Endangered Species

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Endangered Species

• In the United States, 735 species of plants and
  496 species of animals are listed as threatened
  or endangered.
• There are more than 1,000 animal species
  endangered worldwide

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Definitions

• EXTINCT SPECIES an extinct species is one that
  is no longer living. The passenger pigeon, the
  dodo, and the Stegosaurus are examples of extinct
  species. These animals no longer exist on the
  earth.
• THREATENED SPECIES a species whose population
  is not yet low enough to be in immediate danger
  of extinction, but who certainly faces serious
  problems. If the problems affecting these species
  arent resolved, it is probable that the species
  will become endangered. The eastern indigo snake
  and the red kangaroo are examples of threatened
  species.

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• VULNERABLE SPECIES - A species particularly at
  risk because of low or declining numbers or small
  range, but not a threatened species.
• ENDANGERED SPECIES a specie, plant or animal,
  that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct.
  Its numbers are usually low, and it needs
  protection in order to survive. The Siberian
  tiger, the southern sea otter, the snow leopard,
  the green pitcher plant, and thousands of other
  plants and animals are endangered worldwide.

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Causes of Endangerment

• Habitat destruction
• Introduction of exotic species
• Overexploitation
• Disease
• Pollution

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Habitat Destruction

• when changes occur at a fast pace, there is
  little or no time for individual species to react
  and adjust to new circumstances. This can create
  disastrous results, and for this reason, rapid
  habitat loss is the primary cause of species
  endangerment. The strongest forces in rapid
  habitat loss are human beings.

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Exotic species

• Exotic species may also seriously disrupt
  delicate ecological balances and may produce a
  plethora of unintended yet harmful consequences.
• The worst of these unintended yet harmful
  consequences arise when introduced exotic species
  put native species in jeopardy by preying on
  them.
• Introduced insects, rats, pigs, cats, and other
  foreign species have actually caused the
  endangerment and extinction of hundreds of
  species during the past five centuries

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Overexploitation

• Species that faces overexploitation is one that
  may become severely endangered or even extinct
  due to the rate in which the species is being
  used. Unrestricted whaling during the 20th
  century is an example of overexploitation
• Due to the trade in animal parts, many species
  continue to suffer high rates of exploitation.
  Even today, there are demands for items such as
  rhino horns and tiger bones

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Disease

• If a species does not have the natural genetic
  protection against particular pathogens, an
  introduced disease can have severe effects on
  that specie. For example, rabies and canine
  distemper viruses are presently destroying
  carnivore populations in East Africa. Domestic
  animals often transmit the diseases that affect
  wild populations, demonstrating again how human
  activities lie at the root of most causes of
  endangerment.

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Pollution

• Pollution has seriously affected multiple
  terrestrial and aquatic species, and limited
  distributions are frequently a consequence of
  other threats populations confined to few small
  areas due to of habitat loss

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Aquatic Species

• Aquatic species, which are often overlooked, are
  facing serious trouble. One third of the United
  States fish species, two-thirds of its crayfish
  species, and almost three-quarters of its mussel
  species are in trouble.

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Recovery Plans

• Recovery plans, as part of the Fish and Wildlife
  Services Recovery Program, are designed to
  reverse the decline of a threatened or endangered
  species and eventually bring the population to a
  self-sustaining level.

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Florida Black Bear

• An estimated 1,500 Florida black bears remain
  from a population once thought to number 12,000.
  They historically ranged throughout the state and
  into southern Georgia and Alabama. Currently the
  five major populations are found in the Ocala,
  Apalachicola and Osceola National Forests in
  northern and central Florida, the Eglin Air Force
  Base and Blackwater State Forest complex in the
  Florida panhandle and the Big Cypress Swamp in
  south Florida.

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Black bear

• The Florida black bear is black with a brown
  muzzle. Some have a white "blaze" on their chests
  
• Forest habitats, both wetland and upland forests,
  are the primary homes of the Florida black bear
• An estimated 12,000 bears once roamed the area
  that is now Florida. Approximately 1,000 to 1,500
  Florida black bears survive today.

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Black bear

• The black bear is listed as a threatened species
  by the state of Florida.
• The black bear is considered an umbrella species
  by biologists because it is such a wide-ranging
  species. By protecting bears and their habitat,
  we also protect many other plant and animal
  species, including the endangered Florida scrub
  jay and the eastern indigo snake.
• The leading threats to the bear include land
  development, highway construction and roadkills.
  More than 50 bears are killed on Florida roads
  each year.

