Why are species disappearing?

1. Why are species disappearing? Hey – if we don’t know why it’s broke, we can’t fix it!

2. What’s the difference? • Threatened: vulnerable to endangerment in the near future • Endangered: at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, changing environmental conditions or predation • Extinct- the death of all individuals of a species

3. Hunting/Fishing Hunting to eat = subsistence hunting Bushmeat in Africa and South/Central America Commercial Fishing, shrimping, crabbing, oystering

4. Hunting: Pet Trade

5. Commercial hunting • Poaching = Hunting the wrong • Species • At the wrong time • In the wrong amounts • In the wrong places

6. Competition with introduced species, invasive/exotic Kudzu vine Fire ants

7. Water hyacinth and chinese tallow trees

8. Pollution DDT – Bald Eagle/Brown pelican Beluga whale – PCB’s Biomagnification – accumulation of toxins as they move up the food chain

9. Habitat Loss • Similar terms: • Habitat alteration • Habitat fragmentation

10. Superstitious beliefs

11. Check for understanding What is the #1 reason that species become endangered? How is a superstitious belief about an animal different from the medicinal argument for protecting a species? What is biomagnification? What is the difference between subsistence hunting and commercial hunting? How is hunting different from poaching?