Animal Extinction

Sule Bengu Ersozoglu

Animal Extinction

2. Extinct animals

6. Solutions

5. A world without...

3. Causes of Extinction

4. The research of extinction

1. Extinction

Content

Extinction

Phyletic extinction or pseudoextinction. One species disappears leaving behind another more evolved one. The original species (ancestor) is considered to be extinct but its lineage continues. There is no increase or decrease in diversity. Terminal extinction. A species becomes extinct without leaving descendants. Diversity therefore decreases.

Terminally Extinct: Tasmanian tiger

pseudoextinct: Archosaurias (Dinosaurs)

Already Extinct Animals

Causes of extinction

A species can now only be listed as extinct if there is “no reasonable doubt that the last individual member has died.”

Today, experts factor in data on...

• Population size
• Number of breeding adults
• Geographic range
• Habitat degradation

The research of extinction

To track animal populations: drones, camera traps Also the clues left by the animals: trails, droppings and traces of fur, etc.

Our ecostystem is in a balance in which all animals play certain roles that effect the balance in some way. Some species play a much bigger role than the other, those species are called keystone species because they impact the ecosystem the most.

A world without...

Lions

Lions are keystone species and top predators. Their extinction would cause diseases to spread amongst other species. vast savanna grassland ecosystems would disintegrate into dysfunctional, barren landscapes impacting all life within. The loss of prey and habitat destroyed to make more homes for the increasing human population causes their extinction

Polar Bears

Bees

Bees are also endangered species due to parasites, habitat loss, and cell phones (radiation). This decline causes plant extinction and affects food security with potential losses in agricultural yields. Bee predators would also die, shifting the ecosystem further

Sunflower Sea star

• Sea stars are criticalally endangered. When gone, urchins and mussels come out since their predator is gone, creating a shortage of food and habitat for otters, fish, etc.
• One of the main reasons for extinction is due to climate change and global warming as the water temperatures get warmer, changing the ecological niche.

Due to ice habitat loss changes in their ecological niche. The predator-prey relationship: Polar bears are top predators in areas where they live. Meaning, the population of walruses, seals, whales, reindeer, rodents and birds would increase and get out of control without their predator.Expected extinction: 2050

IUCN

Bringing back to existence?

Scientists in several countries are engaged in dedicated projects to bring extinct animals back from the dead Theoretical method:

• Sequencing the genome
• Editing the DNA of a close living relative to match it
• Making embryos

De-extinction Plan

• Advances in cloning
• Gene editing
• Protection of wildlife habitat
• Captive breeding
• + New variant breeding

• IUCN
• sets criteria for how species are endangered/extinct
• The Red List

• Governments and agencies use IUCN’s data to prevent danger and extinction.

Solutions/Cures

• https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/e/Extinction.htm#:~:text=Pseudoextinction%20is%20much%20easier%20to,%2C%20the%20birds%2C%20survive%20today.

• https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/extinct-animals

• https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-do-we-know-when-a-species-is-extinct

Sources

Thanks!