Extinction Flashcards
1
Q
How is the rate of extinction currently?
A
while there are more species on Earth currently than at any other time, the rate of extinction is greater than that of any other time
2
Q
What are the different kinds of extinction?
A
- in the wild
- globally
- locally
3
Q
What percent of species that have existed on the planet are now extinct?
A
99%
4
Q
How many mass extinctions have there been?
A
5 in past, not including the one we are currently in
5
Q
What are the past mass extinctions?
A
- Ordovician
- Devonian
- Permian
- Triassic
- Cretaceous
6
Q
Where have a lot of species gone extinct?
A
species on islands such as Hawaii
7
Q
What vertebrate animals are threatened with extinction?
A
- primates
- manatees, dugongs
- horses, tapirs, rhinos
- turtles
- penguins
8
Q
Have more mainland or island birds gone extinct?
A
drastically more island birds
9
Q
What is the significance of St. Helena island?
A
a plant (St. Helena Ebony) thought to be extinct was rediscovered in 1980
10
Q
How was St. Helena Ebony saved from extinction?
A
- was given endangered species status and saved from extinction
- cross bred with St. Helena Redwood, producing Trochetiopsis x benjamini
11
Q
How did St. Helena Ebony originally dwindle in population to what led people to think it went extinct?
A
declined when goats brought to island in 16th century and believed to be extinct by 1850
12
Q
How is the proportion of recently extinct/currently endangered bird species related to the length of time non-European people have occupied an island?
A
inversely related
13
Q
What makes a species vulnerable to extinction?
A
- narrow geographical range
- only one or few populations
- small population size
- low population density
- large home range species
- large body size
- K-strategists (unable to rebuild pop. fast enough after disturbance)
- occupies only one or a few specialized habitats
- ineffective dispersers
- migrate
- little genetic variability
- specialized niche requirements
- characteristically found in stable environments
- form permanent of temporary aggregations
- hunted or harvested by humans
14
Q
What are characteristics of common species?
A
- wide geographical distribution
- broad habitat specificity
- large local population size
15
Q
What are characteristics of rare species?
A
- narrow geographical distribution
- restricted habitat specificity
- always small population size
16
Q
Why does the cape region of South Africa have high percent of endemic species?
A
Chapparal biome
17
Q
Why does Australia have a high percent of endemic species?
A
is an island
18
Q
What things tend to have higher levels of endemism?
A
- closer to equator
- type of biome (Chapparal, tropics, etc)
- various habitats (like in GA)
19
Q
Why is extinction a problem?
A
- extinct species are lost forever (loss of biodiversity and potential future utility)
- ecosystem processes disrupted (food web, loss of pollinator species)
- loss of inherently valuable organisms
20
Q
Where was the Dodo found?
A
volcanic island of Mauritius (Indian Ocean)
21
Q
What are some species that have gone extinct?
A
- Dodo
- Monteverde golden toad
- ## Wolly mammoth
22
Q
What was the issue with the snail darter?
A
- construction of the Tellico Dam threatened to eradicate the only known population of the snail darter
- another pop. discovered in shallow shoals upstream of dam sight, population would die if dam built cuz cannot survive in deep water
23
Q
What does IUCN stand for?
A
International Union for the Conservation of Nature
24
Q
What does the IUCN do?
A
monitors endangered species
25
What are the categories of conservation status for IUCN?
- species not evaluated
- data deficient
- extinct (extinct/extinct in wild)
- threatened (critically endangered/ endangered/ vulnerable)
- lower risk (near threatened/least concern)
26
What are different criteria for critically endangered category?
- pop. declined by 80% or move over last 10 years or 3 generations
- species has restricted range and there is observed habitat loss, fragmentation, ecological imbalance, or heavy commercial exploitations
- total population size less than 250 mature, breeding individuals and expected to decline by 25% within 3 years/1 generation
- population size less than 50 mature individuals
- extinction probability greater than 50% within 10 years/3 generations
27
What is the world's most endangered feline species?
Iberian lynx
28
What does the United States Endangered Species Act of 1973 look at?
- species
- subspecies
- distinct vertebrate populations
29
What does the US Endangered species act do?
- "taking"
- petition
- listing
- delisting
30
What is taking in terms of ESA?
prohibits killing, harming, and any activities that adversely affect habitat
31
What does petition mean in terms of ESA?
initiating the process of listing; can be done by any person or organization
32
What does listing mean in terms of ESA?
placing a species on the ES list; initiates development of recovery plan
33
What does delisting mean in terms of ESA?
ultimate goal of the ESA (removal of a species from the list)
34
What president was ESA created under?
Nixon
35
What categories does the ESA assign?
endangered (brink of extinction) and threatened (likely to be on bring)
36
What percent of species that have been on ESA list have been removed?
