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Information about Least Concern

Conservation status
the risk of extinction
Extinction
Extinct
Extinct in the Wild
Threatened
Critically Endangered
Endangered
Vulnerable
Threatened
Lower risk
Conservation Dependent
Near Threatened
Least Concern
Domesticated
See also
World Conservation Union
IUCN Red List


Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent. Many common species such as the Rock Pigeon, Common Juniper, the Snail Kite and Sacred Kingfisher are assigned the Least Concern category. The bald eagle was recently reassigned to this category, after a number of years as an endangered species.

Species cannot be assigned the Least Concern category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status.

Since 2001 the category has had the abbrevriation "LC", following the IUCN 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1) [1]. However, around 20% of Least Concern taxa (3261 of 15636) in the IUCN database use the code "LR/lc", which indicates they have not been re-evaluated since 2000. Prior to 2001 "least concern" was a subcategory of the "Lower Risk" category and assigned the code "LR/lc" or (lc).

While "Least Concern" is not considered a red listed category by the IUCN, the 2006 Red List still assigns the category to 15636 taxa. The number of animal species listed in this category totals 14033 (which includes one novel species, Moss Frogs [2]). There are also 101 animal subspecies listed and 1500 plant taxa (1410 species, 55 subspecies, and 35 varieties). There are also two animal subpopulations listed: the Australasian and Southern African subpopulations of Spiny Dogfish. No fungi or protista have the classification, though only four species in those kingdoms have been evaluated by the IUCN. Humans qualify for this category, although they have not been formally assessed by the IUCN.

Least Concern does not always mean that species are not at risk. There are declining species that are evaluated as Least Concern.

Similar classifications

  • Canada's COSEWIC designates Wildlife Species as Not At Risk (NAR) when they have been evaluated to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.
  • The NatureServe conservation status uses the ranking of Secure (G5) for "demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure" species.
  • The WWF uses "relatively stable/relatively intact" (RS) as the least concern status for ecoregions.
Many category or ranking systems simply do not list Least Concern species. For example Australia's EPBC Act does not have a category for "not at risk" species, although such species may be found amongst the lists of "unsuccessful nominations" or "removed" (delisted) fauna and flora. There are, however, other reasons species may be found on these lists, such as taxonomic changes. The US Endangered Species Act likewise does not list species which are not at risk.

References

1. ^ 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). The IUCN Red List of Threathened Species. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
2. ^ Philautus sp. nov. 'Kalpatta'. The IUCN Red List of Threathened Species. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point).
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Extinct in the Wild (EW) is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
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critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct.

IUCN Category

The World Conservation Union (IUCN), widely considered to be the most objective and authoritative system for classifying species in terms of the risk of extinction[1]
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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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vulnerable species is a species which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. The following is a very small, non-representative fraction of the 8565 species listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
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Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, fungi, insects, bugs, etc.) which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a
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Conservation Dependent (LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming threatened with extinction.
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Near Threatened (NT) is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status.
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Domestication refers to the process whereby a population of animals or plants becomes accustomed to human provision and control. Humans have brought these populations under their care for a wide range of reasons: to produce food or valuable commodities (such as wool, cotton, or
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IUCN

International Organization
Founded October 1948, Fontainebleau, France
Headquarters Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland

Key people Mr Valli Moosa
Ms Julia Marton-Lefèvre
Industry Natural resource conservation
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IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
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IUCN

International Organization
Founded October 1948, Fontainebleau, France
Headquarters Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland

Key people Mr Valli Moosa
Ms Julia Marton-Lefèvre
Industry Natural resource conservation
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Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, fungi, insects, bugs, etc.) which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a
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Near Threatened (NT) is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa which may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status.
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Conservation Dependent (LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming threatened with extinction.
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C. livia

Binomial name
Columba livia
Gmelin, 1789

The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, doves and pigeons.
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J. communis

Binomial name
Juniperus communis
L.

Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae.
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Rostrhamus

Species: R. sociabilis

Binomial name
Rostrhamus sociabilis
(Vieillot, 1817)


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T. sanctus

Binomial name
Todiramphus sanctus
(Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)

Synonyms
Halcyon sancta The Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus
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H. leucocephalus

Binomial name
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
(Linnaeus, 1766)

Bald Eagle range

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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
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Rhacophoridae
Hoffman, 1932

Sub-families

Buergeriinae
Rhacophorinae
Moss Frogs are the members of the Rhacophoridae family; these frogs are found in tropical areas of Asia and Africa, including Japan and Madagascar (where they represent
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S. acanthias

Binomial name
Squalus acanthias
Linnaeus, 1758

Range of the spiny dogfish (in blue)


The spiny dogfish or piked dogfish,
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Eukarya
Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
(unranked) Opisthokonta

Kingdom: Fungi
(L., 1753) R.T. Moore, 1980[1]

Subkingdom/Phyla

Chytridiomycota
Blastocladiomycota

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Eukarya
Whittaker & Margulis, 1978

Kingdom: Protista*
Haeckel, 1866

Typical phyla
  • Chromalveolata
  • Chromista

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The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC; French: Le Comité sur la situation des espèces en péril au Canada, COSEPAC) is an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists whose "
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An Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) (often lowercased: evolutionarily significant unit) is a population of organisms that is considered distinct for purposes of conservation. Delineating ESUs is important when considering conservation action.
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