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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

References[edit | edit source]

Conservation status Resources
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