Role in Environment
The Keepers of the Forest
The Siberian Tiger plays an extremely important role in the Russian Far East Forests. As a keystone species, it acts as a regulator for other species in its habitat and as an indicator to the overall health of the ecosystem. Because it is a top predator, it controls the populations of other species, like the roe deer and wild boar, that are under it on the food chain, which in turn has a great effect on much of the natural resources as well.
The disappearance or decline of the Siberian Tiger could and has lead to many issues. When the top predator becomes endangered in an environment, it may allow another species under it on the food web to overpopulate. This in turn, could lead to the depletion of the resources this species relies on. For instance, without a top predator, the overpopulation of a deer species could lead to the complete depletion of a grassland or water source. The land simply cannot sustain an unlimited amount of animals, in this case the prey. At some point its carrying capacity will become maxed out. When this happens, it can open doors for invasive plant and animal species, which pounce on any opportunity to take root in an environment. This is why keystone species are so vital to the environment they live in.
Why They Are Struggling to Survive
A specie's biotic potential is its ability to reproduce and survive when there are no environmental limitations. Like humans and most other large mammals, the Siberian Tiger has a relatively low biotic potential (What is Biotic Potential? 2015). Although their litter size ranges anywhere from about two to six cubs, which may seem like a lot compared to that of a human, about 50% of them die within their first year due to disease, hunger, defects, and predation (Animal Fact Guide, 2015). Although we as humans have a low biotic potential, with an average of only two kids per family, our population is growing at rapid rates because of our ability to combat disease, produce our own food, and our lack of natural predators (Americans’ Family Size is Smaller Than it Used to Be, 2015).
Nutrient Cycling
“Piece by piece it has taken 20 years to accumulate the evidence and the culmination that the world is driven by predators as well as nutrients. We have to pay attention to their health and well being if we want a healthy ecosystem.” -Terborgh, editor of Trophic Cascades Science (The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology, 2015).
The idea that top predators are as important to an ecosystem as the plants and nutrients in it has been widely unaccepted for a long time. People often view the top predators as the bad guys, as rabid wolves and tigers that tear apart deers and bunnies, yet this could not be more incorrect. The top predators is extremely important in an ecosystem. They help to manage the populations of the prey under them on the food chain and in doing that, the resources in the environment as well (The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology, 2015).
Protecting the Siberian Tigers is also a great reason why the Russian Far East forests should be and are protected. Without these tigers, it would be easier for logging and timber companies to cut down expanding areas of forests, and cause further destruction in the habitat. Without the tigers, their would be less of a reason, and less of an incentive for the government to protect these fragile ecosystems. By protecting these tigers, we are protecting the wellbeing of the forests as well.
Intrinsic Value
A species's intrinsic value, is the value put on an organism based purely on its existence on earth, regardless of its usefulness to humans. This includes the role a species plays in its environment and how it benefits that environment. For the Siberian Tiger, its role as top predator and keystone species is very vital to the ecosystem they live in. They manage prey populations so that the carrying capacity of the environments does not max out and deplete the resources of food and water in that area (Intrinsic Value, Ecology, and Conservation, 2014).
Ecological Value
Another value that regards endangered species, is its ecological value. This is the value placed on species for their role they play in their environment. This could be a particular genetic pattern, in the case of the Siberian Tiger, its value is its link to the rest of the ecosystem. This value makes no distinction between species with high or low aesthetic value or utilitarian value, but instead justifies the existence of the species with the possibility that it could be valuable to humans (Finding an Ethical Basis for Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 1996).
Instrumental Value
A species’s instrumental value, it the value put on a species based on its usefulness to humans. The Siberian Tiger has a high instrumental value as well. By keeping their populations growing and healthy, these tigers will keep the forests growing and healthy as well. As humans, we rely on the natural resources and services these forests provide for us. They take in our CO2, filter our water, provide us with food, and wood for our homes and furniture (Forest Ecosystem Products and Services, 2015).
Aesthetic Value
One type of value that the Siberian Tiger ranks very highly in is its aesthetic value. Most everyone is able to enjoy the aesthetic value of a species by observing it in the wild, in captivity, or even through photos and video footage. This is the value we place on species purely on their beauty. This value can affect the number of tourists that visit a country, or people who go to the zoo. For the Siberian Tiger, raising their populations would increase the tourist industry in Siberia, the Russian Far East, and parts of China, which would help boost their economy for the long term (Finding an Ethical Basis for Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 1996).
We Value These Tigers
Different species are placed with different values according to how their appearrance, what they do in the environment and what they do for humans.
In one example in Ghana, a reduction of lion and leopard populations led to an overpopulation of olive baboons near a village. Without a top predator controlling their populations, these baboons attacked livestock, damaged crops, and spread disease to the villagers who lived there. Now, I know that most of you are not worried about giant baboons attacking your house if the local lion population decreases in your neighborhood, however in an ecosystem where food webs have to remain balanced in order to avoid such scenarios, these top predators still have a very important role in maintaining the populations under them on the food chain (The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology, 2015).
Contrary to popular belief, top predators also contribute to nutrient cycling. Unlike smaller animals, large mammals like the Siberian Tiger have large ranges that reach far and wide. This allows them to transfer nutrients and seeds across large amounts of land, which protects the biodiversity of plant species. This domino effect results in the health of the birds who feed of these plants, and the animals who feed on these birds. Tigers are an international symbol for Earth’s biodiversity. When the Siberian Tiger thrives, it in turn means a balance exists within the environment, the economy, and with the people that live near these tigers (The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology, 2015).
Tigers begin reproduction at around 3 years old, and their gestation period is anywhere from 3-3 ½ months, which compared to humans, may seem like a quick reproduction rate. However with such a high mortality rate, a shorter life span, and a high poaching and deforestation rate, this number comes out to be low. And when compared to that of a species with a high biotic potential, like mice, which reproduce 5-10 times a year, with approximately 6 mice per litter, each starting reproduction at just four weeks old, this number seems especially low (Mice Reproduction, 2015).
Siberian Tigers are large organisms, with a low reproductive rate, a long life expectancy, and late maturity, making it is a k-strategist. For this reason, tigers require even more effective enforcement of their protection. With such a low reproductive rate, their numbers need to be protected in order for them to reach the age of reproduction so their species can expand and live on.
