Nov-03-2009Species' extinction threat grows
(topic overview)
CONTENTS:SOURCESFIND OUT MORE ON THIS SUBJECTThe new list features 293 reptiles which were not there last year, bringing the total threatened to 1,677, including 469 that face extinction and 22 are that are believed extinct. On the Philippine islands alone, 165 endemic species of reptile have been included for the first time, such as the herbivorous Panay Monitor Lizard, and the spectacular Sail-fin Water Lizard, which can be a metre long and is so named because it has a "sail" at the end of its tail which it uses for propulsion through the water. The young walk on water, using their large, flattened toes. Both species are under threat from the destruction of their habitat and because they are hunted for food. The new red list also includes 12,151 plants, among them the extraordinary Queen of the Andes, found high up in Peru and Bolivia, which seeds only once in 80 years before dying and grows up to 9ft tall. It is suffering from climate change and is being trampled or eaten by free-roaming cattle. There are also 7,615 invertebrates, such as the Giant Jewel, a huge, red dragonfly found in south-east Nigeria and south-west Cameroon, vulnerable because of the destruction of the forest; and 3,120 freshwater fishes, of which 1,147 are close to extinction. The Brown Mudfish, found only in New Zealand, which can survive out of water during a drought by burying itself in the mud, has been moved into the "vulnerable" category because drainage, irrigation or land development has destroyed up to 90 per cent of its wetlands habitat.
[1] More than one in five of all known mammals, over a quarter of reptiles and 70 percent of plants are under threat, according to the survey, which featured over 2,800 new species compared with 2008. "These results are just the tip of the iceberg," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, who manages the list. He said "many more millions" of species that have yet to be assessed could also be under serious threat. The only mammal to be added to the list this year is the Eastern Voalavo, a rodent that lives in the mountainous forests of Madagascar. IUCN classified it as "endangered" — two steps from extinction in the wild — because its habitat is being destroyed by slash-and-burn farming. The Red List already includes species such as the tiger, of which only 3,200 are thought to exist in the wild and whose habitat in Asia is steadily shrinking due to encroachment by humans.
[2] The planet's amphibians are the most threatened of all species with 1895 of 6285 species assessed in the Red List threatened with extinction. The Red List ranks species according to their population status and threat levels. It shows the effects that habitat loss and degradation, over-exploitation, pollutants and climate change are having on the world's species. "As crucial climate talks in Copenhagen draw near and with the International Year of Biodiversity around the corner, this is a wake-up call for world leaders," said Amanda Nickson, Director of the WWF International Species Programme. "We are a world away from protecting species from the threats they face and meeting the globally endorsed 2002 commitment of the Convention on Biological Diversity to deliver a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010." "This failure and the mechanisms to overcome it will need to be the dominant agenda item on next year's meeting of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity." Through its global initiatives, WWF is pursuing major efforts to arrest biodiversity decline in some of the most spectacular and highly diverse places on the planet, and to recover populations of some of the most endangered species, such as tigers. It is estimated that less than 3200 tigers exist in the wild in a wide arc of countries from far eastern Russia to India and Indonesia. Tigers - an apex predator residing at the top of its food chain - occupy less than seven percent of their original range, which has contracted 40 percent from 10 years ago.
[3] Today the Kihansi spray toad will be declared extinct in the wild, a symbol of the plight facing 17,000 species that are slipping towards obscurity. In the case of this charming creature, which unusually for a toad does not start life as a tadpole but as a tiny purple-hued toadlet, a dam and a fungus have combined to bring about its extermination. Almost one-third of amphibians are at risk, making them the most endangered group on the planet, according to the latest Red List of Threatened Species, published today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
[1] The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, which only became known to science four years ago, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Switzerland-based IUCN surveyed a total of 47,677 animals and plants for this year's "Red List" of endangered species and determined that 17,291 of them are threatened with extinction.
[2] An extinction crisis is threatening 17,291 of the world's species, with 70 per cent of plants under threat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today released its Red List of threatened species, which warned an extinction crisis was threatening the natural world.
[4] GLAND, SWITZERLAND -- (Marketwire) -- 11/02/09 -- The latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species should cause alarm over the continuing unprecedented loss of species and the failure so far of mechanisms to arrest biodiversity loss, WWF said today.
