The Race Towards Extinction

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The Race Towards Extinction

• Jackie Green
• EDU 290
• Click Here for News Source

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The Facts

• 14 million species estimated on Earth
• Only 1.75 million are documented
• Many will be extinct before identified
• Global Diversity is Decreasing
• 762 known species disappeared in 500 years

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Primary Reason for Extinction

• Humans!!!
• Examples of threats
• Expanding cities
• Deforestation
• Agriculture
• Fishing

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Extinction Rate Today

• Is 1000-10,000 times higher than normal
• High rate due to unnatural conditions
• Meaning
• Many Animals will disappear within decades

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The Red List

• List of Threatened Species
• 3 Categories
• Vulnerable
• Endangered
• Critically Endangered

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The List Continued

• 12,259 on this years list
• Includes both plants and animals
• Last year - only 11,167
• Produced by about 7,000 experts

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Some Critically Endangered Species

• Many of the Galapagos Island Snails
• Southeast Asias Mekong giant catfish

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Galapagos Island Snails

• Over 49 known species
• Many possibly already extinct
• Charles Darwin collected and studied these
• Survived volcanoes and extreme drought
• Invasive species big threat
• Human invasion also big problem

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Mekong Giant Catfish

• One of Worlds largest freshwater fish
• Up to 10 feet long
• Can weigh 660 pounds
• Population declined 80 in 13 years
• Causes are Overfishing, Habitat loss, etc.

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In other words

• Extinction is becoming a bigger problem
• Human activity is main threat
• Preventative acts must be made

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References

• http//abcnews.go.com
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