Characteristics of Rare and Endangered Species
Part A
Surf through the list of official U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Endangered and Threatened Species List at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/us-species.html. Click on the various categories of organisms and scan the lists (e.g., mammals, clams, or flowering plants).
Select five different species (different kinds of organisms) from the list and find the following information for it. More than one answer can be found for the “Where found” and “Major Threats” categories.
Species Name:
Kind of Organism:
Plant Arthropod Mollusk Fish Amphibian Reptile Bird Mammal Other
Endangerment Status:
Endangered Threatened
Where Found:
Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest Central United States Alaska
Major Threats:
Naturally small population Habitat loss Invasive species Overexploitation Pollution
Part B
Surf through the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at http://www.redlist.org. Type in the Text Search box the common name of an organism (e.g. oak, hawk). Also try searching by region of the world and country.
Select five different species (different kinds of organisms) from the list and find the following information for it. More than one answer can be found for the “Where found” and “Major Threats” categories.
Species Name:
Kind of Organism:
Plant Arthropod Mollusk Fish Amphibian Reptile Bird Mammal Other
Endangerment Status:
Critically endangered Endangered Vulnerable Lower risk/near threatened
Where Found:
North America Central and South America Africa Australia Temperate Eurasia Tropical Asia Antarctica Island(s)
Major Threats:
Naturally small population Habitat loss Invasive species Overexploitation Pollution