[3] The list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the most respected inventory of biodiversity covering more than 47,000 of the world's species. Scientists looked at 3,120 freshwater fish this year, 510 more than a year ago. They found that 1,147, or a third, are now threatened with extinction.
[5] The tiny Kihansi Spray Toad, which once numbered at least 17,000 at the Kihansi Falls in Tanzania, joined the list of creatures which are now extinct in the wild. "Its decline is due to the construction of a dam upstream of the Kihansi Falls that removed 90 percent of the original water flow to the gorge," said the IUCN in a statement. Overall, this year's survey found that over a third, or 17,291 species out of 47,677 assessed are now threatened with extinction.
[5] The Kihansi Spray Toad was listed as critically endangered in last year's Red List. This year it is categorised as extinct in the wild.
[6] A further 484 are deemed "critically endangered", 754 "endangered" and 657 "vulnerable". The Kihansi Spray Toad ( Nectophyrnoides asperginis ) is one species that has seen its status change from critically endangered to extinct in the wild. It was only found in the Kihamsi Falls area of Tanzania, but its population had crashed in recent years from a high of an estimated 17,000 individuals.
[7] One amphibian species, the Kihansi spray toad ( Nectophrynoides asperginis ), has been moved from the IUCN's Critically Endangered list and is considered Extinct in the Wild.
[8] Of the world's 5,490 mammals, 79 are extinct or extinct in the wild, with a further 188 critically endangered, 449 endangered and 505 vulnerable. A further 293 reptiles were added to the list this year, with the list also showing that 1,895 of the planet's 6,285 amphibians are in danger of extinction, making them the most threatened group of species known to date.
[4] Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog was described in 2008. It enters the Red List this year as a critically endangered species. The IUCN says it could be threatened by the chytrid fungus disease, which is present in the area where this species occurs.
[6] Of the world's 5,490 mammals, 79 are extinct in the wild, 188 critically endangered, 449 endangered, and 505 vulnerable. The Eastern Voalavo, a rodent found only in the tropical forest of Madagascar, features on the red list as an "endangered" species for the first time because slash-and-burn is destroying its habitat.
[1] Out of the 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 17,291 were deemed to be at serious risk. These included 21% of mammals, 30% of amphibians, 70% of plants and 35% of invertebrates. Conservationists warned that not enough was being done to tackle the main threats, such as habitat loss.
[7] "Creatures living in freshwater have long been neglected," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of species programme at the IUCN. "This year we have again added a large number of them to the IUCN Red List and are confirming the high levels of threat to many freshwater animals and plants. "This reflects the state of our previous water resources. There is now an urgency to pursue our effort but more importantly, to start using this information to move towards a wise use of water resources."
[5] The Eastern Voalavo (Voalavo antsahabensis) appears on the IUCN Red List for the first time in the endangered category. This rodent, endemic to Madagascar, is confined to montane tropical forest and is under threat from slash-and-burn farming. There are now 1,677 reptiles on the IUCN Red List, with 293 added this year.
[9] The latest analysis of the IUCN Red List shows the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met. It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we're rapidly running out of time."
[4] The environmental group WWF also urged action, saying the latest Red List update "should cause alarm over the continuing unprecedented loss of species and the failure so far of mechanisms to arrest biodiversity loss." "As crucial climate talks in Copenhagen draw near and with the International Year of Biodiversity around the corner, this is a wake-up call for world leaders," said Amanda Nickson, Director of the WWF International Species Programme.
[5] The overall percentage of threatened species has gone down by two percent. This is not because the status of the world's biodiversity is improving, but because we have assessed more species. In the past, Red List assessments often focused on species that were already thought to be threatened, but as the Red List grows to include more complete assessments across entire groups, we are beginning to have a better idea of the relative proportion of species which are threatened against those which are not threatened.
[3] The 2009 edition of the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was released today, and the news isn't good: 17,291 species out of 47,677 assessed species, or 36 percent, are threatened with extinction.
[8] The 2009 Red List update, issued today by the IUCN, shows more than one-third (36 per cent) of the 47,677 species assessed are threatened with extinction.
[3] Of the 47,677 species assessed, 17,291 were threatened with extinction. Of those, 21 per cent of all known mammals, 30 per cent of all known amphibians, 12 per cent of all known birds, 28 per cent of reptiles, 37 per cent of freshwater fishes, 70 per cent of plants, 35 per cent of invertebrates assessed were under threat.
