Choose ONE endangered species. Fish and Wildlife Services website provides a list of all endangered and threatened species. Use this resource to choose a specific species of mammal, bird, plant, invertebrate, etc. *Note: While you are free to pick any species from this list, keep in mind that USA species are more likely to have essential protections under the ESA, which will make following the research paper instructions a lot easier. 2) Identify the species’ scientific name, listing status, and a short summary of what is known about the species. The summary must address the following information in order to get full credit: *Evolutionary Background: -phylogenetic identity (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species) -closest living relative *Regions occupied both past and present *Ecology, habitat, and diet *Reproductive processes *Population numbers (# of individuals both past and present) *Status of its current populations (stable, increasing, or decreasing) *The factors that led to the species endangerment 3) Provide a history of how the species was recognized as being threatened and the exact date it was listed. Give a detailed account of the kinds of protection plans being provided and give specific examples. In this account, you must mention the following FOUR types of protections: *Critical Habitat designation *Recovery Plan *Habitat Conservation Plan (Natural Communities Conservation Plan or Candidate Conservation Plan also acceptable) *Safe Harbor Agreement *Note: If you find that one or more of these plan(s) are not in place for the species, you must mention that you at least looked for them. For example, if the species isn’t covered by any plans you could say, “I did a thorough search, but sources indicate that this species has no Critical Habitat Designation, Recovery Plan, Habitat Conservation Plan, or Safe Harbor Agreement.” We will be double- checking your accuracy, so be thorough in your search! 4) Analyze and report on the species’ political and social history, including the following aspects: *Economic costs (dollar amount) of legally protecting the species. *Legislation history (key legislative decisions or political campaigns regarding the protection of this species.) *Indicate the stakeholder groups affected by the protection of this species. *Give examples of specific political or social controversies that have arisen regarding the protection of the species. If no controversies are found, indicate that you looked but none exist. 5) Lastly, you must summarize your research in the following way: *State the biological importance of this species in terms of: -the habitat it occupies (i.e. it lives in endangered rain forest.) -its role in the food chain (i.e. it is a keystone species.) -other biological information that makes this species significant (i.e. it is the only animal that can predict the future.) *State the social or cultural symbolism of this species (if they have no symbolism, state that you looked but none exist). *Is it worth it? State whether or not you personally believe that efforts to protect and recover this species are “worth it.
