Conservation status

Conservation status refers to the likelihood of a species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species; these include the number remaining, the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.

Overview

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened.

Categories

The IUCN categories, in descending order of threat, are:

• Critically Endangered (CR)
• Endangered (EN)
• Vulnerable (VU)

Below these are categories for species which are less threatened:

• Near Threatened (NT)
• Least Concern (LC)

Species which have not been evaluated (NE), or do not have sufficient data (Data Deficient, DD), also have categories.

Factors Influencing Conservation Status

Several factors influence the conservation status of a species, including:

• Habitat loss: This is often the primary threat to the survival of a species.
• Overhunting: This can affect both terrestrial and aquatic species.
• Pollution: This can damage or destroy habitats and negatively affect species survival.
• Climate change: Changes in temperature and weather patterns can affect species survival.

See Also

• Endangered species
• Threatened species
• Wildlife conservation
• Biodiversity

References

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