[4] More than a third of species assessed in a major international biodiversity study are threatened with extinction, scientists have warned.
[7] The Red List also shows that 17,291 out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction.
[9] Of the 12,151 plants on the IUCN Red List, 8,500 are threatened with extinction, with 114 already extinct or extinct in the wild.
[4] The IUCN Red List is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
[4] Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at ZSL, added: "The commitment to our environment and the next generation must start at the Copenhagen climate change negotiations." While, Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List Unit, warned: "This year's IUCN Red List makes for sobering reading. These results are just the tip of the iceberg
[4] There are now 3,120 freshwater fishes on the IUCN Red List, up 510 species from last year.
[4] Last year, the Red List examined 44,838 species and found that a similar proportion (16,298 species) were close to becoming extinct. "What we haven't got this year is good news," said Vie.
[5] In Lake Dianchi in China, the assessment found all seven freshwater snails and 12 of the 13 freshwater fish species new to the Red List were threatened by overharvesting, pollution and introduced fish species.
[3] GENEVA — More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources, an updated global "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday.
[5] Governments and international conservation bodies use the list as guidance when deciding which species to place under legal protection. The group added almost 300 reptiles this year, including the Panay monitor lizard and the sail-fin water lizard, both of which are hunted for food and threatened by logging in their native Philippines.
[2] The latest update lists amphibians as the most seriously affected group of organisms on the planet, with 1,895 of the 6,285 known species listed as threatened. Of these, it lists 39 species as either "extinct" or "extinct in the wild".
[7] Zoo Atlanta scientist Joseph Mendelson was part of the group that identified the frog as a distinct species. He said it is likely that dozens or even hundreds of other amphibians have become or are going to be extinct before they are even discovered. "This one we caught right before it went off the planet, but other species surely we didn't catch in time," Mendelson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "When you name a new species you're attached to it, and when that species disappears so quickly it's impossible not to have feelings associated with that," he said.
[2] GENEVA — A rare tree frog found only in central Panama could soon croak its last, as deforestation and infection push the species toward extinction, an environmental group said Tuesday.
[2] A dam upstream of the Kihansi Falls has dried up the gorge where it lived, and an aggressive fungal disease known as chytridiomycosis appears to have pushed the toad population over the edge, IUCN said. The same fate could soon befall the unusually large Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, which glides through the forest using its big webbed feet to steer safely to the ground. It is the only known frog species where the tadpoles feed off skin shed by the male while he guards the young.
[2] The only known survivors are in zoos. In 2006, the chytrid fungus also made an ominous appearance in that part of the jungle of central Panama that is home to Rabb's Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog, a much large creature than the Kihansi Spray Toad, which used its huge feet to glide from tree tops to the ground. The male of this frog, uniquely, allows tadpoles to feed by scraping nutrients off his back. The male's call has been heard only once since the fungus was first spotted, and all attempts to breed this frog in captivity have so far failed.
[1] The Kihansi spray toad of southern Tanzania is now thought to be extinct in the wild.
[2] The Kihansi spray toad, three-quarters of an inch long when fully grown, lived in a wild gorge beneath the Kihansi waterfall in Tanzania.
[1] 
Science currently recognizes around 1.8 million species on Earth (out of an estimated five million to 30 million total species--the true total remains unknown). The health of the vast majority of those known species has yet to be assessed. Even among those on the IUCN's list, 14 percent lack enough information to judge their health (or threat level) in the wild.
[8] Last year's list assessed 44,838 species; information on more than 2,800 additional species has been added in 2009. This includes more than 1,300 previously unassessed dragonflies and damselflies, of which the IUCN recently completed a major new study.
[8] The 165 endemic Philippine species new to the IUCN Red List include the Panay Monitor Lizard (Varanus mabitang), which is endangered.
[9] We have only managed to assess 47,663 species so far; there are many more millions out there which could be under serious threat," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List unit.
[5] The deadly chytrid fungus is blamed for the species's final death note as well as for many other declines in amphibian populations over the past few years. "These results are just the tip of the iceberg," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List Unit, in a prepared statement.
[8] The updated data from the 2009 Red List is being made publicly available on the IUCN website on Tuesday.
[7] The scientists also added 1,360 species of dragonflies and damselflies to the Red List, and found that out of 1,989 in all, 261 were at risk of disappearing.
