Everything About Wood: ENDANGERED SPECIES

Friday 1 July 2016

ENDANGERED SPECIES

For other uses, see Endangered species (disambiguation).

"Endangered" redirects here. For other uses, see Endangered (disambiguation).

Conservation status by IUCN Red List category

Extinct
Extinct (EX) Extinct in the Wild (EW)	(list) (list)
Threatened
Critically Endangered (CR) Endangered (EN) Vulnerable (VU)	(list) (list) (list)
Lower Risk
Near Threatened (NT) Conservation Dependent (CD) Least Concern (LC)	(list) (list)
Other categories
Data Deficient (DD) Not Evaluated (NE)	(list)
Related topics International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) IUCN Red List Lists of organisms by population

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An Endangered (EN) species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as likely to become extinct. "Endangered" is the second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after Critically Endangered (CR).

In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3079 animal and 2655 plant species as endangered (EN) worldwide.^[1]The figures for 1998 were, respectively, 1102 and 1197

Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Population numbers, trends and species' conservation status can be found in the lists of organisms by population.

Conservation Status

Main article: Conservation status

The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct. Many factors are considered when assessing the conservation status of a species; e.g., such statistics as the number remaining, the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, or known threats.^[2] The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system.^[3]

Over 40% of the world's species are estimated to be at risk of extinction.^[4] Internationally, 199 countries have signed an accord to create Biodiversity Action Plans that will protect endangered and other threatened species. In the United States, such plans are usually called Species Recovery Plans.

IUCN Red List

Though labelled a list, the IUCN Red List is a system of assessing the global conservation status of species that includes "Data Deficient" (DD) species – species for which more data and assessment is required before their status may be determined – as well species comprehensively assessed by the IUCN's species assessment process. Those species of "Near Threatened" (NT) and "Least Concern" (LC) status have been assessed and found to have relatively robust and healthy populations, though these may be in decline. Unlike their more general use elsewhere, the List uses the terms "endangered species" and "threatened species" with particular meanings: "Endangered" (EN) species lie between "Vulnerable" (VU) and "Critically Endangered" (CR) species, while "Threatened" species are those species determined to be Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered.

The Siberian tiger is an Endangered (EN) tiger subspecies. Three tiger subspecies are already extinct (see List of carnivorans by population).^[5]

Blue-throated macaw, an endangered species

Brown spider monkey, an endangered species

Siamese crocodile, an endangered species

Malayan tiger, an endangered species

Kemp's ridley sea turtle, an endangered species

The IUCN categories, with examples of animals classified by them, include:

Extinct (EX)

Extinct in the wild (EW)

Captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population.

Examples: Barbary lion

Critically endangered (CR)

Faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future.

Endangered (EN)

Faces a high risk of extinction in the near future.

Examples: African penguin

eastern lowland gorilla

loggerhead sea turtle

takhi (near Critically Endangered) Toque macaque

Vietnamese pheasant

volcano rabbit

wild water buffalo

white-eared night heron

fishing cat

tasmanian devil

Vulnerable (VU)

Faces a high risk of endangerment in the medium term.

Near-threatened (NT)

May be considered threatened in the near future.

Least concern (LC)

No immediate threat to species' survival.

Criteria for 'Endangered (EN)' ^[7]Edit

A) Reduction in population size based on any of the following:

An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population size reduction of ≥ 70% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, where the causes of the reduction are clearly reversible AND understood AND ceased, based on (and specifying) any of the following:
1. direct observation
2. an index of abundance appropriate for the taxon
3. a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat
4. actual or potential levels of exploitation
5. the effects of introduced taxa, hybridisation, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites.
An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population size reduction of ≥ 50% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible, based on (and specifying) any of (a) to (e) under A1.
A population size reduction of ≥ 50%, projected or suspected to be met within the next 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer (up to a maximum of 100 years), based on (and specifying) any of (b) to (e) under A1.
An observed, estimated, inferred, projected or suspected population size reduction of ≥ 50% over any 10 year or three generation period, whichever is longer (up to a maximum of 100 years in the future), where the time period must include both the past and the future, and where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible, based on (and specifying) any of (a) to (e) under A1.

