Endangered Species
Living organisms have different ways of adapting to the changes that happen to their habitats. The race for adaption has over the years made the world to become a center of competition between organisms. Although nature has a way of balancing the existence of organisms, some species fall short of the survival standards with time. Endangered species are the organisms that have a higher risk of not surviving the changes that come along with the need for adaptation. The population of endangered species decreases faster than the rate of the increment that is needed to support the expected survival for an unforeseeable future. Human beings are responsible for noticing endangered species by checking the rate at which their population is decreasing. The causes of endangerment vary between a species and another although they may be broadly divided into natural and human causes. Endangered species are living organisms whose population is at risk of falling to zero due to either natural or human factors.
The concept of endangered species is explained depending on the population of a particular species and the risks facing the species. When the population of a specific species is significantly low, extinction may occur, and thus the species is said to be endangered. On the other side, a species that is faced by high risks is also said to be threatened. The population of the species may be significantly high, but some risks may wipe out an entire population of organisms in the foreseeable future. For example, the destruction of the habitat of a particular species may lead to extinction regardless of the population that is already alive. Therefore, the population is not the only measure for a species to fall under endangerment classification. Species become endangered due to the reason that varies between natural and human causes.
The endangerment of species may happen from natural causes. Natural causes are detrimental when they play the role of endangering a species because human beings do not have control over them. Also, some natural causes of extinction may be triggered by human factors. For example, global warming may be associated with several natural calamities, yet human activities play a significant role in causing global warming. The most common explanation given to the natural cause of extinction is that nature is creating a balance by doing away with organisms that do not play a significant role in the eco-balance. Whichever explanation is given however; nature is responsible for most cases of endangerment.
Nature plays a role in the endangerment of species through destruction of habitats or even direct killing of organisms. Some natural phenomena that are responsible for endangerment include floods, hurricanes, and even global warming (Wayne, Robert and Shaffer, 2681). In the case of flooding, some species are only found in specific areas and limited numbers. When flooding happens in such areas, the habitat for the species is destroyed, and most of the organisms may die. Hurricanes also play a similar role to floods. Global warming, on the other hand, creates unfavorable conditions for certain organisms. For example, a particular species of bears lives in ice-covered areas of the north pole. Global warming leads to early melting of ice, leaving the bears with a long-than-usual time to adapt. Unfortunately, the population of the polar bears is low, and the absence of ice may lead to food shortage. Therefore, global warming both destroys the habitat as well as causing starvation and hence the endangerment of the organisms. Human factors are also responsible for the endangerment of species.
Human factors play a significant role in the endangerment of species. The growth in the human population, as well as the continued inventions and innovations, leads to exploitation of natural resources (Agathe, et al. 264). Most natural resources form the habitats for most organisms. The result for human activities such as mining, industrialization, and even settlement is loss of habitat for most organisms. The organisms that fail to adapt to the changes in habitats end up becoming extinct.
Moreover, the human factors responsible for the extinction of species may be deliberate or consequential. For example, human beings may kill harmful organisms. Although the cases of intentional are rare, attempts have been made by human beings to get rid of individual organisms. For example, parasitic organisms receive harsh treatment from human beings and may become extinct. Consequential causes involve those that happen from activities that human beings engage in without the aim of affecting organisms. For example, mining is an economic activity but may affect the survival of organisms.
In sum, endangered species are living organisms whose population is at risk of falling to zero due to either natural or human factors. The concept of endangered species is explained depending on the population of a particular species and risks facing the species. Nature plays a role in the endangerment of species through destruction of habitats or even direct killing of organisms. Human factors are also responsible for the endangerment of species. Generally, endangerment of species is defined in terms of the possibility of a species to become extinct.
Works Cited
Colléony, Agathe, et al. “Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status.” Biological conservation 206 (2017): 263-269.
Wayne, Robert K., and H. Bradley Shaffer. “Hybridization and endangered species protection in the molecular era.” Molecular Ecology 25.11 (2016): 2680-2689.