Endangered Species
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As suggested in Chapter 20 of our textbook, humans depend on other species for survival. Plants provide us with oxygen, animals provide us with food, and microbes provide us oxygen, aid in digestion and even help break down waste. Essentially, humans need biodiversity to survive. Biodiversity is variety of life on earth.
However, humans are also to blame for a lot of the loss of biodiversity. One of the ways we can measure biodiversity is to look at species that are on the risk of extinction, ones that are considered threatened.
The purpose of this lab is to introduce you to some references for endangered species and help you learn some ways in which you can aid in preventing extinction.
You need to become familiar with what endangered species are. To do so, please check out the information on the websites listed below. Then use these websites to aid you in answering the questions.
- Where geographically are most endangered species found in the United States? (Please list the top 2 states).
- What are some of the endangered species found in North Carolina that you are familiar with?
- Which species surprised you by being endangered in our state? Why did it surprise you?
#5-7. Click the opens new window) link. Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage and click on “See How Many Are Currently Listed”. The Listed Species Summary (Boxscore) will help you with the following questions.
- Which animal group is the most threatened and endangered in the US?
- Which animal group is the most threatened and endangered in the world?
- Although plant groups are not shown on this list, their totals are. Which has more endangered species in the world: animals or plants?
- According to your textbook, what are some of the causes of endangerment to these species?
- Choose your favorite animal or plant (be specific – “polar bear” is better than “bear”). Visit the opens new window) of endangered species, and search for your favorite species. What is its conservation status? (i.e., Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, Extinct).
- When was it last assessed? What was the scope of the assessment (in other words, in which location(s) were populations counted)?
