Extinction?

Endangered species
●

●
Endangered species, any species that is at risk of extinction
because of a sudden rapid decrease in its population or a loss of
its critical habitat. Previously, any species of plant or animal that
was threatened with extinction could be called an endangered
species. The need for separate definitions of “endangered” and
“threatened” species resulted in the development of various
categorization systems, each containing definitions and criteria
by which a species can be classified according to its risk of
extinction. As a rule, a range of criteria must be analyzed before
a species can be placed in one category or another.

●
Often such categorization systems are linked directly to national
legislation, such as the United States Endangered Species Act
(ESA) or the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA). In addition,
regional agreements, such as the European Union’s Habitats
Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC), and international
conservation agreements, such as the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) or
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), are connected to species-
assessment systems. One of the most-recognized independent
international systems of species assessment is the Red List of
Threatened Species, created by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Human Beings And Endangered Species
Roughly 99 percent of threatened species are at risk because of
human activities alone. By the early 21st century it could be said
that human beings (Homo sapiens) are the greatest threat to
biodiversity. The principal threats to species in the wild are:

●
Habitat loss and habitat degradation

●
The spread of introduced species (that is, non-native species
that negatively affect the ecosystems they become part of)

●
The growing influence of global warming and chemical
pollution
Conflicts between human activities and conservation are at the
●
Unsustainable hunting root of many of these phenomena. Such controversies are often
highly politicized and widely publicized in the global press and
●
Disease through social media. For example, habitat loss and species loss
have resulted from the unregulated exploitation of coltan (the
●
rare ore for tantalum used in consumer electronics products such
●
as mobile phones and computers) in Kahuzi-Beiga National
Park, one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s premier
forest parks. The park is also home to much of the population of
the threatened Eastern Lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei
graueri). Mining has increased gorilla mortality by reducing the
animal’s food resources and leading many people displaced by
the mining to kill gorillas for their meat. In addition, the
mountain gorilla (G. beringei beringei), a close relative of the
Eastern Lowland gorilla, is also at risk of extinction. However,
authorities cite poaching, disease, and crossfire between warring
political groups in the vicinity of Virunga National Park as the
primary sources of its population decline.
IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species
One of the most well-known objective assessment systems for declining species is
the approach unveiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1994.
It contains explicit criteria and categories to classify the conservation status of individual species
on the basis of their probability of extinction. This classification is based on thorough, science-based
species assessments and is published as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, more commonly
known as the IUCN Red List. It is important to note that the IUCN cites very specific criteria for
each
of these categories, and the descriptions given below have been condensed to highlight two or three
of the category’s most salient points. In addition, three of the categories (CR, EN, and VU) are
contained within the broader notion of “threatened.” The list recognizes several categories of species
status:
• Extinct (EX), species in which the last individual has died or where systematic and time-appropriate surveys
have been unable to log even a single individual
• Extinct in the Wild (EW), species whose members survive only in captivity or as artificially supported
populations far outside their historical geographic range
• Critically Endangered (CR), species that possess an extremely high risk of extinction as a result of rapid
population declines of 80 to more than 90 percent over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a
current population size of fewer than 50 individuals, or other factors (such as severely fragmented
populations, long generation times, or isolated habitats)
• Endangered (EN), species that possess a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines
of 50 to more than 70 percent over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size
of fewer than 250 individuals, or other factors
• Vulnerable (VU), species that possess a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines of
30 to more than 50 percent over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size of
fewer than 1,000 individuals, or other factors
• Near Threatened (NT), species that are close to becoming threatened or may meet the criteria for threatened
status in the near future
• Least Concern (LC), a category containing species that are pervasive and abundant after careful assessment
• Data Deficient (DD), a condition applied to species in which the amount of available data related to its risk of
extinction is lacking in some way. Consequently, a complete assessment cannot be performed. Thus,
unlike the other categories in this list, this category does not describe the conservation status of a species.
• Not Evaluated (NE), a category used to include any of the nearly 1.6 million species described by science but
not yet assessed by the IUCN.
•
Species Assessment And Management
●
Together, the thousands of scientists and conservation organizations that contribute to the IUCN Red List and other
systems of assessment provide the world’s largest knowledge base on the global status of species. The aim of these
systems is to provide the general public, conservationists, nongovernmental organizations, the media, decision makers,
and policy makers with comprehensive and scientifically rigorous information on the conservation status of the world’s
species and the threats that drive the observed patterns of population decline. Scientists in conservation and protected
area management agencies use data on species status in the development of conservation planning and prioritization, the
identification of important sites and species for dedicated conservation action and recovery planning, and educational
programs. Although the IUCN Red List and other similar species-assessment tools do not prescribe the action to be taken,
the data within the list are often used to inform legislation and policy and to determine conservation priorities at regional,
national, and international levels. In contrast, the listing criteria of other categorization systems (such as the United States
Endangered Species Act, CITES, and CMS) are prescriptive; they often require that landowners and various governmental
agencies take specific amandatory steps to protect species falling within particular categories of threat.

It is likely that many undescribed or unassessed species of plants, animals,

and other organisms have become or are in the process of becoming extinct.
To maintain healthy populations of both known and unknown species,
assessments and reassessments are valuable tools. Such monitoring work
must continue so that the most current knowledge can be applied to effective
environmental monitoring and management efforts. For many threatened
species, large well-protected conservation areas (biological reserves) often
play major roles in curbing population declines. Such reserves are often cited
by conservation biologists and other authorities as the best way to protect
individual species as well as the ecosystems they inhabit. In addition, large
biological reserves may harbour several undescribed and unassessed species.
Despite the creation of several large reserves around the world, poaching and
illegal trafficking plague many areas. Consequently, even species in those
areas require continued monitored and periodic assessment.