Tuesday, March 26, 2013

CHS Wildlife Science Class shares with CIS



Chadron High's Wildlife Science students recently completed a unit on endangered species from around the world. They created a model of the animal and its habitat. Students researched and compiled data.  Requirements for the project included: Identification by Genus and species, common name, geographical location-map, current population graph, causes of endangerment, patterns or trends relating to the population, physical description of animal, food sources, track comparison, migration patterns, breeding characteristics, gestation, life span, unique characteristics, symbiotic relationships, recovery efforts, future outlook, and organizations associated with species.  All documented information was organized into a visual graphic poster design.  
Students orally presented to their peers and then shared what they had learned with fourth grade at the Intermediate building. The high school students used IPADs to show the animal's behavior in addition to the physical models and verbal explanations. Animal topics included: Amur Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Whooping Crane, Bengal Tiger, Green Sea Turtle, Mountain Gorilla, Giant Panda, Black Rhino, Caspian Seal, Orangutan, Chimpanzee, and Zebra.  Students from both buildings stated it was a positive learning experience and would like it to continue. It tied in nicely, as the fourth graders were conducting research on an endangered species as well!

 A great time was had by all participants!

We enjoyed learning about Panda's


Man's desire to expand rapidly has destroyed the natural habitat of wild animals, making them homeless. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes the red list names of over 5,000 vertebrate animals, among a total of 15,589 species, as endangered animals.




  • The main reason for animals endangered is the uncontrolled human activity. To pursue mindless development, man has created irreparable damages. The gases emitted from greenhouses have brought global climate change affecting everybody. Industrial wastes have polluted the river water and marine life.



  • Overexploitation of animals to satisfy the needs of humans has led to considerable downfall in their number. Unrestricted hunting of Whales during the twentieth-century has made them endangered animals. Poaching of rhinoceros and tigers is another serious cause of their falling numbers. Rhino horns and tiger bones are widely used in making traditional medicines.


  • It is important to save the endangered animals to maintain the ecological balance. Nature has its own way of maintaining the balance. If we do not take steps to ensure it, we will ultimately have to face the consequences.



Bubba Stolley -"Monkeying Around" with a 4th grade student.





In the last 500 years, 
human activity is known to 
have forced 869 species to 
extinction (or extinction in 
the wild).



One in four mammals and 
one in eight birds face a 
high risk of extinction in the 
near future.




 One in three amphibians 
and almost half of all 
tortoises and freshwater 
turtles are threatened. 

 The current species 
extinction rate is estimated 
to be between 1,000 and 
10,000 times higher than 
the natural or ‘background’ 
rate. 



To date there are nearly 7 billion people on earth.  This is set to peak at 9 or 10 billion.  So far approximately 6 animal species have become extinct. Since we only know a small proportion of the species that exist, this number is likely to be much higher.



 Habitat loss and 
degradation affect 
89% of all threatened 
birds, 83% of 
mammals, and 91% 
of threatened plants. 



All 22 species of 
albatross are under 
threat as a result of 
long-line fishing. 



A total of 8,457 
threatened plants are 
listed. This is around 
2% of the world’s 
described plants. As 
only approximately 
4% of the world’s 
described plants have 
been evaluated, the 
true percentage of 
threatened plant 
species is much 
higher.



Indonesia, India, 
Brazil and China are 
among the countries 
with the most 
threatened mammals 
and birds. 





Nebraska has 13 threatened and endangered plant and animal species.

Animals -- 9

StatusListing
EBeetle, American burying ( Nicrophorus americanus)
ECrane, whooping (except where XN) ( Grus americana)
ECurlew, Eskimo ( Numenius borealis)
TEagle, bald (lower 48 States) ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
EFerret, black-footed (except where XN) ( Mustela nigripes)
TPlover, piping (except Great Lakes watershed) ( Charadrius melodus)
EShiner, Topeka ( Notropis topeka)
ESturgeon, pallid ( Scaphirhynchus albus)
ETern, least (interior pop.) ( Sterna antillarum)

Plants -- 4

StatusListing
TButterfly plant, Colorado ( Gaura neomexicana coloradensis)
EPenstemon, blowout ( Penstemon haydenii)
TOrchid, western prairie fringed ( Platanthera praeclara)
TLadies'-tresses, Ute ( Spiranthes diluvialis)



Several species have moved down the threat categories or been removed from the Red 
List altogether. Examples include the Chinese Crested Ibis, Mauritius Kestrel, Hawaiian 
Goose, White Rhino, and Short-tailed Albatross.



Following large recoveries in many European countries, the numbers of White-tailed 
Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) doubled in the 1990s and the species has been downlisted 
from Near Threatened to Least Concern. Enforcement of legislation to protect the species, 
and measures to address threats from habitat changes and pollution contributed to the 
recovery. 



GLOSSARY 
Biological diversity - “biodiversity” means the diversity of life on Earth, including terrestrial, 
marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are 
part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. 

Biome: major ecological community, a division of the world’s vegetation that corresponds 
to a particular climate and is characterized by certain types of plants and animals, for 
example, tropical rain forest or desert. 

Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and 
their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. 

Endemic: restricted to a particular area: used to describe a species or organism that is 
confined to a particular geographical region, for example, an island or river basin. 

Genus: set of closely related species: a category in the taxonomic 
classification of related organisms, comprising one or more species. Similar genera 
grouped in families. 

Habitat: the place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs. 
Invasive alien species: are those that occur outside their natural range and threaten the 
existence of native plants and animals. 

Taxon: category of organisms, any of the groups to which organisms are assigned 
according to the principles of taxonomy, including species, genus, family, order, class, and 
phylum. 




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