Endangered species classification

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Endangered species classification

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References but not assigned

• Mace, G.M. and R. Lande. 1991. Assessing
  extinction threats towards a reevaluation of
  IUCN threatened species categories. Conservation
  Biology 5 148-157

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Purpose of endangered species listing

• To highlight species at risk
• hopefully leading to .
• cause action to be taken, where possible, to
  reduce risk of extinction

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Types of listing

• U.S. Endangered Species Act
• IUCN Red Book
• CITES Convention on International Trade in
  Endangered Species

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What causes extinction

• Gradual decline in abundance due to negative
  rates of increase
• Loss of habitat
• Introduction of exotic pests
• Harvesting
• Pollution affecting reproduction and survival
• Climate change
• Catastrophic events
• The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs
• El Nino events, bad climates

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What makes species vulnerable to extinction

• Low (especially negative) rates of increase
• Small population sizes
• Few breeding sites
• Large fluctuations in abundance

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1994 IUCN Red List Categories

• EXTINCT (EX) A taxon is Extinct when there is no
  reasonable doubt that the last individual has
  died.

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EXTINCT IN THE WILD (EW)

• A taxon is Extinct in the wild when it is known
  only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or
  as a naturalised population (or populations) well
  outside the past range. A taxon is presumed
  extinct in the wild when exhaustive surveys in
  known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate
  times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its
  historic range have failed to record an
  individual. Surveys should be over a time frame
  appropriate to the taxon's life cycle and life
  form.

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CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (CR)

• A taxon is Critically Endangered when it is
  facing an extremely high risk of extinction in
  the wild in the immediate future, as defined by
  any of the criteria A to E.

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ENDANGERED (EN)

• A taxon is Endangered when it is not Critically
  Endangered but is facing a very high risk of
  extinction in the wild in the near future, as
  defined by any of the criteria A to E.

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VULNERABLE (VU)

• A taxon is Vulnerable when it is not Critically
  Endangered or Endangered but is facing a high
  risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term
  future, as defined by any of the criteria A to E.
  

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LOWER RISK (LR)

• A taxon is Lower Risk when it has been evaluated,
  but does not satisfy the criteria for any of the
  categories Critically Endangered, Endangered or
  Vulnerable. Taxa included in the Lower Risk
  category can be separated into three
  subcategories
• 1. Conservation Dependent (cd). Taxa which are
  the focus of a continuing taxon-specific or
  habitat-specific conservation programme targeted
  towards the taxon in question, the cessation of
  which would result in the taxon qualifying for
  one of the threatened categories above within a
  period of five years.
• 2. Near Threatened (nt). Taxa which do not
  qualify for Conservation Dependent, but which are
  close to qualifying for Vulnerable.
• 3. Least Concern (lc). Taxa which do not qualify
  for Conservation Dependent or Near Threatened.

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DATA DEFICIENT (DD)

• A taxon is Data Deficient when there is
  inadequate information to make a direct, or
  indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction
  based on its distribution and/or population
  status. A taxon in this category may be well
  studied, and its biology well known, but
  appropriate data on abundance and/or distribution
  are lacking. Data Deficient is therefore not a
  category of threat or Lower Risk. Listing of taxa
  in this category indicates that more information
  is required and acknowledges the possibility that
  future research will show that threatened
  classification is appropriate. It is important to
  make positive use of whatever data are available.
  In many cases great care should be exercised in
  choosing between DD and threatened status. If the
  range of a taxon is suspected to be relatively
  circumscribed, if a considerable period of time
  has elapsed since the last record of the taxon,
  threatened status may well be justified.

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NOT EVALUATED (NE)

• A taxon is Not Evaluated when it is has not yet
  been assessed against the criteria.

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The Criteria

• A. Reduction in population size
• B. Restricted geographic range
• C. Small population size and declining
• D. Very small population size
• E. Quantitative assessment of risk of extinction

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Numerical values
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Special issues for marine species

• A fisheries management plan can cause a 50
  decline, should this cause a listing
• Marine distributions are very different from
  terrestrial
• Marine abundance is very high relative to the
  species that IUCN rules were built around

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What is a species
To be considered an ESU under the ESA, a
population (or group of populations) must be
reproductively isolated from conspecific
populations, and must contribute substantially to
the ecological/genetic diversity of the species
(Waples 1991).
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What happens when listed

• Relevant agency (NMFS, USFWS) must develop and
  implement a recovery plan
• All taking is prohibited. The term "take"
  includes "to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
  wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.
• Some taking is permitted in the form in
  incidental catch

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Case studies
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Chinook Salmon ESUs
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Take of endangered salmon

• Still goes on

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Stellers sea lion
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Gulf of Alaska Small set of structuring
variables operating at different speeds - Whammo!
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Key recovery actions

• Prohibition on shooting
• Reduction of incidental take
• Subsistence take
• Disturbance
• Fisheries closures near rookeries
• Intense monitoring and research

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Relevant Legislation

• Nationally The ESA the Endangered Species Act
  1973
• Internationally CITES Convention on
  International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
  Fauna and Flora. 1975 administered by UN
  Environment Program
• 25,000 plants
• 5,000 animals listed

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Summary

• ESA is powerful legislation has teeth and
  causes change thus not popular with those
  affected