Levels of Extinction
There are seven different sections of classifying animals that are endangered, one of the features describes animals that are not endangered, (Least concern).
1. Extinct:
This means the animal no longer is observed on planet earth.
2. Extinct in Wild:
This means that the animal exists in captivity but none have been observed in the wild meaning it is extinct outside of captivity.
3. Critically Endangered:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the immediate future
4. Endangered:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the near future
5. Vulnerable:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the medium term.
6. Near-Threatened:
This means that the animal may be considered threatened in the near future.
7. Least Concern:
This means that there is no immediate threat to the species survival.
1. Extinct:
This means the animal no longer is observed on planet earth.
2. Extinct in Wild:
This means that the animal exists in captivity but none have been observed in the wild meaning it is extinct outside of captivity.
3. Critically Endangered:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the immediate future
4. Endangered:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the near future
5. Vulnerable:
This means that the animal faces a high risk of extinction in the medium term.
6. Near-Threatened:
This means that the animal may be considered threatened in the near future.
7. Least Concern:
This means that there is no immediate threat to the species survival.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is broken into three different levels, Genetic diversity, Species diversity and Ecosystem diversity. Biodiversity sums up all the animals and plant life on the planet that are different from each other, an ecosystem can be bio diverse and this is generally what the word is used for (describing an ecosystem that is bio diverse).
Biodiversity is important because it really ensures that ecosystem have a fine balance in survival between each different animal. If an ecosystem has the perfect amount of biodiversity, it doesn’t get overrun by one species or plant, this is important in ensuring that no one species gets extinct because of a lack of biodiversity. If there is only an apex predator and another predator (which in this case is the prey), the non-apex predator would most likely begin to die out.
Three reasons why biodiversity is important are:
· Importance to an ecosystems food chain
· It give each animal in the ecosystem an important role, if an animal has no role it will most likely die out.
· It is important to humans as a greater diversity in plant life can mean a greater diversity in crops for food sources.
Island biodiversity:
Island Biodiversity is when a small island has more biodiversity than a larger island because of climate and other environmental reasons. It proves that a bio diverse ecosystem doesn’t depend on size factors.
Threats to Biodiversity:
There are several threats to biodiversity, the main threat is human activity. Humans have a great effect to biodiversity worldwide, it is under threat due to resource consumption, climate change, urbanisation, over-exploitation of resources. The non-human threats include invasive alien species and environmental degradation (this can also because of human activity but it was put under non-human threats as it can also be due to natural reasons).
Threatened, Endangered and Extinct:
The difference between threatened and endangered species are that threatened species have a chance of becoming endangered and could be on the verge of becoming endangered but endangered (as shown in the list above) means that the animal has an actual classification and chance of becoming extinct in the near future. Extinct means that the animal can no longer be observed, as far as humans are aware, an animal that is extinct doesn’t exist and will no longer exist. The difference between an endangered animal and an extinct animal is that an endangered animal has a threat of becoming extinct but an extinct animal has actually died out.
How to Protect Biodiversity:
There are several ways we can protect biodiversity, since one of the biggest threats to biodiversity is over consumption of resources, we as humans can choose to buy less products that harm the environment and are unsustainable and choose to buy environmentally friendly and sustainable products. We can also consume less in general, if everyone managed to do this, we could cut a major threat to biodiversity. Another great protection strategy used to help biodiversity is reintroduction, this is when a species is reintroduced into its habitat after it had disappeared from the area, this can be a really successful way of repopulating a bio-diverse ecosystem.
The Wildebeest population had started to decline due to hunting and migratory reasons, they were beginning to become endangered but its population had started to increase after a reintroduction to Zamibia, its population is currently above 18,000 with over 7,000 Wildebeest in Zamibia (after its introduction), It is now considered under Least Concern by the UCN (Union for Conservation of Nature).
Another animal mentioned in the video was the Polar Bear (referenced as Ursus Maritmus) it is currently listed as "Vulnerable", a major threat to the polar population is climate change due to global warming, since they live in a cold habitat which they need to survive, the threat of abnormally hot summers can really effect Polar Bear population.
Bibliography:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares
http://www.biodiv.be/biodiversity/threats
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/30/what-you-can-do-to-protect-biodiversity/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildebeest#Threats_and_conservation
Island Biodiversity is when a small island has more biodiversity than a larger island because of climate and other environmental reasons. It proves that a bio diverse ecosystem doesn’t depend on size factors.
Threats to Biodiversity:
There are several threats to biodiversity, the main threat is human activity. Humans have a great effect to biodiversity worldwide, it is under threat due to resource consumption, climate change, urbanisation, over-exploitation of resources. The non-human threats include invasive alien species and environmental degradation (this can also because of human activity but it was put under non-human threats as it can also be due to natural reasons).
Threatened, Endangered and Extinct:
The difference between threatened and endangered species are that threatened species have a chance of becoming endangered and could be on the verge of becoming endangered but endangered (as shown in the list above) means that the animal has an actual classification and chance of becoming extinct in the near future. Extinct means that the animal can no longer be observed, as far as humans are aware, an animal that is extinct doesn’t exist and will no longer exist. The difference between an endangered animal and an extinct animal is that an endangered animal has a threat of becoming extinct but an extinct animal has actually died out.
How to Protect Biodiversity:
There are several ways we can protect biodiversity, since one of the biggest threats to biodiversity is over consumption of resources, we as humans can choose to buy less products that harm the environment and are unsustainable and choose to buy environmentally friendly and sustainable products. We can also consume less in general, if everyone managed to do this, we could cut a major threat to biodiversity. Another great protection strategy used to help biodiversity is reintroduction, this is when a species is reintroduced into its habitat after it had disappeared from the area, this can be a really successful way of repopulating a bio-diverse ecosystem.
The Wildebeest population had started to decline due to hunting and migratory reasons, they were beginning to become endangered but its population had started to increase after a reintroduction to Zamibia, its population is currently above 18,000 with over 7,000 Wildebeest in Zamibia (after its introduction), It is now considered under Least Concern by the UCN (Union for Conservation of Nature).
Another animal mentioned in the video was the Polar Bear (referenced as Ursus Maritmus) it is currently listed as "Vulnerable", a major threat to the polar population is climate change due to global warming, since they live in a cold habitat which they need to survive, the threat of abnormally hot summers can really effect Polar Bear population.
Bibliography:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares
http://www.biodiv.be/biodiversity/threats
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/04/30/what-you-can-do-to-protect-biodiversity/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildebeest#Threats_and_conservation