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 | |
Status | Listing |
E | Beetle, American burying ( Nicrophorus americanus) |
E | Crane, whooping (except where XN) ( Grus americana) |
E | Curlew, Eskimo ( Numenius borealis) |
T | Eagle, bald (lower 48 States) ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) |
E | Ferret, black-footed (except where XN) ( Mustela nigripes) |
T | Plover, piping (except Great Lakes watershed) ( Charadrius melodus) |
E | Shiner, Topeka ( Notropis topeka) |
E | Sturgeon, pallid ( Scaphirhynchus albus) |
E | Tern, least (interior pop.) ( Sterna antillarum) |
Plants -- 4 | |
Status | Listing |
T | Butterfly plant, Colorado ( Gaura neomexicana coloradensis) |
E | Penstemon, blowout ( Penstemon haydenii) |
T | Orchid, western prairie fringed ( Platanthera praeclara) |
T | Ladies'-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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