[5] Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have contributed 72 per cent of the new data added to the Red List.
[4] "Embargoed until 00:01 Tuesday November 3, 2009 Scientists from The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have contributed 72 per cent of the new data added to the IUCN Red List(embargoed press release pasted below). This includes information on the sta".
[10] Trouble for the toads began with the construction of a dam which removed 90 per cent of water flow to the gorge. [9] Conservationists suggest that the rapid decline was primarily the result of of a dam being constructed upstream from the toads' habitat, which resulted in a 90% reduction in the flow of water.
[7] In a rare ray of hope in the new assessment, one freshwater fish, the Australian Grayling has been moved from being listed as Vulnerable to being listed as Near Threatened as a result of conservation efforts which included putting fish ladders on dams, improving streamside vegetation and policing anglers.
[3] The Australian grayling, a freshwater fish, has graduated from "vulnerable" to "near threatened" thanks to fish ladders at dams and other protection measures, the group said.
[2] The Sail-fin Water Lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) enters in the vulnerable category and is also threatened by habitat loss. [9] The assessment featured a special focus on freshwater species, which are being hit hard by pollution, loss of wetlands and water diversions.
[3] Significant international meetings next year to address biodiversity loss and the threats to planetary life support systems include a major Conferences of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
[3] "The latest analysis. shows that the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met," she added. "It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we are rapidly running out of time."
[7] Biodiversity loss is an alarming indicator of the general health of our planet and for the wellbeing of our own species. We must act to halt this decline," said Mark Wright, conservation science advisor at WWF-UK.
[4] "The continued and unprecedented loss of species must not be accepted as just a sad reality we can do nothing about," said Mark Wright, conservation science advisor at WWF-UK. "Biodiversity loss is an alarming indicator of the general health of our planet and of the well-being of our own species. We must act to halt this decline."
[1] Ms Nickson noted that the CBD's 2010 target had probably underestimated the growing impact of climate change, which is now being increasingly recognised as an additional threat leading species of animals and plants towards extinction. [3] The assessment of freshwater species continued to alarm, with more than one third of assessed freshwater fishes under threat of extinction and approaching half of all molluscs.
[3] Amphibians seem to be facing the greatest threat, with 1,895 of 6,285 assessed species in danger of extinction.
[8] The Panay Monitor Lizard is endemic to the island of Panay in the Philippines. The lizard feeds largely on fruit, but degradation of its lowland forest habitat is thought to pose a serious threat to the species.
[6] As tigers require a large home range, protection of the species and its habitat bring huge benefits to thousands of other species. An international summit scheduled for 2010 in Vladivostok in Russia is a critical opportunity to reverse the decline in tiger numbers and ensure their survival in the wild.
[3] The Red List, regarded as the most authoritative assessment of the state of the planet's species, draws on the work of thousands of scientists around the globe.
[7] "Tigers are a symbol of what is happening to many species across the globe, and demonstrate the urgent need for the world to come up with the political will, policies, resources and incentives to maintain a living and diverse planet, " said Ms Nickson. "The IUCN is frank that its assessments are likely to understate the real extent of the loss of species."
[3] Simon Stuart, chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission, said: "The world's reptiles are undoubtedly suffering, but the picture may be much worse than it currently looks.
[9] Of the world's 5,490 mammals, 79 are extinct or extinct in the wild, with 188 critically endangered, 449 endangered and 505 vulnerable. [9] "In 2002, a globally endorsed commitment on the Convention on Biological Diversity promised to deliver a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. We're not even close to meeting this. This failure and the mechanisms to overcome it will need to be the dominant agenda item on next year'''s meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity."
[4] SOURCES1.
Red alert: scientists identify 17,000 endangered species - Nature, Environment - The Independent2.
The Associated Press: Lizards, rodent, frog added to endangered list3.
Red List Update Shows Up Global Failure to Slow Biodiversity Loss | SYS-CON CANADA4.
Thousands of species 'facing extinction' | inthenews.co.uk5.
AFP: 1,147 fish species threatened with extinction: IUCN6.
BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Threatened species7.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Species' extinction threat grows8.
Extinction Countdown: IUCN Red List update: 17,291 species are threatened with extinction9.
Red alert over more species as spray toads are labelled 'extinct' - Scotsman.com News10.
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