A new study has put forward 15 species that are the most likely to go extinct in the near future. The 15 species are at the most risk of extinction from a list of 841 highly endangered species.
The study is published in Current Biology and uses a “conservation opportunity index” to determine which of the 841 species could be saved and which are unlikely to be rescued from extinction. In the study the researchers concluded that most of the 841 species could see their risk of extinction drop considerable for a cost of USD 1.3 billion a year. But it seems that for15 species no amount of money is likely to save them.
The 15 species were identified as:
Amphibians:
1. Bay Lycian salamander,
Lyciasalamandra billae, Turkey.
2.
Perereca Bokermannohyla izecksohni, Brazil.
3. Campo Grande tree frog, Hypsiboas dulcimer, Brazil.
PIC N/A
4. Santa Cruz dwarf frog,
Physalaemus soaresi, Brazil.
5. Zorro bubble-nest frog,
Pseudophilautus zorro, Sri Lanka.
6.
Allobates juanii, Colombia.
Birds:
1. Ash’s lark,
Mirafra ashi, Somalia.
2. Tahiti monarch,
Pomarea nigra, French Polynesia.
3. Zino’s petrel,
Pterodroma madeira, Madeira.
4. Mascarene petrel,
Pseudobulweria aterrima, Reunion Island.
5. Wilkins’s finch,
Nesospiza wilkinsi, Tristan da Cunha.
6. Amsterdam albatross,
Diomedea amsterdamensis, New Amsterdam (Amsterdam Island).
Mammals:
1. Mount Lefo brush-furred mouse,
Lophuromys eisentrauti, Cameroon.
PIC N/A
2. Chiapan climbing rat,
Tylomys bullaris, Mexico.
PIC N/A
3. Tropical pocket gopher,
Geomys tropicalis.
Their low chance for survival is due to at least two of the following factors:
High probability of its habitat becoming urbanized
Political instability in the site
High costs of habitat protection and management.
The opportunity of establishing an insurance population in zoos for these 15 species is low, due to high costs or lack of breeding expertise for the species.
Researchers, led by Assistant Prof. Dalia A. Conde from University of Southern Denmark and Prof. John E Fa from Imperial College considered:
Opportunities of protecting its remaining habitats, which are restricted to single sites. Important factors are costs, political stability, and probability of urbanization.
The possibility to establish protected insurance populations in zoos: Important factors are costs and breeding expertise.