BIOtheNUMBERS

48 – The number of bird species that nest in U.S. grasslands, including ducks, grouse, hawks, and songbirds

48 and 55 – The percent of grassland birds that are of conservation concern and percent showing significant declines.

2 – Percent of the tallgrass prairie that still remains in North America

4 – Number of grassland bird populations that are federally endangered

8 - Number of sparrow species out of 12 that are listed as of conservation concern

38-77 – Percent of Eastern and Western meadowlarks, Bobolinks, Shorteared Owls, and Northern Bobwhites that have declined since 1968

6 – Number of species that breed in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada and that winter in Mexico’s Chihuahuan grasslands that are showing steep declines of 68–91%

Data: State of the Birds 2009

Photo by South Dakota Tourism

In February 2008 the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act because of the increasing loss sea ice habitat.

There are 3 recognized subspecies: Atlantic Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus); Pacific Walrus (O. r. divergens); and Laptev Walrus (O. r. laptevi)

The Bering-Chukchi population was estimated at approximately 230,000 in 1985 and 201,000 in 1990, which is the most recent population estimate

The number of Pacific Walrus in the Laptev Sea region was at one time reported to be 4,000-5,000 individuals. Some recent estimates have put the population above 5,000.

Recent information indicates a population size of perhaps 18,000-20,000 for the Atlantic Walrus

Walruses are one of the largest pinnipeds with Pacific males reaching approximately 3.6 meters in length and weighing 880-1,557 kg. Adult females can reach lengths of 3 meters and a weight of 580-1,039 kg. The Atlantic adults are slightly shorter and lighter.

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Quotes taken from the Nature Conservancy’s 2009 report ‘Shellfish Reefs at Risk: A Global Analysis of Problems and Solutions’

“In most individual bays and ecoregions there has been a >90% loss in oyster reef habitat. In some bays, losses are >99%”

“Globally, 85% of oyster reefs have been lost, making oyster reefs one of the most severely impacted marine ecosystem on the planet”

“In 1864 alone, 700 million European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) were consumed in London, employing up to 120,000 men in Britain to dredge oysters”

“Shell piles in the southwest of France contain over 1 trillion shells apiece”

“Chesapeake Bay reefs are closer to 1% remaining than 10% remaining”

“They [oyster reefs] are functionally extinct with less than 1% of prior abundances remaining in many bays (37% of bays) and ecoregions (28% of ecoregions), particularly in North America, Australia and Europe”

“Nearly half of the assessed shellfish populations were either moderately or highly threatened by overfishing and environmental degradation”

“Oyster reefs are at less than 10% of prior abundance in most bays (70%) and ecoregions (63%)”

“Most wild Ostrea edulis populations in Europe were removed between 100 and nearly 1000 years ago, but in just the past decade (1990s), a wild population in the Gulf of Thessaloniki (Greece) collapsed from more than 1000 tonnes of harvest annually to a point where it is now difficult to find just 60 individual oysters with a dredge”

~33% – Amphibian species under threat of extinction (Murray 2009)

122 to 159 – Number of species that have gone extinct over the last 25 years (Stuart 2004, IUCN 2008)

38 – Number of amphibians that are officially extinct

1 – Number of species extinct in the wild, but surviving in captivity

120 – Amphibian species that have not been seen in the wild in recent years and feared extinct

<1% – Number of amphibian species with increasing populations

42% – Species with declining populations

489 – Species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)

787 – Number of species listed as endangered by the IUCN

211 times – The extinction rate of amphibians compared to background extinction rate

>80% – Extinct and threatened amphibians in Cuba, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic

92% – Extinct and threatened amphibians in Haiti

4,000 – Number of species threatened by habitat loss

*Data:  IUCN Red List 2008

6,487 – Number of amphibian species as of May 21, 2009

5,732 – Number of frogs and toads, which is 88% of known amphibian species

579 – Number of newts and salamanders, which makes up 9% of known amphibians

176 - Number of caecilians, or roughly 3% of total known amphibian species

60% – Percent of increase in recognized species since 1985

811 – Frog species described in Brazil as of January 2009

292 – Frog species found in the United States

180cm – Length from head to tail of the largest amphibian, the Chinese Giant Salamander

151cm – Length of the largest caecilian

11cm - Length of the smallest caecilian

10cm – Length of the smallest frog

Data:  AmphibiaWeb 2009, IUCN 2009

With frequent new discoveries, the number of valid scientific descriptions of species of fishes is always on the upswing.  Projections from 2006, self-described as conservative, put the eventual number  of living species to be close to 32,500.  Fishbase.org, updated in April 2009, has a searchable database of 31,200 species.

77 A.D.  – ~144 known species
1976 – 18,818 known species, 450 families
1984 – 21,723 known species, 445 families
1994 – 24,618 known species, 482 families
2006 – 27,977 known species, 515 families

Of the total species formally described in 2006, 42.7% (11,952) of species live in freshwater, 55.5% (15,520) of species live in seawater, and 1.8% (505) of species move between freshwater and oceans during their lifecycles. 

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