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Manatee
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Manatee

• Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving
  rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals and
  coastal areas. Manatees are a migratory species.
  Within the United States, West Indian manatees
  are concentrated in Florida in the winter, but
  can be found in summer months as far west as
  Alabama and as far north as Virginia and the
  Carolinas

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Manatee

• West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and
  it is believed they can live 60 years or more.
  Many manatee mortalities are human-related. Most
  human-related manatee mortalities occur from
  collisions with watercraft. Other causes of
  human-related manatee mortalities include being
  crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood
  control structures ingestion of fish hooks,
  litter and monofilament line entanglement in
  crab trap lines and vandalism. Ultimately,
  however, loss of habitat is the most serious
  threat facing manatees today. There are
  approximately 2,600 West Indian manatees left in
  the United States

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Manatee protection

• West Indian manatees in the United States are
  protected under federal law by the Marine Mammal
  Protection Act of 1972,
• The Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it
  illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any
  marine mammal.
• Also protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary
  Act of 1978 which states "It is unlawful for any
  person, at any time, intentionally or
  negligently, to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb
  any manatee." Anyone convicted of violating
  Florida's state law faces a possible maximum fine
  of 1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 60 days.
  Conviction on the federal level is punishable by
  a fine of up to 50,000 and/or one year in
  prison.

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Florida Key Deer

• STATUS Endangered throughout its range, Federal
  Register, March 11, 1967
• This is the smallest race of North American deer.
  Adults measure 25 to 30 inches at the shoulder
  and have an average weight of 55 to 75 pounds for
  males and 45-65 pounds for females.

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Florida Key Deer

• Key deer's primary food source is the red
  mangrove (Rhizophora mangle)
• Key deer are restricted to Monroe County, Florida
  
• The current Key deer population is an estimated
  250 to 300 animals. In 1955, the number of Key
  deer was estimated at 25 to 80.

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Florida Key Deer

• Only islands with permanent fresh water are used
  consistently by Key deer. Big Pine Key (5,997
  acres) and No Name Key (998 acres) support more
  than two-thirds of the population.
• The greatest current impact on Key deer is the
  loss of habitat to development. Anticipated
  future population growth implies a further loss
  of habitat. Other current factors include road
  kills, mortality of young from falling into
  drainage ditches, and killing by free-roaming
  dogs.

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Florida Panther

• STATUS Endangered
• The panther, also known as cougar, mountain lion,
  puma and catamount, was once the most widely
  distributed mammal (other than humans) in North
  and South America, but it is now virtually
  exterminated in the eastern U.S.

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Florida Panther

• Habitat loss has driven the subspecies known as
  the Florida panther into a small area, where the
  few remaining animals are highly inbred, causing
  such genetic flaws as heart defects and
  sterility. Recently, closely-related panthers
  from Texas were released in Florida and are
  successfully breeding with the Florida panthers.
  Increased genetic variation and protection of
  habitat may yet save the subspecies.

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Florida Panther

• HABITAT Cypress swamps, pine and hardwood
  hammock forests.
• RANGE Originally from western Texas and
  throughout the southeastern states now found
  only in Florida.
• FOOD SOURCE Mostly white-tailed deer, sometimes
  wild hog, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo and birds.
• POPULATION 50-70 individuals.

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Florida Panther

• SURVIVAL THREATS Habitat loss because of human
  development and population growth, collision with
  vehicles, parasites, feline distemper, feline
  alicivirus (an upper respiratory infection), and
  other diseases.

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The red-cockaded woodpecker

• The red-cockaded woodpecker is listed as an
  endangered species at the federal level and the
  state level in all states where it occurs,
  including Florida

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The red-cockaded woodpecker

• This small black and white bird is about 7 inches
  (18 cm) long and is readily identified by a large
  white cheek patch, ladder-back appearance and
  distinctive call readily identify it. A small
  patch of red feathers on the cheek of the male,
  the red-cockade, is usually not visible

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The red-cockaded woodpecker

• The red-cockaded woodpecker has highly
  specialized habitat requirements, which account
  for its endangered status. Its cavity trees are
  found only in mature pine forests containing
  trees greater than about 60 years of age which
  are fairly open and free of a hardwood
  understory. Such sites were maintained
  historically by wildfires and by fires set by
  Indians. At one time these pine forests covered
  millions of acres in the southern coastal plain.

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The red-cockaded woodpecker

• The red-cockaded woodpecker is unique. It is the
  only woodpecker that excavates a cavity in a
  living tree. It also has an advanced social
  system and lives in a group called a clan with
  other red-cockadeds.

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Humpback Whale

• On June 02, 1970, the Humpback whale was
  designated as Endangered in the Entire Range.
  Within the area covered by this listing, this
  species is known to occur in Alaska, Alabama,
  California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
  Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine,
  Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New
  York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
  Texas, Virginia, Washington

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Humpback Whale

• There are approximately 10,000 humpbacks
  worldwide. This is about eight percent of
  estimated historic populations. According to the
  National Marine Fisheries Service, approximately
  7,000 of these whales inhabit U.S. waters at some
  point.

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Humpback Whale

• Endangered Status On the U.S. Endangered Species
  List and classified as endangered in its range
  along the U.S. coastline.