Friday, July 10, 2015

Upcoming themed week! Articles about species' population status

Recently, there have been a few posts on various scientific and government websites about the rebounding and decreasing populations of species in the U.S.  So this week, we will be featuring some of those articles!

If you are interested in learning more about endangered species and their current population status, check out the following websites.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources evaluates species for their extinction risk and makes this information available to the public as the ICUN Red List.  Species are listed as: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, or Extinct.  You can search for individual species and the results will tell you the all about the species including: Status, Taxonomy, Assessment Information, Geographic Range, Population, and more.

The Wold Wildlife Federation website runs a Species Directory which links to information for dozens of endangered species.  Choosing a specific animal will take you to a page describing the animal, threats to their survival, conservation efforts, and ways that the public can help that species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also has a page for Endangered Species.  Not only does it have information similar to the other resources above, but you can also search on their interactive map for endangered species in your area.

Stay tuned for our articles next week!

African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) adult with chick by Joy Viola, Northeastern University, Bugwood.org