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What Is the Effect if Pelicans Become Extinct?

In the Earth's history, millions of animal species have disappeared and become extinct as a part of natural selection. The planet is currently in a 50,000-year-old extinction event, where many animals are becoming extinct. The most recent extinction event before this one killed off the dinosaurs that previously roamed the Earth. Every time a species becomes extinct, it leaves a mark on its ecosystem and food chain.

Pelican Information
- Pelicans can be found along coastlines, lakes and rivers around the world. These birds can fly, walk on land and swim. All pelicans have a large throat pouch for which the bird is best known, though each of the pelican species use the pouch differently. Some pelicans species dive into water to trap fish in their bills and others dip their bills and throat pouches under water to scoop up fish. Pelicans also eat turtles, crustaceans and tadpoles.
Pelican Extinction
- In North America, the brown pelican species was endangered in the 1970s, but populations recovered and the bird was removed from the endangered species list in 2009. The endangerment of this species was the result of chemical pesticides that harmed the bird's ability to reproduce, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A ban on the chemical DDT helped rebuild the bird's populations. However, if pelicans were to become extinct in an area, it could have a major impact on the ecosystem.
Pelican Food Sources
- Each ecosystem's food chain is delicately balanced, and sometimes even a small change can have major impacts. If pelicans became extinct, the fish and other animals they eat would have one fewer predator. This would be good for the fish, tadpoles and shellfish pelicans consume. Populations of these species would grow after pelican extinction, but that would cause a drop in numbers of other species. For example, if fewer tadpoles are eaten by pelicans and more frogs grow to adulthood, the frogs will then eat more insects and potentially cause a steep drop in insect populations. For example, if mosquito populations dropped bats would have fewer food sources and bat populations might also drop.
Pelican Predators
- Adult pelicans have few natural predators but the bird's young are often hunted by feral cats, seagulls and skunks. Like with animals that pelicans eat, the extinction of pelicans could cause unforeseen challenges for the animals that eat pelicans. If seagulls lost pelicans as a food source, it could result in a drop in fish population as seagulls consume more to make up for the loss. The drop in food population could result in aquatic plant overgrowth, and the choking of a pond or river.

Nature