The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Extinct in the Wild ( EW) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized Organisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation A vulnerable species is a Species which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve Threatened species are any species (including Animals Plants fungi, etc Conservation Dependent ( LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming Near Threatened ( NT) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future although Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category The conservation movement also known as nature conservation is a political social and to some extent scientific movement that seeks to protect natural resources including In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species. ^[1]

The IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. The aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction.

Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology (the research division of the Zoological Society of London), the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and many Specialist Groups within the IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC). BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation The Institute of Zoology (IoZ is the research division of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL in England. The Zoological Society of London (sometimes known by the abbreviation ZSL) is a Learned society founded in London in April 1826 by Sir Thomas Stamford The United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre or UNEP-WCMC is an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme, based Collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List.

IUCN Red List is widely considered to be the most objective and authoritative system for classifying species in terms of the risk of extinction. ^[2]

The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every 5 years if possible, or at least every ten years. This is done in a peer reviewed manner through IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Specialist Groups, which are Red List Authorities responsible for a species, group of species or specific geographic area, or in the case of BirdLife International, an entire class (Aves). Peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work research or Ideas to the scrutiny of others who are BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. ^[3] There are over 7000 extant species in the 2006 Red List which have not had their category evaluated since 1996.

The percentage of species in several groups which are listed as critical     endangered     or vulnerable     on the 2007 IUCN Red List.

2006 release

The 2006 Red List, released on 4 May 2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, and subpopulations. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. In Botanical nomenclature or biological nomenclature variety is a low-level Taxonomic rank below that of species and signifies members of different populations can Fish stocks are subpopulations of a particular Species of Fish, for which intrinsic parameters (growth recruitment mortality and fishing mortality are In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology

From the species evaluated as a whole, 16,118 were considered threatened. Of these, 7,725 were animals, 8,390 were plants, and three were lichen and mushrooms. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Lichens (ˈlaɪkən or /lɪtʃən/ are symbiotic associations of a Fungus (the mycobiont with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont also known as A mushroom is the fleshy Spore -bearing Fruiting body of a Fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source

This release listed 784 species extinctions recorded since 1500 CE, unchanged from the 2004 release. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " This was an increase of 18 from the 766 listed as of 2000. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Each year a small number of "extinct" species may be rediscovered, becoming Lazarus species, or may be reclassified as "data deficient". In Paleontology, a Lazarus taxon (plural taxa) is a Taxon that disappears from one or more periods of the Fossil record, only to appear In 2002, the extinction list dropped to 759 species, but has been rising ever since. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[4]

2007 release

On September 12, 2007, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) released the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the latest update to their online database of species' extinction risks. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. An online database is a Database accessible via a network now generally the internet In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. In this release, they have raised their classification of both the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) from Endangered to Critically Endangered, which is the last category before Extinct in the Wild, due to Ebola virus and poaching, along with other factors. The Western Lowland Gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is a subspecies of the Western Gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla) that lives in montane, The Cross River Gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla diehli) is a subspecies of the Western Gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla) that can be found on the border between An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation Organisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct Extinct in the Wild ( EW) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized Ebola is the common term for a group of Viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, and for the disease which they Poaching is the illegal Hunting, Fishing or Harvesting of wild plants or animals Russ Mittermeier, chief of Swiss-based IUCN's Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction, 188 more than in 2006 (total of 41,415 species on the Red List). Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation ^[5] The Red List includes the Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) in the Critically Endangered category and the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in the Endangered category. The Sumatran Orangutan ( Pongo abelii) is the rarer of the two species of Orangutans Living and endemic to Sumatra island of Indonesia, they are The Bornean Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of Orangutan native to the island of Borneo. ^[6]

Categories

Summary of 2006 IUCN Red List categories.

Species are classified in nine groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.

• Extinct (EX)
• Extinct in the Wild (EW)
• Critically Endangered (CR)
• Endangered (EN)
• Vulnerable (VU)
• Near Threatened (NT)
• Least Concern (LC)
• Data Deficient (DD)
• Not Evaluated (NE)

When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term "threatened" is a grouping of three categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Extinct in the Wild ( EW) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized Organisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation A vulnerable species is a Species which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve Near Threatened ( NT) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future although Least Concern ( LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category Data Deficient ( DD) is a category applied by the IUCN to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of Conservation status Threatened species are any species (including Animals Plants fungi, etc

1994 categories and criteria

1994 IUCN Red List categories (version 2. 3), used for species which have not been reassessed since 2001.

The older 1994 has only a single "Lower Risk" category which contained three subcategories:

• Conservation Dependent (LR/cd)
• Near Threatened (LR/nt)
• Least Concern (LR/lc)

In the 2001 system, Near Threatened and Least Concern have now become their own categories, while Conservation Dependent is no longer used and has been merged into Near Threatened. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Conservation Dependent ( LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming Near Threatened ( NT) is a Conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future although

Possibly Extinct

The additional category of Possibly Extinct (PE)^[7] is used by Birdlife International, the Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List^[8]. BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation Birdlife International has recommended PE become an official category. BirdLife International has not stated whether a "Possibly Extinct in the Wild" category should also be added, although it is mentioned that Spix's Macaw has this status. The Spix's Macaw ( Cyanopsitta spixii) is the only member of the Parrot genus Cyanopsitta. "Possibly Extinct" can be considered a subcategory of "Critically Endangered".

Criticism

The IUCN Red List has come under criticism on the grounds of secrecy surrounding the sources of data, among other allegations. ^[9]

See also

• Conservation status
• Red List Index
• Regional Red List
• List of endangered species
• Wildlife conservation
• EDGE of Existence Programme
• EDGE Species
• African Wild Dog Conservancy

References

• IUCN, 2006. Summary Statistics for Globally Threatened Species (1, 3a, 3b). Retrieved 5 May 2006. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
• IUCN, 1994. Categories & Criteria (version 2.3). Retrieved February 12, 2005. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• IUCN, 2001. Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). Retrieved February 12, 2005. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
• Rodrigues, A. S. L. , Pilgrim, J. D. , Lamoreux, J. F. , Hoffmann, M. & Brooks, T. M. 2006. The value of the IUCN Red List for conservation Trends in Ecology & Evolution 21(2): 71-76.

External links

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species home
• Search the Red List