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Information about Local Extinction

Local extinction is where a species (or other taxon) ceases to exist in the chosen area of study, but still exists elsewhere. This phenomenon is also known as extirpation. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions.

Local extinctions may be followed by a replacement of the species taken from other locations; wolf reintroduction is an example of this.

Conservation

Local extinctions mark a change in the ecology of an area.

The area of study chosen may reflect a natural subpopulation, political boundaries, or both. The Cetacean Specialist Group of the IUCN has assessed the threat of a local extinction of the Black Sea stock of Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) which touches six different countries. COSWIC, by contrast, investigate wildlife only in Canada, so assesses only the risk of a Canadian local extinction even for species which cross into the United States or other countries. Other subpopulations may be naturally divided by political or country boundaries.

Often a subpopulation of a species will also be a subspecies. For example, the recent disappearance of the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) from Cameroon spells not only the local extinction of rhinoceroses in Cameroon, but also the global extinction of the Western Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes).

In at least one case, scientists have found a local extinction useful for research: In the case of the Bay Checkerspot, scientists, including Paul R. Ehrlich, chose not to intervene in a local extinction, using it to study the danger to the world population[1] However, similar studies are not carried out where a global population is at risk.

IUCN subpopulation and stock assessments

While the World Conservation Union (IUCN) mostly only categorizes whole species or subspecies, assessing the global risk of extinction, in some cases it also assesses the risks to stocks and populations, especially to preserve genetic diversity. In all, 119 stocks or subpopulations across 69 species have been assessed by the IUCN in 2006.[2]

Examples of stocks and populations assessed by the IUCN for the threat of local extinction:
  • Marsh Deer (three subpopulations assessed)
  • Blue Whale, North Pacific stock and North Atlantic stock
  • Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (five subpopulation assessed), from Critically Endangered to LR/cd
  • Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, Mississippi & Missouri Basins subpopulation assessed as Vulnerable
  • Wild Common carp, Cyprinus carpio (River Danube subpopulation)
  • Black-footed Rock Wallaby Petrogale lateralis (MacDonnell Ranges subpopulation and Western Kimberly subpopulation)
The IUCN also lists countries where assessed species, subspecies or subpopulations are found, and from which countries they have been extirpated or reintroduced.

The IUCN has only three entries for subpopulations which have become extinct[3] the Aral Sea stock of Ship Sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris); the Adriatic Sea stock of Beluga (Huso huso); and the Mexican subpopulation of Wolf (Canis lupus) which is extinct in the wild. No plant or fungi subpopulations have been assessed by the IUCN.

Local extinction events

Major environmental events, such as volcanic eruptions, may lead to large numbers of local extinctions, such as with the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, which led to a fern spike.

Paleontology

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Paleontology often studies the replacement of one group of species with another, leading to the first group's local extinction.

See also

External links

1. ^ Holsinger, Kent. "Local extinction". Population Viability Analysis: Bay Checkerspot Butterfly. URL accessed August 11 2006.
2. ^ IUCN Red List, search for only stocks and subpopulations [1]
3. ^ IUCN Red List, search for extinct stocks and populations: [2]
species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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For the journal, see .
A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a name designating an organism or group of organisms. A taxon is assigned a rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary
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Wolf reintroduction involves the artificial reestablishment of a population of wolves into areas where they had been previously extirpated. Wolf reintroduction is only considered where large tracts of suitable wilderness still exist and where certain prey species are abundant
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Ecology (also known as Oekologie, Okology, or Oekology[1],from Greek: οίκος, oikos, "household"; and λόγος, logos
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Euxine Sea (Older name) redirects here.


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P. phocoena

Binomial name
Phocoena phocoena
Linnaeus, 1758

Harbour Porpoise range


The Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena
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The introduction of this article is too short.
To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, it should be expanded.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page and read the lead section guide to make sure the introduction summarizes the article.
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Diceros

Species: D. bicornis

Binomial name
Diceros bicornis
Linnaeus, 1758

Black Rhinoceros range

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Motto
"Paix - Travail - Patrie"   (French)
"Peace - Work - Fatherland"
Anthem
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D. b. longipes

Trinomial name
Diceros bicornis longipes
Zukowsky, 1949

The Western Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) or West African Black Rhinoceros
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E. e. bayensis

Trinomial name
Euphydryas editha bayensis
Sternitsky, 1937 & Dos Passos, 1964

The Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis) is a federally threatened insect species which is native to the U.
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For the Nobel Prize winning Immunologist, see .
Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is currently the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D.
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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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Blastocerus

Species: B. dichotomus

Binomial name
Blastocerus dichotomus
(Illiger, 1815)

The Marsh Deer,
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Balaena

Species: B. mysticetus

Binomial name
Balaena mysticetus
Linnaeus, 1758

Bowhead whale range

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A. fulvescens

Binomial name
Acipenser fulvescens
( Rafinesque, 1817)

The lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens
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Vulnerable may refer to:
  • Vulnerability
  • Vulnerable species

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C. carpio

Binomial name
Cyprinus carpio
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Common carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio
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P. lateralis

Binomial name
Petrogale lateralis
(Gray, 1827)

The Black-flanked Rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis), also known as the Black-footed Rock-wallaby or Warru
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Location Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (Central Asia)
Coordinates Coordinates:
Lake type
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Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea.
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H. huso

Binomial name
Huso huso
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The beluga sturgeon or European sturgeon (Huso huso
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Mexican may refer to:
  • Mexico, a country in North America
  • Mexica, a pre-Columbian people of central Mexico
  • The Mexican, a 2001 film by director Gore Verbinski starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts
  • The Mexican (song)

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C. lupus

Binomial name
Canis lupus
Linnaeus, 1758

Range map. Green, present; red, former.

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The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption. The eruption was the most significant to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states in recorded history (VEI = 5, 0.3 cu mi, 1.
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In paleontology, a fern spike is the occurrence of abundant fern spores in the fossil record, usually immediately (in a geological sense) after an extinction event. The spikes are believed to represent a large, temporary increase in the number of ferns relative to other terrestrial
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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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It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome.

Pre-modern extinctions

  • List of extinct cetaceans
  • List of extinct birds

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