Endangered species
Many different species of animals, plants, insects and fungi are become endangered and going instinct much faster than usual at an alarming rate. But why do we need to have so many different species, why are they important? And how many species are endangered?
What are endangered species?
An entire species goes extinct when the last individual of a species like an animal, plant, insect or fungi dies. Endangered species are classified endangered when there are very few individuals left of a species, and their species are threatened of extinction. The global red-list IUCN Red List Of Threathend Species has considered about 157 000 of all known species in the world if they are endangered, and more than 44 000 of them are! That is roughly 28% of the considered species! In the world though, there are a lot more species, but we don't really know exactly how many there is. The number of identified species lies around 2.16 million species according to Our World In Data, but they warn about the possibility for one specie being identified as two different in some instances.
Causes and consequences:
Loss of habitat and food alternatives is a big reason for animals becoming endangered. Loss of habitat can happen due to
Endangered animals can cause imbalance in ecosystems and can affect other animals in the food chain negatviely, also impacting the different insects, bees, fungi and decomposeres and more that gives us food and that keeps the cycle of the nature going.
Animals going extinct affects the biodiversity in that area and essentially in the whole world as well. Biodiversity(The diversity of plant and animal life) is important beacause it forms a structure for life on which we depend for a lot of things like stable climate, food, water and a lot more, according to the United Nations.
Photo by: Uriel Soberanes
Photo of an orangutan
deforestation, forest fires, ice melting etc, and for marine life it can occur due to loss of coral reefs. Animals might lose their food alternatives due to loss of habitat, less rainwater, less plants and fruits, and also less animals. Beacause if one animal moves, it can affect the whole foodchain, causing other animals in the same foodchain to lose their food options.
Species go extinct due to climate change in the form of habitatloss, which often include deforestation, coral bleaching, icemelting and others, depending on what kind of habitat the specie lives in. Therefore everything you can do to help prevent climate change, plastic pollution, deforestation and habitatloss, will also help maintain the great biodiversity on earth!​​
Here is a list of a few things you can do to help prevent more species from going extinct:
How can we help maintain great biodiversity?
Make a beehive!
3
Make a beehive or a wonder garden for animals by planting a lot of plants and giving out food and water to animals and insects in your garden. If you don't have a garden, or isn't capable of doing so, a simple birdfeeder on your balcony can do the trick!
1
Use less plastic!
Plastic can harm animals, using less of it will reduce the risk of animals dying beacause of it.
2
Recycle!
Try recycling and picking up plastic and trash so it
doesn't end up in the
nature! This can be a great acticity to do with children!
Make a beehive!