One by one, species are going extinct at an ever-accelerating pace, currently estimated at
1000 times the normal rate. ("Normal" meaning before human civilization.) The following random articles are all from the last six weeks. Keep in mind that these few examples are from well documented areas, accessible to scientists:
Philippine eagle on brink of extinction. There might be as many as 3000 left:
In 1995, then President Fidel Ramos declared the Philippine eagle as the country's national bird.
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However, the destruction of their natural habitat is the primary culprit of their rapid disappearance. The Philippine eagle is primarily a rainforest raptor. Its natural habitat is mainly old-growth forests from 100 to 1,000 meters in elevation. Unfortunately, most of these are fast disappearing due to deforestation.
Unless bored already, read more on the other side.
Maybe you read about this one:
Climate change linked to extinction of frogs: Scientists believe the chytrid fungus is behind the disappearance of the golden toad of Costa Rica and at least 67 percent of the 110 species of brightly coloured harlequin frogs that have vanished from the tropical forests of South and Central America over the past 17 years.
Cambodia's freshwater dolphins face extinction:Most of the dolphins are dying in fishing nets, The Cambodia Press Review quoted Phy Somany, senior officer of the Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project, as saying.
He said studies estimate that about 10 dolphin calves are born each year, but Fisheries Department data shows that 14 died in 2003, 18 in 2004 and 13 in 2005.
Preying animals close to extinction in Spain:There are less than 100 adult Iberian lynx, and only around 150 Iberian imperial eagle, left in Portugal and Spain, according to the report.
Mystery extinction in healthy bay:
Efforts to save the Derwent's unique spotted handfish from extinction have encountered a puzzling setback.
Population surveys last year at all known sites have revealed the species has disappeared from Frederick Henry Bay.
Wildlife experts are worried that a single epidemic could wipe out the entire
lion population of India:The solution lies in creating satellite lion reserves, the logic being that even if an epidemic were to strike at one location, there would be surviving lion populations in other sanctuaries if some lions were moved to other reserves in the country.
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"If someone from Madhya Pradesh tries to take them we will not let them remove even one cub. This is a matter of Gujarati pride," say the people of Gujarat.
Slipper orchids face danger of extinction in Vietnam:The slipper orchids were first found in central coastal Khanh Hoa province in 1922 but they populations were quickly decimated by over-exploitation. They were discovered again in 1996 in Khanh Hoa province and northern mountainous Cao Bang province. Since then, they have been exploited to near extinction.
Driven to extinction: cuts threaten Large Blue:
This butterfly has been saved by the expertise of the UK's wildlife specialists. Now three key research centres are to close because of Government cuts and 200 scientists face the sack. Environmentalists are asking: who is left to save the Large Blue?
Alberta caribou at risk of extinction:Eight major conservation groups have filed a petition to Environment Minister Stephane Dion, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. It demands Ottawa stop the precipitous slide in caribou numbers in the province, where largely unrestricted logging and oil exploration have cut the population to 3,000 or fewer from as many as 9,000 during the 1960s, the newspaper said.
Deep sea fish face extinction:"We expected to see declines, but we didn't expect such severe declines," said Jennifer Devine, a PhD student who led the study at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. "If nothing changes, we could be facing barren oceans or oceans of fish we can't utilise."
And other fish:
Collapsing fisheries
Senegalese fishers weep over loss of noble fish
Albatross on a longline to extinction:Longlining occurs in every major ocean, with over a million hooks set every day. If each vessel catches only a few birds, this amounts to close on 100 000 killed every year. Albatross and some petrels, which are slow to reach sexual maturity, are simply not able to breed fast enough to replace their numbers, and some are facing extinction.
Warming Climate of American West Pushes Pika to Extinction:
"Pikas are an iconic animal to people who like high elevations," he said. "They are part of the experience. What's happening to them is telling us something about the dramatic changes in climate happening in the Great Basin. Climate change will have a dramatic effect including important economic impacts, such as diminished water resources, on people." (photo courtesy pikaworks.com)
Two types of tree daisy face extinction
Indigenous forest at risk of extinction, say researchers:
Illegal logging by timber dealers and wood carvers could wipe out the largest coastal forest in East Africa, researchers have warned.
Dr Dorothy Mutta, a Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) researcher, said the Arabuko Sokoke forest in Malindi District, could soon be extinct if large-scale illegal logging was not stopped.
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Two rare mammal species, Ader's duiker, the yellow rumped elephant shrew and six rare birds species, including the Sokoke owl, are found in the forest.
"We might lose this forest which hosts a large biological diversity with plenty of plants, amphibians, butterflies, mammals, birds and butterflies," she said.
What if it's all connected? Anyone heard of a
cascade?
Lots of flowers and trees, not enough birds and bees:In biodiversity hot spots like tropical rainforests, a dearth of pollinators could be putting many species at risk of extinction, according to a new study that includes three University of Pittsburgh researchers. The finding is raising concerns that more may need to be done to protect the Earth's most biologically rich areas.
The study, titled "Pollination Decays in Biodiversity Hotspots," appears in the Jan. 16 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
And from the wonderful
Public Library of Science, Biology: when it comes to biodiversity,
Diverse Pollination Networks Key to Ecosystem Sustainability:These results show that losing a species affects plant-pollinator communities, and that such losses may ultimately trigger further reductions in biodiversity, possibly reverberating through the food chain. With as many as 70% of plant species dependent on animal pollinators and at least 82 mammalian pollinator species and 103 bird pollinator species considered threatened or extinct, this is sobering news.
(Synopsis. Includes link to full text.)
What, who, how?
My broken record: First, contact your Senators and tell them to stop S 2110, the Crapo/Pombo gutting of the Endangered Species Act. (pdf of S 2110 as introduced)
Maybe, like virtually every other country on earth, we could ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity and be part of the conversation.
But there is much more action, information, and ammunition at the following sites. Only Elise belongs to them all. Most people, like me, would prefer to find a few that cover their main interests and whose philosophy is congenial.
Center for Biological Diversity
National Wildlife Federation
The Sierra Club
Greenpeace US
Greenpeace International
The Endangered Species Coalition
The Siskiyou Project
Action Network Hub
Environmental Defense
Natural Resources Defense Council
National Audubon Society
The Ocean Conservancy
Oceana
Ducks Unlimited
Union of Concerned Scientists
The Animal Welfare Institute
The World Conservation Union
World Wildlife Fund
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment
Defenders of Wildlife
PETA
The Red List of Endangered Species
SavetheEndangeredSpeciesAct.org