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Endangered Species

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Endangered Species

Biological diversity, or biodiversity for short, refers to the variety of life across all levels of biological organizations, including the diversity of species (Withgott & Laposata, 2012, p. 49). Biodiversity at all levels is being lost to human impact, irretrievably when species become extinct. Once vanished, a species can never return.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Global Species Program along with the Species Survival Commission (SSC) and partners, such as the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), assess the status of species on a global scale for the IUCN Red List in an effort to underline possible extinction, thereby encourage their conservation (IUCN, 2014).

All assessments or reassessments for publication on the IUCN Red List must use categories, such as Endangered (EN) and criteria (e.g., Continuing decline in EOO, AOO, habitat, locations or subpopulations, or mature individuals and/or Extreme fluctuation in EOO, AOO, locations or subpopulations, or mature individuals) as adopted by the IUCN Council (IUCN, 2014).

In 2012, the Atrichornis clamosus (also known as Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Scrubird) was uplisted to Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In questioning why, large lighting-induced fires and other small-scale unexplained events further declined population size and habitat quality on the south coast of Western Australia . However, these species have a chance to recover overtime. The conservation actions include, but are not limited to, long-term monitoring of the species’ recovery, improved fire protection management and the search for potential translocation sites (Birdlife International, 2012) for the Noisy Scrub-bird.

Clearly, the IUCN Species Survival Commission and numerous experts are all working together towards achieving the vision of, “A world that values and conserves present levels of biodiversity” (IUCN, 2014).

References

BirdLife International 2012. Atrichornis clamosus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. . Downloaded on 11 October 2014.

IUCN 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. . Downloaded on 11 Oct 2014.

Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2012). Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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