Komodo Dragon

Describe the relative abundance of your organism...is it threatened? Endangered? Extirpated from an area?

Komodo Dragons are a vulnerable species. There are about 6000 Komodo Dragons left on Earth. They are a species nearing extinction due to human activities. They are threatened by habitat loss, loss of prey species, human hunting, storms, fire, disease, and natural or human disasters. Humans also threaten them by hunting them game as trophies and their feet and skin as novelty which is something new, original or unusual. There are only 350 breeding females left which means that Komodo dragons are very vulnerable as of now due to the dwindling number of Komodo Dragons that can produce offspring.

Describe the niche of your organism

Komodo Dragons natively live in very few areas in Indonesia these are: Komodo, Rinca, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami, and the island of Flores. Here they are on the top of the food chain in their natural habitat. They are one of the few carnivorous lizard species in the world, which means that they eat meat as a food source. The only time a Komodo Dragon would be eaten is if they are young and are eaten by an older Dragon. Komodo dragons can pretty much eat anything that they can find like: water buffalo, deer, pigs, and carrion. They are scavengers as well as the hunters. 

Komodo Dragons are also the only large carnivore with such a small range, because they live on islands,

Indonesia’s four islands within Komodo National Park (Komodo, Rinca, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami), and the island of Flores. The islands are volcanic in origin, rugged and hilly, and covered with both forest and savanna grassland. Komodo dragons have the smallest home range of any large predator in the world! They like it hot, with daytime temperatures during the dry season that often reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) with 70-percent humidity. 

Is your organism a GENERALIST (having a broad niche) or a SPECIALIST (having a narrow niche)? Provide a map that illustrates you know the difference between these two terms

The difference between generalist and specialist is that generalists can quickly get used to the change of the environment with no problems. Which mean a broad niche. So they have the ability and skills in order to survive no matter what situation they are in. On the other hand specialists need specific conditions in order to live. So that means if put animal where it’s really cold even though it lives in the desert, it will most likely die because it doesn’t have the ability to survive the cold. Komodo Dragons are specialists because they have a small range that it lives in is very limited, since they only live in a few islands in Indonesia. This makes them better suited for the conditions of their environment and thus would find survival difficult in a new setting. Also they can’t live in a place where it’s really cold because they would go into hibernation and also they are cold blooded which means that they need to get heat from the sun. They can only regulate body temperature if they can bask in the sun, otherwise they are vulnerable to the cold. 

How has genetic variation enabled your organism to survive in its environment?

Female Komodo Dragons can have something called virgin births (parthenogenesis) for offspring. This is a process of replicating the DNA of the mother and making the mom, effectively, both the mother and the father. As a result that form of birth does not a lot of variation or add much to the genetic pool, but it is a very effective way to carry on the survival of the species if there are no males around.

The cool thing about Komodo Dragons is that they don’t actually need a lot of water to survive. It has the ability to store water in it's body in order to live. If the Komodo Dragon gets really hot, the Komodo Dragon gets rid of salt in their body so then water is not wasted for survival. Also the body of the Komodo Dragon is made so they can swim if it needs to get away from the prey or to camouflage themselves in the water in order to hunt their prey. The special thing about Komodo Dragons is the skin, as it contains bony plates called osteoderms that protect them from scratches 

Describe your organism's ability to adapt to changes in the environment (Describe what 'change' is ACTUALLY occurring in the environment!). Is it human caused? Natural? 

Komodo Dragons have the ability to store water when it comes to times where there isn't water. To save water they get rid of salt in order to store water in order to survive. This helps if there is a drought, Komodo Dragons don't have an issue with that. When the weather gets really hot, Komdo Dragons use their sharp long claws to dig burrows so then they can find a spot for shade so then they don't overheat.  If there is a flood, Komodo Dragons are able to swim, so they are able to swim across islands. 

Describe any “defenses” your organism may have against predators and/or how your organism attacks its prey/gets its food

-In the Komodo dragon's saliva, there are bacteria that can be very lethal also they have venom glands that consist of over 600 toxins 

-The effect that an animal can have are: preventing blood clotting, shock, muscle contractions

-It has sharp claws and teeth that can make wound in the animal so then it can take a bite to inject the venom 

-If the animal escapes, the Komodo dragon can smell and detect where the animal is so then it can attack it again to kill the animal 

-If the animal manages to escape the Komodo dragon, it will most likely die from the infection or the venom that was injected 

-One of the ways that Komodo dragons use is camouflage, they sit and wait until the right time, then strike.

Predation (NOTE: you cannot reuse a fact from somewhere else in this document)

Komodo Dragons mostly eat carrion(dead things), and this helps with keeping the islands clean. They also eat anything that they can fit their mouths around, so older larger Dragons eat large animals( that aren’t even native to the islands) like deer and pigs. The older Komodos also will eat any younger Komodos that are unfortunately around the older one for some reason .

What efforts are humans undertaking to help preserve diversity of your species?

Komodo National Park resides in the center of the Indonesian archipelago. Komodo dragons as well as other terrestrial species live in the park. The majority of the world's remaining population of Komodo Dragons live here. The park is managed by the government of Indonesia. In 1990 a national law elevated the mandate for preservation and this greatly empowered protection and management of the park.

The park is also listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, this was officially listed in 1991.

The only real threat to Komodo Dragons, is the deer poaching that happens, but wildlife officials have also done a lot to keep this at a minimum too.

Tourism is also a thing, but less than 10% of the park is open to the public. 

Describe any example of your organism participating in a symbiotic relationship. This includes:

-mutualism

-parasitism

-commensalism

Parasitism is where one of the organisms benefits from the other, and the other is harmed in this relationship. For example the Komodo dragons parasitism relationship would be with the ticks or mites that hangs on to the Komodo dragon. The ticks or mites sucks the blood from the Komodo dragon, so the Komodo dragon is harmed in this case. 

Commensalism is where one out of the two organisms benefits from another and the other organism doesn’t get harmed or benefits from it. So the Komodo and the tree are a commensalism relationship, the tree is giving the Komodo dragon shaded so then the Komodo dragon dragon doesn’t overheat. But the tree doesn’t benefit anything from the Komodo dragon.