An Atlas of Endangered Species

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The Tahiti reed-warbler is also endangered because of human activity. The tropical weed Miconia is a non-native species that has taken over much of Tahiti’s native vegetation. The reed-warbler lives almost exclusively in Tahiti’s bamboo forests. The bird nests in bamboo and feeds on flowers and insects that live there. As development and invasive species such as Miconia destroy the bamboo forests, the population of Tahiti reed-warblers continues to shrink. There are currently 41,415 listed endangered species, and over 16,000 of them are threatened with extinction.

Three species vanish every hour. Our incredible world is at risk, and we all have a part to play in saving it. An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. Biologists, anthropologists, meteorologists, and other scientists have developed complex ways to determine a species’ probability of extinction. These formulas calculate the chances a species can survive, without human protection, in the wild.A species is classified as critically endangered when its population has declined at least 90 percent and the cause of the decline is known. A species is also classified as endangered when its population has declined at least 80 percent and the cause of the decline is not known. Hexham Book Festival is a Not For Profit CIC and delivers an annual festival that takes place in and around Hexham each year. Zoologist and BBC Springwatch presenter Megan McCubbin looks at 20 of these amazing creatures, from the ‘celebrities’ of the red list - the tigers, the northern white rhino, the kakapo - to the lesser-known, and sometimes less loved species. McCubbin vividly paints a portrait of them, their world and the people trying to protect them. A species is classified as endangered when its population has declined at least 70 percent and the cause of the decline is known. A species is also classified as endangered when its population has declined at least 50 percent and the cause of the decline is not known.

An Atlas of Endangered Species: stories from the brink of extinction – and the fight for survival by Megan McCubbin is published by Two Roads.

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Inbreeding is reproduction with close family members. Groups of species that have a tendency to inbreed usually have little genetic variation, because no new genetic information is introduced to the group. Disease is much more common, and much more deadly, among inbred groups. Inbred species do not have the genetic variation to develop resistance to the disease. For this reason, fewer offspring of inbred groups survive to maturity. The Cuban macaw ( Ara tricolor) was a tropical parrot native to Cuba and a small Cuban island, Isla de la Juventud. Hunting and collecting the birds for pets led to the bird’s extinction. The last specimen of the Cuban macaw was collected in 1864. Development can also endanger species indirectly. Some species, such as fig trees of the rain forest, may provide habitat for other species. As trees are destroyed, species that depend on that tree habitat may also become endangered. Tree crowns provide habitat in the canopy, or top layer, of a rainforest. Plants such as vines, fungi such as mushrooms, and insects such as butterflies live in the rain forest canopy. So do hundreds of species of tropical birds and mammals such as monkeys. As trees are cut down, this habitat is lost. Species have less room to live and reproduce. Human activity can also lead to a loss of genetic variation. Overhunting and overfishing have reduced the populations of many animals. Reduced population means there are fewer breeding pairs. A breeding pair is made up of two mature members of the species that are not closely related and can produce healthy offspring. With fewer breeding pairs, genetic variation shrinks. There isn’t a single map in this book – so the title is more than a little odd – no matter, the contents are good.