EcoWorldly

World Species Survey details gloomy outlook for many animal species.In early October of 2008, the results of a global species  survey, conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were released.  The numbers are startling:

• At least a quarter of mammal species are headed toward extinction in the near future.
• Nearly 80 percent of the primate species in southern and southeastern Asia are immediately threatened.
• At least 22 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction.
• Perhaps 40 percent of North American freshwater fish are threatened.
• In Europe, 45 percent of the most common bird species are rapidly declining, and so are the most common bird species in North America.

But perhaps these figures are a bit too abstract. Here’s a more precise way to look at the present state of bio-diversity on Earth.

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EVERY YEAR, an estimated 400 species of animals and plants go extinct in the wild. How many species inhabit our planet? No one knows. It is estimated that only 10 - 20 %
of the animal species on Earth have been cataloged.  And it’s true that new species
are discovered at a fairly regular rate. Just this past September, zoologists discovered
a new species of monkey. But we can hardly argue that the discovery of new species cancels
out the extinction of known species (like the noble orangutans of Sumatra, due to
burning of rain forest habitat for farming or mining); such wide-scale extinction and
endangerment offers only a net loss in animal/plant diversity.

And further, many endangered species are vital links in important eco-systems; the total impact of eco-system damage is unknown, but believed to be significant (even irreversible in many cases) in terms of human food production and harvesting. Eliminating a species can have dramatic effects on competing species– as we have seen recently in the huge increase in jelly fish populations due to rapid decline of competing fish species (many of which  we eat). Salt-marshes in the Southeastern and Gulf coast United States are rapidly eroding (some 40% loss has occurred in the past decade) due to loss of spartina grass. The grass is being rapidly eaten by periwinkles whose numbers are normally kept in check by green crabs. But green crab numbers  are declining, and no one quite knows why. Salt-marshes–sometimes referred to as “nature’s nurseries”–are vitally important to maintaining the vitality of the larger marine eco-system. It is estimated that 90% of ocean life (including dolphins and whales) depends directly or indirectly on the species that grow and thrive in these habitats.

According to a May, 2006 study by the Swiss-based IUCN (World Conservation Union) which also determined that some 16,000 species of animal and plant life are critically endangered and face possible imminent extinction. Of those that go extinct in the wild, maybe 10% are preserved in zoos and arboreta

Here’s a link to the World Wildlife Fund (adopt a species!) for some ways to help stop the species decline trend:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/home.html

…and if you’ve a soft spot for our nearest animal cousins–the primates–check out  The Great Ape Project at:
http://greatapeproject.org

Photo credit: animal images by
Random Truth_randomtruth at Flickr.com  - “World Wildlife fun”

under a Creative Commons license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randomtruth/sets/72157607008532074/

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