The threatened categories (IUCN Red List)

Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, fungi, insects, bugs, etc.) which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories: vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered, depending on the degree to which they are threatened. The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... . ...

Species which are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of critical depensation, a mathematical measure of biomass related to population growth rate. This quantitative metric is one method of evaluating the degree of endangerment. Population dynamics is the study of marginal and long-term changes in the numbers, individual weights and age composition of individuals in one or several populations, and biological and environmental processes influencing those changes. ... Critical depensation is present when a population biomass is not longer able to sustain itself. ...

Less-than-threatened categories are Near Threatened, Least Concern, and the no longer assigned category of Conservation Dependent. Species which have not been evaluated (NE), or do not have sufficient data (Data Deficient) also are not considered "threatened" by the IUCN. Near Threatened (NT) is an conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status. ... 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. ... 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 threatened with extinction. ... 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 to be made. ...

Although threatened and vulnerable may be used interchangeably when discussing IUCN categories, the term threatened is generally used to refer to the three categories (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable), while vulnerable is used to refer to the least at risk of those three categories. They may be used interchangeably in most contexts however, as all vulnerable species are threatened species (vulnerable is a category of threatened species); and, as the more at-risk categories of threatened species (namely endangered and critically endangered) must, by definition, also qualify as vulnerable species, all threatened species may also be considered vulnerable.

Threatened species are also referred to as a red-listed species, as they are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Red-listed species includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in their locale. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ...

Subspecies, populations and stocks may also be classified as threatened.

United States

"Threatened" in relation to "endangered" under the ESA.

Under the Endangered Species Act in the United States, "threatened" is the less protected the two protected categories. The Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis) is an example of a threatened subspecies protected under the ESA. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Endangered Species Act (, et seq. ... Trinomial name Euphydryas editha bayensis Sternitsky, 1937 & Dos Passos, 1964 The Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis) is a federally threatened insect species which is native to the U.S. State of California. ...

See also

• Biodiversity Action Plan
• IUCN Red List
• Illegal logging
• Rare species
• Red and Blue-listed
• Slash-and-burn
• Threatened fauna of Australia

Diademed Sifaka, an endangered primate of Madagascar Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) is a an internationally recognized programme addressing threatened species or habitats, which is designed to protect and restore biological systems. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of national laws. ... Rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. ... Red-listed species includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in their locale. ... Blue-listed species includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Vulnerable in their locale. ... This article is about the agricultural practice of slash and burn. ... Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. ...

External links

• IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria