Angermeier, P. L. (1995).

Ecological attributes of extinction-prone species: loss of freshwater

fishes of Virginia. Conservation Biology 9(1), 143-158. Retrieved from
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In this article, the author seeks to find similarities between extirpated species to find if
extinction-prone species are ecologically distinct from other animals by examining Virginia fish.
The author argues that proactive conservation strategies will be more effective than traditional
reactive approaches, but that requires the ability to predict potential extirpation. Through
statistical analyses, he determines that fish with limited geographic range, limited range in
habitat size, diadromous (migrate from freshwater bodies of water to marine waters), and
ecologically specialized are most susceptible to extinction. Due to limited data on many
populations, the author argues that the best approach to conservation is maintaining the
ecological integrity of the habitats- monitoring water quality and habitat structures. Since this
article is over twenty years old, there is the potential for new information to have developed in
the past decades. This article is helpful because it suggests a course of legislation that does not
regulate specific populations, but rather suggests a course that can help the environment as a
whole. It also emphasizes that there could be similarities in endangered species, meaning
humans could more effectively target species in peril.