Threats To Species
The principal threats to the species and the cause of its present reduced state are habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation. These threats are due to different kinds of area development such as urban, agricultural, residential, and recreational. Other threats include ground disturbances or vegetation removal from grading, ripping, or off-road driving. Impacts from construction of roads, railroads, airports and other structures also impact the survival of the Pacific pocket mouse. The loss of groundwater and or blow-sand necessary for habitat maintenance is significant to this species' survival. Because this mouse is an invasive species, factors such as illegal trash dumping, domestic animal predators, road kill, and inadequate regulatory mechanisms affect the species' well being, not to mention the elevated extinction risks that can play a common role on greatly reduced populations. There are five factors that figure into whether or not a species may be determined endangered or threatened. One of those factors is the present or threatened destruction, modification and curtailment of its habitat or range. This is recognized as a form of destruction, modification and curtailment of Pacific pocket mouse habitat and range. This was a major factor in affording it endangered status. Both physical and biological features figure into an organism's critical habitat. In the case of the Pacific pocket mouse, its physical requirements are sandy loamy soil and its biological requirements are a suite of plant communities including coastal sage scrub and grassland. Due to interaction of demographic, genetic, and environment factors, small populations are more susceptible to extinction than larger populations. In addition to the ongoing threats to its habitat, several development projects are proposed or approved within core habitat areas.
Read more about this topic: Perognathus Longimembris Pacificus
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