@ThylacineAlive
That is true. I think I would think of Texas as an ecosystem very differently if it were still part of Mexico. However, because of its geographical position connected to more Northerly lands, I always think of the border between the US and Mexico as where the Central American species 'stop' even though this of course isn't the case.
@ThylacineAlive
Yes. Is the wall/fence/ditch actually keeping any animals out? Quails? Of course it is more difficult for mammals, but I like to think that all animals are more physically capable than us and could find a way through. Of course it is a problem for North American jaguars because it isolates the population, and I would have thought that the South and North American pumas are becoming more and more morphologically different due to the separation between the population in addition to the natural and artificial barriers that already existed (Thick Central American rainforest and the Panama Canal).
@ThylacineAlive No Jaguars anymore (at least not in Texas, there are still some in Arizona), and no more than 20 Ocelots probably.
@amur leopard Many ground and low-flying birds will be affected, such as Montezuma Quail and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. Others would probably stop crossing the border due to being deep forest species and not being willing to cross a sudden stop in the forest. Think Elegant Trogon, Brown Jay, Muscovy Duck, or Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. Butterflies will also greatly be affected.
That's in addition to killing off entire populations of Ocelots, Jaguars, Pronghorn, bison, and various inverts. It would also pretty much guarantee species such as Thick-billed Parrot could never be reintroduced to the US.
I saw an article that said a bold but quite true statement: "If you were trying to design a structure with a maximum negative impact on the ecosystem, this is it".
That is awful. I knew it would worsen the situation for many species, but not on this scale
Is there any chance that the wall will be taken down? Perhaps if Biden gets elected something'll happen. Are there any species that are at risk of extinction? Surely there must be a number of fish in the Rio Grande who are affected, or has nothing changed for them?
