The scholarly article that I chose
to read is titled, Endangered Species
Database May Have Misclassified Hundreds of Animals. I chose this article
because I have always been fascinated with how it is that scientists identify whether
or not a species is endangered and at risk of going extinct. This article talks
about how the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resource’s
which is otherwise known as the IUCN, may have misclassified the threats to many
animals in their Red List of Threatened Species. It says that these
miscalculations can be severe as it may leave animals who are endangered off of
the list and put them at an even greater risk of becoming extinct due to the
lack of protection that they require in order to continue reproducing.
Furthermore, the articles states that these miscalculations occur because the
system that the IUCN has in place for assessing species are outdated. Outdated
in the sense that the IUCN relies on old maps. Rather than using satellite and
aerial imagery to be able to more accurately detect deforestation and human
settlement. As a result, the Red List misses important geographical features
such as deforestation and changes in elevations that can in fact affect where
certain species live within a certain range. Thus, leaving the IUCN with
inaccurate numbers.
Website: http://www.sciencemag.org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/news/2016/11/endangered-species-database-may-have-misclassified-hundreds-animals
Website: http://www.sciencemag.org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/news/2016/11/endangered-species-database-may-have-misclassified-hundreds-animals