2%
37
What percent of species on ESA list have gone extinct?
less than 1%
38
What are the southern US's most endangered animals?
- red wolf
39
What is the status of the red wolf?
critically endangered
40
What happened to the red wolf?
predator control programs practically eliminated them out by the 1960s
41
Why is there hope for the red wolf?
a successful captive breeding program began in the 1970s and has resulted in around 200 additional red wolves living in captivity today
42
Where do red wolves remain today?
the remaining wild wolves live on North Carolina's Albemarle Peninsula
43
What is the population of the red wolf?
less than 40
44
What is the status of the eastern indigo snake?
least concern
45
Where are eastern indigo snakes found?
Florida and coastal plain of southern Georgia
46
What is population of eastern indigo snake?
unknown
47
What happened to eastern indigo snakes?
species all but disappeared due to longleaf pine forest destruction
48
What reason for hope is there for eastern indigo snake population?
- South Georgia's Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve provides a crucial habitat
- biologists recently found first baby indigo in Alabama in 60+ years
49
What is the population of the Florida Key Deer?
less than 1,000
50
Where are Florida Key Deer found?
only in lower florida Keys
51
What happened to Florida Key Deer?
- habitat destruction and poaching nearly wiped them out by the 1950's
- lately screwworm infestations have depleted numbers
52
What reasons for hope are there for Florida Key Deer?
a recently installed chain-link fence along US 1 on Big Pine Key protects the herd from being hit by cars
53
What is the status of the Dusky Gopher Frog?
critically endangered
54
What is the population of the Dusky Gopher Frog?
100
55
What is the range of the Dusky Gopher Frog?
Harrison County, Mississippi
56
What happened to the dusky gopher frog?
habitat loss of longleaf pine forests and destruction of ephemeral ponds used as mating locations
57
What reason for hope for dusky gopher frog?
US Fish and Wildlife Service 2015 Recovery Plan for Dusky Gopher Frog has established specific goals, strategies, and actions to help the species rally
58
What is the status of the Texas Ocelot?
least concern
59
What is the population of the texas ocelot?
60
60
What is the range of the Texas Ocelot?
Texas and MexicoW
61
What happened to the Texas Ocelot?
habitat loss from farm and highway expansions; future threats include the wall in progress at the Mexican border, which could hinder breeding
62
What are the reasons for hope for Texas Ocelot?
US Fish and Wildlife Service is working to install corridors that mitigate the ocelot's need to cross highways (car strikes are greatest current threat to species)
63
What is the status of the Piping Plover?
near threatened
64
What is the population of Piping Plover?
1,372 pairs
65
What is the range of piping plover?
during breeding season, from Newfoundland to North Carolina; in winter, on the coast from NC to FL, down to West Indies
66
What happened to the piping plover?
feather hunting caused their decline in the 1980s, now beachfront development on preferred nesting grounds has diminished the species
67
What is the reason for hope for the piping plover?
Towns such as Hilton Head, SC monitor winter roosting areas and assist the US Fish and Wildlife Service with surveys; the FWS has also restricted access to nesting areas
68
What is the population of the Miami Blue Butterfly?
less than 50
69
What is the range of the Miami Blue butterfly?
Bahia Honda State Park on Florida's Big Pine Key
70
What happened to the miami blue butterfly?
Hurricane Andrew decimated a whole population in 1992, leaving only Bahia Honda's
71
What are reasons for hope with Miami blue butterfly?
captive numbers recently increased thanks to the Florida Museum of Natural History's breeding program
72
What is the status of Ozark hellbenders?
near threatened
73
What is the population of ozark hellbenders?
unknown
74
What is the range of the Ozark Hellbender?
the White River watershed in Arkansas and Missouri
75
What happened to the Ozark hellbender?
habitat degradation due to ore and gravel mining, sedimentation, and nutrient and toxic runoff
76
What is the reason of hope for ozark hellbenders?
- Ozark Hellbender Working Group put together a watershed protection plan
- in the last decade, the St. Louis Zoo has cultivated a first of its kind captive breeding program
77
What is the status Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle?
critically endangered
78
What is the population of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle?
7-9k
79
What is the range of Kemp's ridley sea turtle?
mostly along the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia
80
What happened to Kemp's ridley sea turtle?
- historically humans hunting for their meat and eggs
- today, bottom trawling and gillnet fishing
81
What are reasons for hope with Kemp's ridley sea turtle?
changes to and regulation of fishing practices and gear modifications, as well as nest protection, have boosted numbers
82
What is CITES?
Convention on the international trade of endangered species
83
What does CITES do?
- regulates international trade in animal parts
- prevents hunting of endangered species for trade
