Endangered species

• Geography
• Primary Education

Endangered species

What are endangered species

An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation.

Loss of habitat

Loss of habitat can happen naturally but human activity can also contribute to a loss of habitat. Development for housing, industry, and agriculture reduces the habitat of native organisms. This can happen in a number of different ways.

What is a habitat?

1. a posh house
2. a natural environment for living things
3. a small village
4. a group of flowers

Can you think of
some habitats?

Deforestation

Floods

Overfishing

Global warming

Coral bleaching

Loss of Genetic Variation

Genetic variation is the diversity found within a species. It’s why human beings may have blond, red, brown, or black hair. Genetic variation allows species to adapt to changes in the environment. Usually, the greater the population of a species, the greater its genetic variation.

Loss of genetic variation can happen naturally but human activity can also lead to a loss of genetic variation. Overhunting and overfishing have reduced the populations of many animals. Reduced population means there are fewer breeding pairs. A breeding pair is made up of two mature members of the species that are not closely related and can produce healthy offspring. With fewer breeding pairs, genetic variation shrinks.

Loss of genetic variation can happen only because of humans

1. True
2. False

The Red List

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps a “Red List of Threatened Species.” The Red List defines the severity and specific causes of a species’ threat of extinction. The Red List has seven levels of conservation: least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild, and extinct. Each category represents a different threat level.

The red list has how many levels of endangerment ?

1. 5
2. 10
3. 2
4. 7

EXTINCTION 

Extinct

A species is extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last remaining individual of that species has died.

Lonesome George

Lonesome George was the only living member of the Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdoni) known to exist. The Pinta Island tortoise was only found on Pinta, one of the Galapagos Islands. The Charles Darwin Research Station, a scientific facility in the Galapagos, offered a $10,000 reward to any zoo or individual for locating a single Pinta Island tortoise female. On June 25, 2012, Lonesome George died, leaving one more extinct species in the world.

When Lonesome George was alive the Pinta Island tortoise was extinct?

1. True
2. False

How do you think we can protect endangered species?

How serious do you feel that is the problem of animal extinction?

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Can you tell me the difference between extinction and endangerment?

Can you explain why some species are endangered?

Tell me one thing you can remember from this lesson?