Teacher Information!

 Necessary materials:
 PowerPoint Guide
 “Unintended Consequences: The case of the red-cockaded
woodpecker”—in-class reading
Causes of Extinction

Fish and Wildlife Resources

 Students will be able to…
 Discuss factors contributing to
extinction/endangerment
 Discuss the Endangered Species Act
Why do some species become extinct or
endangered and others do not?
 Extinction is natural
 99% of all species that have ever existed are
extinct.
 Species spend about 1 to 10 million years on
earth.
Why do some species become extinct or
endangered and others do not?

 Some species are more vulnerable and less

adaptive
 Specialists
 Require very specific foods
 Endemic species
 Occur in only one place on earth
The extinction rate has greatly increased in
the last 10,000 years. WHY?

Golden Toad—1989

Tasmanian Tiger—1936 Pyrenean Ibex—2000

Passenger
Pigeon—1914
 PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased
rate of extinction
 HIPPO
 Habitat alteration:
 desertification, deforestation
 urbanization, wetland destruction
 agriculture, global climate change
 Invasive species
 Utilize resources
 Outcompete native species
 PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased
rate of extinction
 HIPPO
 Pollution—probably less of a threat than other factors
 Population growth (human)
 Exacerbates other factors
 Overexploitation
 Hunting
 Resource consumption
Endangered Species Act (1966)

 Led to the creation of the “Endangered Species List”

 Positive effects
 Recovery & removal (delisted) from the Endangered
Species List
 American alligator, peregrine falcon, bald eagle, brown
pelican, gray wolf, gray whale
Endangered Species Act (1966)

 What are the negative effects of the ESA?

 Read : “Unintended Consequences: The Case of the
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker”

 Why would land users not want endangered species in

an area?
 “Shoot, shovel, and shut up” principle
Review
 Discuss factors contributing to
extinction/endangerment
 Summarize the Endangered Species Act