Endangered and Threatened Species
|
|
Finding Species seeks funding to support our Finding Species ID Program, the Endangered and Threatened Species Project. We are launching this effort at a critical time in the history of our nation’s environmental movement, and our mission carries an urgency that you can respond to. Our work addresses your passion to protect the environment, and together we can affect great change in the ecological conditions that call for urgent action across the nation.
In a world where scientists predict our planet is heading towards a sixth mass extinction of plants and animals that is unlike other mass extinctions over the last half-billion years that were caused by asteroids, volcanoes, or natural climate shifts, this one appears to be nearly entirely triggered by man-made causes. Scientists estimate that species are being lost at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, as dozens go extinct every day. This means that 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century. In the US alone, scientists estimate that up to one-third of species are at increased risk of extinction. Habitat loss, pollution, and climate change are the key causes to species loss.
Finding Species documents species across the United States and in South America. The mission and work of Finding Species addresses a critical ecological and environmental problem facing our country: the desolation of natural habitats through the encroachment of human development and invasive plant and animal species. Natural ecosystems are vanishing at an alarming rate, and the number of species that are lost or critically vulnerable increases by the minute across the globe. We address this crisis by finding and identifying many of the most vulnerable species here in our country, and share our findings with important stakeholders in every sector. We sound the alarm bells not only in the halls of academia but in government offices, zoological settings, scientific departments, and at local levels.
Endangered species are in peril for many reasons such as habitat loss, water usage, toxins in the environment, climate change, and encroachment of invasive plants and animals. Finding Species seeks to bring a face to endangered and threatened species throughout the United States, and this project begins in Texas where development is an ever-imminent danger to vulnerable species and ecosystems. We work closely with permitted scientists photo-document these carefully identified species and their existing natural habitats sharing the images and scientific profiles in an educational presentation made available to the general public, scientists and officials alike. Spreading the word about endangered species and what we can do to help protect them through presentations at nature centers, arboretums, zoos and gardens, we can educate children and adults to help ensure their survival.
In a world where scientists predict our planet is heading towards a sixth mass extinction of plants and animals that is unlike other mass extinctions over the last half-billion years that were caused by asteroids, volcanoes, or natural climate shifts, this one appears to be nearly entirely triggered by man-made causes. Scientists estimate that species are being lost at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, as dozens go extinct every day. This means that 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century. In the US alone, scientists estimate that up to one-third of species are at increased risk of extinction. Habitat loss, pollution, and climate change are the key causes to species loss.
Finding Species documents species across the United States and in South America. The mission and work of Finding Species addresses a critical ecological and environmental problem facing our country: the desolation of natural habitats through the encroachment of human development and invasive plant and animal species. Natural ecosystems are vanishing at an alarming rate, and the number of species that are lost or critically vulnerable increases by the minute across the globe. We address this crisis by finding and identifying many of the most vulnerable species here in our country, and share our findings with important stakeholders in every sector. We sound the alarm bells not only in the halls of academia but in government offices, zoological settings, scientific departments, and at local levels.
Endangered species are in peril for many reasons such as habitat loss, water usage, toxins in the environment, climate change, and encroachment of invasive plants and animals. Finding Species seeks to bring a face to endangered and threatened species throughout the United States, and this project begins in Texas where development is an ever-imminent danger to vulnerable species and ecosystems. We work closely with permitted scientists photo-document these carefully identified species and their existing natural habitats sharing the images and scientific profiles in an educational presentation made available to the general public, scientists and officials alike. Spreading the word about endangered species and what we can do to help protect them through presentations at nature centers, arboretums, zoos and gardens, we can educate children and adults to help ensure their survival.
|
|
The Texas snowbell (Styrax texana) is recognized as Texas’ most seriously threatened native plant species, and was declared as endangered species in 1984. A beautiful understory tree that reaches 5-15 feet tall and inhabits the limestone cliffs of the southwestern corner of the Edwards Plateau, this species prefers to grow on cliffs that are deeply cut by waterways. The Texas snowbell is a deciduous tree. The flower buds develop in March and flowering peaks during the last week in April. Fruit capsules, containing one or sometimes up to 3 seeds, develop in late July and early August, and disperse in late August through September. In January of 1987 only 87 plants from seven widely scattered populations were known to exist.
|
