to understand why there are so many in the US while the Pink fairy of Argentina is endangered.
Since the pink fairy does not do well in captivity, the longest life of a captive pink fairy being four years, it may be beneficial to determine if it could be moved somewhere where agriculture, spreading civilization and predation by domestic dogs would not interfere with its survival.
In order to determine whether a refuge would benefit the survival of the pink fairy, the following experiment could be conducted.
A refuge should be set up for the pink fairy in a part of Argentina where it may be left alone to live. A sample of its DNA should also be gathered and compared to other types of armadillos that are not in danger of extinction.
In order to assist the Society for the Genetic Modification in its research of the pink fairy, I propose furthering the following ideas.
Genetic engineering could potentially be used to make the pink fairy larger and to make its shell closer to its body, similar to the physical make-up of other types of armadillos. This might make it less susceptible to predation from domestic dogs. It should be pretty easy to get these genes from other, larger armadillos—possibly the nine banded armadillo.
Steps to achieve the modification follow.
One could first take a blood sample from the pink fairy and one from the nine-banded armadillo and compare the two. Any difference in genes between the two species should be closely compared in order to find out whether the nine-banded armadillo is more capable of survival. If a gene is discovered to be more adequate, it should then be bred into the pink fairy.
As a result of the genetic modification, the environment may be altered in the following manner.
Farmers or ranchers may struggle with keeping the pink fairies out of their crops and with preventing them from burrowing, which could cause injured legs in livestock.
If the gene was accidentally passed to other organisms that share a habitat with the pink fairy, the following might occur.
If a gene that increases the size of the 5 to 6 inch armadillo was transferred to larger animals, there could major problems, the greatest being upsetting the food chain. This could result if larger breeds of a species became better capable of hunting due to their increase in size.

Sources:
http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=4704
http://endangered.fws.gov/50cfr_animals.pdf
http://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/chlamyphorus.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.htm
http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/aroundtheworld/pages/lemur.html
http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/P/Pink-fairy-armadillo.htm

Pink Fairy Armadillo--Ashley Whorton

The pink fairy armadillo, the scientific name being Chlamyphorus truncates, is of the Animalia kingdom and the Eukarya domain. It is sometimes referred to as a pichiciego. The pink fairy armadillo is a vertebrate mammal. It prefers Neotropical biogeographic regions and chooses the savanna or grassland for its terrestrial biome. Argentina is the home of this species that is the smallest member of the armadillo family, measuring approximately five to six inches in length. It also differs from its family members in that its dorsal shell is almost separate from its body. It drags a tail behind it as it walks, because the tail cannot be lifted. The pink fairy armadillo is endothermic and has bilateral symmetry. It generally lives alone, staying in its burrow during the day and eating at night. Digging is one of its claims to fame. It likes to burrow in dry soil and leave burrows if the soil is wet. It usually chooses to do its burrowing near ant hills because ants are a large part of its diet. Pink fairy armadillos are omnivores but prefer ants, with the occasional meal of worms, snails, roots and plants. This armadillo is endangered and considered rare. The small numbers in population may be attributed to the spread of human civilization. A baby pink fairy armadillo looks similar to its parents, but its shell does not fully harden until it reaches adulthood.

I do not believe that this species would be useful for a bioprospector. I was unable to find any record of uses. However, I will continue to investigate this matter.

I picked the pink fairy armadillo to research or adopt because members of the armadillo family are common in Oklahoma. I find these creatures quite interesting and thought it would be beneficial to learn more about the armadillo family. The pink fairy armadillo is particularly intriguing because it is so small and has a distinct shell from other members of the armadillo family. I have always found it interesting that armadillos only have hair on the underside of their bodies, the pink fairy having very fine, white hair under its shell, under its body and on its legs.

Sources and available pictures:

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chlamyphorus_truncatus.htm

http://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/chlamyphorus.html