Wildlife Extinction and Endangered Species

Extinction and Endangered Species - What Are Endangered Species?, Mass Extinction, How Many Species Are Endangered?, Factors That Contribute To Species Endangerment

Earth is a biosphere, a globe richly supplied with different types of living organisms, including animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Living organisms are named and categorized according to a taxonomy, a hierarchical system of order based on the natural relationships among all types of life. "Species" is a term assigned to a level of the taxonomy in which grouped organisms are cons…

Working Toward Species Conservation - History Of Species Protection, The Endangered Species Act Of 1973—a Landmark Protection, Federal Lands And Wildlife Protection

Endangered species have different needs and require different conservation measures. Some fish are endangered only because of a history of overfishing. Halting or reducing fishing is sufficient for population recovery. In most cases, however, more active forms of intervention are necessary. The single most important conservation measure for many threatened and endangered species is habitat conserv…

Global Climate Change - Climate Change In Earth History, Global Warming—the Result Of Human Activity, Effects Of A Warming Climate

Although large changes in climate are a natural part of Earth history, there is little doubt that human activities have caused observed patterns of global warming in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Global climate change has large implications for both humans and wildlife. Many threatened and endangered species, which already lead a precarious existence, are likely to suffer further decli…

Endangered Plants and Ecosystems - Plants In Decline, The American Landscape, Endangered Forests, Wetlands, Plant Conservation, Ecosystems Approaches To Conservation

Well over half the threatened and endangered species listed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are plants. There are a total of 714 threatened and endangered flowering plants (713 U.S. species, 1 foreign species), 5 threatened and endangered conifers and cycads (3 U.S. species, 2 foreign species), 26 listed ferns and allied species (all U.S.), and 2 listed lichen species (both U.S.). Listed U…

Aquatic Species and Their Environments - Water Pollution—many, Many Causes, Dams, Water Diversion—the Aral Sea, Overfishing—too Many Boats, Not Enough Fish

Approximately 1.4 pentillion tons (1,400,000,000, 000,000,000) of water cover the surface of the earth—466 billion tons for each of the six billion people on the planet. Amazing as it may seem, most of this water has been affected by human activity. Numerous aquatic species are in decline because of degraded water quality, development or alteration of aquatic habitats, and overhunting or ov…

Imperiled Amphibians and Reptiles - Amphibians, Reptiles

Amphibians and reptiles are collectively known by biologists as herpetofauna. At present, there are over 5,000 described amphibian species and over 6,000 reptiles. New species in both these groups are being discovered every day, particularly in remote tropical regions that are only now being explored. Amphibians and reptiles are also among the world's most threatened groups. The World Conse…

Endangered Mammals - Levels Of Endangerment, The Black-footed Ferret, Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel, Wolves, Bears And Pandas

The majority of threatened and endangered mammals are imperiled for the same reasons as other biological species—habitat destruction, pollution, competition with invasive species, and so on. However, some mammals have also been intentionally killed-off by humans. For example, in the nineteenth century, the quagga of southern Africa was hunted to extinction because it competed with sheep for…

The Status of Bird Species - What Are The Major Threats To Birds?, Endangered Bird Species, Back From The Brink—success Stories

Birds have always been among the best-studied biological groups, in part because of the efforts of countless amateur birdwatchers. In 2003 the World Conservation Union (IUCN) reported that 129 bird species have gone extinct, with another four species extinct in the wild. The rate of extinction among birds has increased every fifty years. Bird species have died out because of habitat destruction, h…

Endangered Insects and Spiders - Butterflies, Other Endangered Insects, Endangered Spiders

Insects are the most diverse group in the animal kingdom, with close to a million named and described species and countless species yet to be discovered. Insects have not been nearly as thoroughly studied as the vertebrate groups, and so there are likely to be many endangered insects whose desperate state remains unrealized. In 2004 there were 39 endangered insects (35 U.S., four foreign) and nine…

Commercial Trade of Wildlife - The Fur, Feathers, And Leather Trade, Collectors Of Rare And Exotic Species, Health Remedies And Fads

Humans have used wild animal and plant products for numerous purposes since prehistoric times. Clothing was made from animal skins, and tools from bones. In many societies, products from rare species symbolized wealth and success. For example, flashy feathers from South American birds were given as a tribute to Inca chiefs by their subjects, and women in nineteenth-century Europe sported ostrich f…

Wildlife as Recreation - National Survey Of Fishing, Hunting, And Wildlife-associated Recreation, Ecotourism, Birding, Whale Watching

One of the reasons frequently given for conserving wildlife and habitat is the aesthetic and recreational value of natural places. Human beings derive pleasure from natural places in large numbers, and in a wide variety of ways. …