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Extinction Blog

 

 

African rhino populations boom, but one species goes bust

 

While many rhino populations in Africa have grown in recent years, one rare

sub-species may have been completely lost.

 

As of two years ago, only four northern white rhinoceros lived in their only

habitat, the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Garamba National Park.

Unfortunately, recent fieldwork has failed to turn up any evidence that even

these last four rhinos still exist, and researchers fear that they have falled

prey to poachers' bullets.

 

According to Wikipedia, nine more northern white rhinos live in captivity in

zoos in the United States and the Czech Republic. Several of those rhinos are in

their late thirties, and reportedly only three of them are capable of breeding.

 

According to recent IUCN surveys, there are now 21,000 total rhinos in Africa:

17,480 southern white rhinos (up from 14,500 in 2005) and 4,180 critically

endangered black rhinos (up from 3,730). The black rhino numbers represent three

different sub-species.

 

The West African black rhino, another sub-species, was declared extinct in 2006.

 

 

Posted by John Platt on Jun 17, 2008 at 11:09 AM

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Protection sought for 32 endangered species " at the knife's edge of extinction "

 

Conservation group WildEearth Guardians has filed an emergency petition with the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect 32 rare plant and animal species " at

the knife's edge of extinction. "

 

All 32 species -- some of which may already be extinct -- were originally part

of larger petitions to protect 674 species filed with the FWS in 2006 and 2007.

Those filings have not yet yielded a response.

 

Many of the species on the list exist in tiny habitats, often smaller than one

acre, that could easily be wiped out by a single natural or man-made disaster.

 

The list of species includes:

 

Isoperla jewetti -- a stonefly last seen in 1980 and believed to be extinct

 

Brown's microcylloepus riffle beetle (Microcylloepus browni) -- the species

exists in a single habitat just 35 square meters in size

 

Scott optioservus riffle beetle (Optioservus phaeus) -- the species lives in a

single area less than 1 acre in size in Kansas

 

Drummond mountainsnail (Oreohelix sp. 4) -- this species' only known habitat is

just 6 feet long

 

Cylindrical vertigo (Vertigo binneyana) -- this snail may already be extinct

 

Salina mucket (Potamilus metnecktayi) -- a freshwater mussel, just three

individuals were found in 2003, and may have been the last of their species

 

Texas grease bush (Glossopetalon texense) and many-flowered unicorn-plant

(Proboscidea spicata) -- these plants were last seen in 1967

 

Will FWS respond to this petition? To be honest, it seems unlikely. But hope

springs eternal -- unlike most of these species.

 

You can read WildEarth Guardians' entire petition in PDF form here.

 

 

Posted by John Platt on Jun 16, 2008 at 11:12 AM

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Gold rush

 

Oregonians could earn themselves $100 by finding evidence of a rare plant, the

golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta), a species thought to be extinct in the

state for nearly 100 years.

 

The golden paintbrush, which exists in only 11 known locations in Canada and

Washington state, is listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

 

According to scientists, the plant needs 15 viable populations with 1,000

specimens each in order to remain sustainable.

 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to establish four paintbrush

populations in Oregon. If they find the plant alive anywhere in the state, it

will help them determine the best locations to get those new populations going.

 

Good luck, eagle-eyed Oregonians!

 

 

Posted by John Platt on Jun 13, 2008 at 10:23 AM

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Mediterranean sharks see 99% decline, now " functionally extinct "

 

Just a few weeks after six shark species were added to the IUCN Red List of

Endangered Species, a new study says that shark populations in the Mediterranean

have declined a shocking 99% over the last two centuries, putting the entire

Mediterranean ecosystem at risk.

 

The study, published this week in the journal Conservation Biology, analyzed

population trends for five species and found that their numbers have dropped

between 96 and 99.99% from historic levels. The authors place the blame solely

on human activity, specifically overfishing.

 

Species affected by this dramatic loss include hammerhead (Sphyrna spp.), blue

(Prionace glauca), mackerel (Isurus oxyrinchus and Lamna nasus), and thresher

sharks (Alopias vulpinus). Hammerheads have not been seen in the Mediterranean

for at least 13 years.

 

At least 15 other species considered for the study did not have sufficient

historic records to be examined thoroughly.

 

According to the authors of the study, " So far, the lack of quantitative

population assessments has impeded shark conservation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Our study fills this critical information gap, suggesting that current levels of

exploitation put large sharks at risk of extinction in the Mediterranean Sea.

Possible ecosystem effects of these losses involve a disruption of top-down

control and a release of midlevel consumers. "

 

Lead author Francesco Ferretti of Dalhousie University told The Daily Telegraph

that large sharks were considered pests by fishermen, who may have killed them

off to keep fish populations higher.

 

 

Posted by John Platt on Jun 12, 2008 at 10:29 AM

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Endangered species news catch-up

 

Bats, snakes, owls, bears, and other species are in the news...

 

Now it's bats vs. wind power -- With an unexplained illness killing tens of

thousands of bats in the Northeast, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now

asked developers of three new wind-power farms to relocate their planned

projects. Research has actually shown that wind farms pose little threat to

birds or bats, but with " white-nose syndrome " running rampant, the Service

doesn't appear to want to take any extra chances.

 

The bear facts -- Meanwhile, the USFWS has proposed 1.3 million acres of

critical habitat to protect the endangered Louisiana black bear. (It's only been

16 years since the bear was added to the Endangered Species List, so it's about

time.) The Louisiana black bear is the model for that ubiquitous stuffed toy,

the teddy bear.

 

Who? -- The USFWS is also reviewing the status of the cactus ferruginous pygmy

owl, which could see it being placed back on the Endangered Species List. There

are just 30 pygmy owls left in Arizona.

 

Ivory vs. eBay -- Is the ginormous online auction site doing enough to curtail

illegal ivory sales? No, charges the International Fund for Animal Welfare,

which says the number of ivory auctions has gone up nearly 50% since last year.

Someone has earned a bad feedback rating.

 

Cape Town crisis -- Cape Town, South Africa, is home to an amazing variety of

biodiversity. Well, at least for now. Dozens of plant species within the city's

borders exist nowhere else on Earth, but urbanization threatens to wipe them all

out.

 

Snakes a lot -- Let's end today's report with some good news! After being almost

hunted into extinction, the Lake Erie water snake's population has rebounded

from just 1,200 snakes to 12,000 -- a success that may see it being dropped from

the Endangered Species List. The Lake Erie water snake isn't venomous, but it

does bite, and Great Lakes vacationers didn't like that, so they tried to kill

off all the snakes. Good thing a few survived.

 

 

Posted by John Platt on Jun 10, 2008 at 9:53 AM

 

 

“We now know that a neo-conservative is an arsonist who sets the house on fire

and six years later boasts that no one can put it out.†- Bill Moyers