B) Geographic range in the form of either B1 (extent of occurrence) OR B2 (area of occupancy) OR both:

Extent of occurrence estimated to be less than 5,000 km², and estimates indicating at least two of a-c:
1. Severely fragmented or known to exist at no more than five locations.
2. Continuing decline, inferred, observed or projected, in any of the following:
  1. extent of occurrence
  2. area of occupancy
  3. area, extent and/or quality of habitat
  4. number of locations or subpopulations
  5. number of mature individuals
3. Extreme fluctuations in any of the following:
  1. extent of occurrence
  2. area of occupancy
  3. number of locations or subpopulations
  4. number of mature individuals
Area of occupancy estimated to be less than 500 km², and estimates indicating at least two of a-c:
1. Severely fragmented or known to exist at no more than five locations.
2. Continuing decline, inferred, observed or projected, in any of the following:
  1. extent of occurrence
  2. area of occupancy
  3. area, extent and/or quality of habitat
  4. number of locations or subpopulations
  5. number of mature individuals
3. Extreme fluctuations in any of the following:
  1. extent of occurrence
  2. area of occupancy
  3. number of locations or subpopulations
  4. number of mature individuals

C) Population estimated to number fewer than 2,500 mature individuals and either:

An estimated continuing decline of at least 20% within five years or two generations, whichever is longer, (up to a maximum of 100 years in the future) OR
A continuing decline, observed, projected, or inferred, in numbers of mature individuals AND at least one of the follow (a-b):
1. Population structure in the form of one of the following:
  1. no subpopulation estimated to contain more than 250 mature individuals, OR
  2. at least 95% of mature individuals in one subpopulation
2. Extreme fluctuations in number of mature individuals

D) Population size estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals.

E) Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in the wild is at least 20% within 20 years or five generations, whichever is the longer (up to a maximum of 100 years).

^ Near-critically endangered.
^ ^a ^b Particularly sensitive to poaching levels.
^ Near-endangered due to poaching.
^ May vary according to levels of tourism.
^ Varies according to female populations.

United States

There is data from the United States that shows a correlation between human populations and threatened and endangered species. Using species data from the Database on the Economics and Management of Endangered Species (DEMES) database and the period that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been in existence, 1970 to 1997, a table was created that suggests a positive relationship between human activity and species endangerment.^[8]As early as the 1800s, humans began noticing the decline of certain species of animals in their usual habitats. An example is the whooping crane. Once abundant from Canada to Mexico, it was estimated in 1941 that only 16 birds remained in the wild. Another early example of mankind noticing the extinction of species was the introduction of “kudzu” in the southern United States. This fast-growing plant took over the south, growing on plants and trees and squelching the life out of them.^[9]

Endangered Species ActEdit

"Endangered" in relation to "threatened" under the ESA.

Under the Endangered Species Act in the United States, species may be listed as "endangered" or "threatened". The Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) is an example of an endangered subspecies protected under the ESA. The US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service are held responsible for classifying and protecting endangered species, and adding a particular species to the list can be a long, controversial process (Wilcove & Master, 2008, p. 414).

Some endangered species laws are controversial. Typical areas of controversy include: criteria for placing a species on the endangered species list and criteria for removing a species from the list once its population has recovered; whether restrictions on land development constitute a "taking" of land by the government; the related question of whether private landowners should be compensated for the loss of uses of their lands; and obtaining reasonable exceptions to protection laws. Also lobbying from hunters and various industries like the petroleum industry, construction industry, and logging, has been an obstacle in establishing endangered species laws.

The Bush administration lifted a policy that required federal officials to consult a wildlife expert before taking actions that could damage endangered species. Under the Obama administration, this policy has been reinstated.^[10]

Being listed as an endangered species can have negative effect since it could make a species more desirable for collectors and poachers.^[11] This effect is potentially reducible, such as in China where commercially farmed turtles may be reducing some of the pressure to poach endangered species.^[12]

Another problem with the listing species is its effect of inciting the use of the "shoot, shovel, and shut-up" method of clearing endangered species from an area of land. Some landowners currently may perceive a diminution in value for their land after finding an endangered animal on it. They have allegedly opted to silently kill and bury the animals or destroy habitat, thus removing the problem from their land, but at the same time further reducing the population of an endangered species.^[13] The effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act – which coined the term "endangered species" – has been questioned by business advocacy groups and their publications but is nevertheless widely recognized by wildlife scientists who work with the species as an effective recovery tool. Nineteen species have been delisted and recovered^[14] and 93% of listed species in the northeastern United States have a recovering or stable population.^[15]

Currently, 1,556 known species in the world have been identified as near extinction or endangered and are under protection by government law. This approximation, however, does not take into consideration the number of species threatened with endangerment that are not included under the protection of such laws as the Endangered Species Act. According to NatureServe's global conservation status, approximately thirteen percent of vertebrates (excluding marine fish), seventeen percent of vascular plants, and six to eighteen percent of fungi are considered imperiled.^[16]^:415 Thus, in total, between seven and eighteen percent of the United States' known animals, fungi and plants are near extinction.^[16]^:416 This total is substantially more than the number of species protected in the United States under the Endangered Species Act.

