9.9 Endangered Species

Explain how species become endangered and strategies to combat the problem.

• A variety of factors can lead to a species becoming threatened with extinction, such as being extensively hunted, having limited diet, being outcompeted by invasive species, or having specific and limited habitat requirements.
• Not all species will be in danger of extinction when exposed to the same changes in their ecosystem. Species that are able to adapt to changes in their environment or that are able to move to a new environment are less likely to face extinction.
• Selective pressures are any factors that change the behaviors and fitness of organisms within an environment.
• Species in a given ecosystem compete for resources like territory, food, mates, and habitat, and this competition may lead to endangerment or extinction.
• Strategies to protect animal populations include criminalizing poaching, protecting animal habitats, and legislation.
• Enduring understanding EIN-4: The health of a species is closely tied to its ecosystem, and minor environmental changes can have a large impact.
• Required environmental legislation for the course, as it relates to solutions to environmental problems: Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); Montreal Protocol; Kyoto Protocol; Endangered Species Act; Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA); Delaney Clause of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).