Endangered Species
The 20th and the 21st centuries have been one of the epochs in history that have seen tremendous outburst in human population and fierce competition for resources by both humans and animals. This aspect has resulted in a situation where many animals have become extinct while others being rendered endangered due to human activities and other Environmental factors. Therefore, this paper will explore the aspect of endangered species in the world today, what makes some species endangered and recommendation on endangered species.
What qualifies animals to be endangered species and or threatened species, is when they suffer from factors such as disease or predation of the species when there has been damage to their habitat, and hazards to continued life (Cooke 165). Endangered species are those animals who are at high risk of extinction. An endangered species is defined by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as an animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. There are over 3,000 endangered species in the world. These animals will disappear from the face of the earth if conservation efforts to protect them are not taken or just unsuccessful.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2012 issued a Red List which indicated that there are 2655 plant and 3079 animal species which are in danger of extinction worldwide. These figures show a high rise in the number of endangered species because in 1998, the figures where 1197 and 1102 respectfully. There are many challenges which the endangered species are facing are there are not only extinction but also the destruction of their homes, and climate change. Endangered and threatened species are put in categories such as Critically Endangered species they are at extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the immediate future.
Habitat loss is a major threat to species. Forests, lakes and other homes to species are rapidly disappearing due to humans pursuing to use the land as areas for housing, agriculture, and other industrial developments. However, loss of habitat can happen naturally and can result in the eventual extinction of animal and plant species which fail to adapt to the change. Around 65 million years ago, the Cretaceous period which was hot and dry changed rapidly due to a probable asteroid strike on the surface of the earth (Nelson, Vucetich and Bruskotter 190). The dinosaurs were unable to adapt to the cooler and wet climate of the earth, naturally becoming endangered and thereby being extinct.
Diseases are prone to some species because of their genetic diversity. Diseases can be spread from domestic animals to others by humans traveling from area to area that may be affected. About 99 percent of threatened species are at risk because of human activities. Hunting is the main activity that puts animals at high risk for becoming endangered species(Kinne 1). Endangered species can be the keystone that prevents a struggling ecosystem from collapsing, but often it affects an ecosystem primarily through its absence.
Human development has been one of the prime factors which have resulted in the endangering of the animal and plant species. For example, the clearing of the Amazon forest in South America has led clearing of thousands of acres of indigenous species in the region. As trees get destroyed, the animals and plants which depend on them become endangered such as insects, mushrooms, fungi, and vines. This so happens to the monkeys, mammals, and birds who live in the tropical forest, where their habitat for living and reproduction shrinks leading to them being endangered (Godefroid and Vanderborght 3059).
In the United States, these animals can be listed under and protected by the Endangered Species Act. Endangered Species in the United States include the black-footed ferret and the California red-legged frog. Climate change over the past ∼30 years has produced numerous shifts in the distributions and abundances of species 1,2 and has been implicated in one species-level extinction 3. The animals which face high chances of being extinct all over the world include the White Rhino, the Hawaiian monk seal, the Northwest African cheetah, the African wild ass Asiatic lion, the Siamese crocodile, the addax, Sumatran orangutan, the Brazilian merganser among others(Cooke 166). Among the plant species, they include the Wiggin’s Acalypha, the Texas Wild Rice, the Ouachita Mountain Goldenrod, and the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Godefroid and Vanderborght 3049). These animals and plants are critically in danger of being extinct in the near future and therefore require critical conservation measures.
One of the most commonly used ways of conservation of endangered species in the world today has been captive breeding. This is a process where the endangered or rare animals and plants breed in a controlled environment by humans (Nelson, Vucetich and Bruskotter 188). This is regarding the restricted settings such as zoos and wildlife reserves. It intends to stabilize the population through reproduction and save the animals or plants from extinction. If the population for captive breeding is small, captive breeding can be disastrous because of the reduced gene pool and reduced immunity among the animals(Nelson, Vucetich and Bruskotter 188). The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is an international body which is designated for preserving species which are endangered and thereby creating plans to have these animals and plants from extinction.
Another conservation measure which is being used to conserve endangered animals is the private farming. This is a mechanism where for profit, legal farming increases the production rate of animals (Rasmussen, Belk and Peck 227). This is where-else poaching has been one of the factors leading to a reduction of some animal population such as the rhino and turtles, private farming has achieved a tremendous increase in animal production. In China, many farmers are increasing the animals caught in the wild and reared in the farms for commercial activities. This is especially for the endangered wild turtle populations which have seen an increase in population in the Chinese private farms (Rasmussen, Belk and Peck 228).
The most commonly used method of conserving endangered plants is to plant more of them. However, this can be challenging because some of the plants have restricted ecological zones and cannot thrive in other regions(Oldfield 170). Therefore, it involves for researchers and botanists to discover the ecological niches of these animals and plant more of them. Also, their seeds or methods of reproduction is kept in laboratories for future research and planting (Godefroid and Vanderborght 3049). Increase planting and reduced deforestation reduce the chances of the plants being extinct.
To conclude, endangered species should be a concern to all of the international bodies in the world today. Each government and society should protect and conserve animals and plants which they co-exist in the same habitat. Concerned bodies and agencies should also create awareness campaigns to ensure that the human population is sensitized on conservation measures and aspects such as illegal logging and poaching are curtailed. Humans should learn to co-exist with the other habitants on the planet, lest they become endangered too.
Works cited
"IUCN Red List version 2012.2: Table 2: Changes in numbers of species in the threatened categories (CR, EN, VU) from 1996 to 2012 (IUCN Red List version 2012.2) for the major taxonomic groups on the Red List" retrieved on 12. January. 2018.
Cooke, SJ. "Biotelemetry And Biologging In Endangered Species Research And Animal Conservation: Relevance To Regional, National, And IUCN Red List Threat Assessments." Endangered Species Research 4 (2008): 165-185. Web.
Godefroid, Sandrine, and Thierry Vanderborght. "Seed Banking Of Endangered Plants: Are We Conserving The Right Species To Address Climate Change?." Biodiversity and Conservation 19.11 (2010): 3049-3058. Web.
Kinne, O. "Protecting Nature." Endangered Species Research 1 (2004): 1-2. Web.
Nelson, MP, JA Vucetich, and JT Bruskotter. "Ecological Value And The US Endangered Species Act: Comment On Waples Et Al. (2015)." Endangered Species Research 30 (2016): 187-190. Web.
Oldfield, Sara. "Rediscovering And Conserving Endangered Trees." Oryx 35.02 (2001): 170. Web.
Rasmussen, JE, MC Belk, and SL Peck. "Endangered Species Augmentation: A Case Study Of Alternative Rearing Methods." Endangered Species Research 8.3 (2009): 225-232. Web.
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