Bald eagle

American bison

Ever since mankind began hunting to preserve itself, over-hunting and fishing has been a large and dangerous problem. Of all the species who became extinct due to interference from mankind, the dodo, passenger pigeon, great auk, Tasmanian tiger and Steller's sea cow are some of the more well known examples; with the bald eagle, grizzly bear, American bison, Eastern timber wolf and sea turtlehaving been hunted to near-extinction. Many began as food sources seen as necessary for survival but became the target of sport. However, due to major efforts to prevent extinction, the bald eagle, or Haliaeetus leucocephalus is now under the category of Least Concern on the red list.^[17]A present-day example of the over-hunting of a species can be seen in the oceans as populations of certain whales have been greatly reduced. Large whales like the blue whale, bowhead whale, finback whale, gray whale, sperm whale and humpback whale are some of the eight whales which are currently still included on the Endangered Species List. Actions have been taken to attempt reduction in whaling and increase population sizes, including prohibiting all whaling in United States waters, the formation of the CITES treaty which protects all whales, along with the formation of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). But even though all of these movements have been put in place, countries such as Japan continue to hunt and harvest whales under the claim of "scientific purposes".^[18] Over-hunting, climatic change and habitat loss leads in landing species in endangered species list and could mean that extinction rates could increase to a large extent in the future.

Invasive Species

Main article: Introduced species

The introduction of non-indigenous species to an area can disrupt the ecosystem to such an extent that native species become endangered. Such introductions may be termed alien or invasive species. In some cases the invasive species compete with the native species for food or prey on the natives. In other cases a stable ecological balance may be upset by predation or other causes leading to unexpected species decline. New species may also carry diseases to which the native species have no resistance.^[19]

Conservation

Captive Breeding

Main article: Captive breeding

Captive breeding is the process of breeding rare or endangered species in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife preserves, zoos and other conservation facilities. Captive breeding is meant to save species from extinction and so stabilize the population of the species that it will not disappear.^[20]

The dhole, Asia's most endangered top predator, is on the edge of extinction.

This technique has worked for many species for some time, with probably the oldest known such instances of captive mating being attributed to menageries of European and Asian rulers, an example being the Père David's deer. However, captive breeding techniques are usually difficult to implement for such highly mobile species as some migratory birds (e.g. cranes) and fishes (e.g. hilsa). Additionally, if the captive breeding population is too small, then inbreeding may occur due to a reduced gene pool and reduce immunity.

In 1981, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) created a Species Survival Plan (SSP) in order to help preserve specific endangered and threatened species through captive breeding. With over 450 SSP Plans, there are a number of endangered species that are covered by the AZA with plans to cover population management goals and recommendations for breeding for a diverse and healthy population, created by Taxon Advisory Groups. These programs are commonly created as a last resort effort. SSP Programs regularly participate in species recovery, veterinary care for wildlife disease outbreaks, and a number of other wildlife conservation efforts. The AZA's Species Survival Plan also has breeding and transfer programs, both within and outside of AZA - certified zoos and aquariums. Some animals that are part of SSP programs are giant pandas, lowland gorillas, and California condors.^[21]

Countries with endangered animals

Around the world hundreds of thousands of species are lost to extinction, many of them only discovered as remains, after they are gone. Thus, not only biological variability, but also genetic diversity, and perhaps sources of livelihood for future generations are lost. An endangered species is a species that may become extinct in the near future. Throughout history millions of species have disappeared, due to natural processes. In the past 300 years, however, humans have increased the rate of extinction.^{[citation needed]}

For some plant and animal species, living seems to be a daily hazard. And humans seem to pose the biggest threat. Ecological disasters, hunting/poaching, deforestation and other consequences of human action causes damage to the food chain, breeding grounds, and habitat.

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