Endangered Species - Amphibians

Endangered Species
Conservation biologists tend to think of amphibians as environmental "canaries in the coal mine." When an ecosystem begins to tip out of balance, amphibians are generally the first to be affected. When frogs and salamanders begin to die en masse, it means that widescale ecological devastation may be under way.
More amphibian species are under threat than any single animal group, a wopping 1,811 species according to the IUCN. This accounts for around 31 percent of all known amphibians. Habitat loss and pollution appear to be the major causes.

Endangered Amphibians

BLUE-SIDED TREE FROG
The blue-sided tree frog has golden eyes, a green-blue back, blue sides and a pinkish underbelly. It has long slender limbs and suction toes that enable it to jump easily from branch to branch within the forest canopy. It is found in the moist tropical and subtropical regions of Costa Rica but its numbers are in rapid decline due to pollution, loss of habitat and collection by humans.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Pollution, loss of habitat and collection by humans
Habitat: Premontane moist and wet forests, as well as rain forests
Location: Costa Rica
Diet: A variety of arthropods

CORROBOREE FROG
The corroboree frog is a black frog with bright yellow stripes found only in a narrow region of moss-covered bogs in the high-altitude forest of New South Wales, Australia. Unlike many brightly colored frogs, the corroboree does not have toxic skin. It was once abundant, but a rapid decline in population over the past 10 years has made it one of the world's most endangered frogs.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Major Threat: Habitat destruction and predation by feral animals
Habitat: Moss-covered bogs in high altitude forest
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Diet: Mainly small invertebrates, including ants, beetles and insect larvae

GOLDEN POISON FROG
The golden poison frog is found in the moist mountain forests of the Colombian Andes. Its gold coloration is a warning to predators that this species is poisonous. It is a small frog, with adults typically being less than 2 inches long. This species has a very restricted range and its habitat continues to disappear to logging and agricultural interests.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threat: Habitat loss due to logging and agricultural interests
Habitat: Very moist, humid mountain rain forest
Location: Colombian Andes
Diet: Insects, including ants, beetles and termites

GOLIATH FROG
The aptly named Goliath frog is the world's largest frog species. Adults may weigh more than seven pounds and grow to be more than a foot long. They live in fast-moving rivers and streams in the rain forests of West Africa. Their range is quite small and their populations are in rapid decline because of hunting and being captured by private collectors of exotic species.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Habitat destruction and collection for the pet trade
Habitat: Swiftly flowing rivers in dense rain forests
Location: West Africa
Diet: Insects, crustaceans, fish and other amphibians

PANAMANIAN GOLDEN FROG
The Panamanian golden frog is a bright yellow or orange amphibian with black markings and long limbs. It provides the classic example of warning coloration — its skin is highly toxic. It lives in the rain forests of Panama, but its numbers have declined dramatically in recent years due to habitat loss, hunting, pollution and disease.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Major Threats: Habitat loss, hunting, pollution and disease
Habitat: Tropical rain forest
Location: Panama
Diet: Small invertebrates

WESTERN LEOPARD TOAD
A toad is an amphibian with a large, wide head; front limbs that are much smaller than the back limbs; a large mouth; and large protruding eyes. The western leopard toad is the largest South African toad. It has large brown patches on a greenish body and a vertical yellow stripe down its back. Its numbers are in decline due to loss of habitat and because of frequent collisions with vehicles.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Habitat loss and frequent collisions with vehicles
Habitat: Large wetlands, rivers, perennial ponds and other low-lying areas
Location: Western Cape province of South Africa
Diet: Insects and other invertebrates

Endangered Species - Fish

Endangered Fish
It's hard to say how fish are faring as a whole, as only 10 percent of the nearly 30,000 known fish species have been evaluated for inclusion in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Tellingly, nearly half those surveyed are now considered threatened or endangered.

Overfishing is likely the leading cause of fish declines, followed closely by habitat loss and pollution. Some of the most unique fish species in the world are facing imminent extinction, including the ancient coelacanth and the bizarre smalltooth sawfish. Learn about them here.

ANDEAN CATFISH 

 
Catfish are among the world's most abundant and diverse freshwater fish. Like many catfish species, the Andean catfish has barbels around the mouth that contain taste buds that help the animal find food at night. The Andean catfish is native to the rivers and streams in the mountains of Ecuador, and is endangered due to pollution, fishing and loss of suitable habitat.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Major Threats: Pollution, fishing and habitat loss
Habitat: Mountainous rivers and streams
Location: Ecuador
Diet: Fish, frogs, snails, algae and other aquatic species

ANGEL SHARK 

 
Angel sharks are large, ray-like fish that spend most of their time hiding in the mud and silt of the ocean floor. As fish and other animals pass by, the angel shark snaps them up in their trap-like jaws. This species was once abundant in the northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Black seas, but is now very rare. Primary threats to the angel shark include being taken as bycatch and getting caught in fishing nets and lines.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Major Threats: Being taken as bycatch and getting caught in fishing nets and lines
Habitat: Temperate and tropical seas
Location: Worldwide oceans
Diet: Fish, crustaceans and mollusks

BORNEO SHARK
The Borneo shark is extremely rare and known by only a few specimens. It lives in the shallow coastal waters of the South Pacific Ocean. It is viviparous, meaning it gives birth to live young. Like most sharks, the Borneo shark is a successful hunter and has few natural predators. Humans are one exception and the Borneo shark is currently threatened by fishing operations.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threat: Fishing operations
Habitat: Shallow coastal waters
Location: Indo-Western Pacific Ocean
Diet: Unknown

NASSAU GROUPER

 
The Nassau grouper is a large, predatory coral reef fish that is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, Florida Keys, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. It has a habit of visiting cleaning stations on coral reefs, where wrasse fish pick parasites out of its mouth and gills. It also camouflages itself in order to ambush prey. The Nassau grouper is in serious decline due to fishing and loss of coral reef habitat.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threat: Fishing and habitat loss
Habitat: Coral reefs
Location: Western Atlantic Ocean, Florida Keys, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
Diet: Mainly other fish and crabs

RUSSIAN STURGEON

 
The Russian sturgeon is a large, bony fish that can reach a length of more than 6 feet. It lives in salt water and travels upriver to spawn, which makes it vulnerable to habitat loss on multiple fronts, including hydroelectric dams that create barriers to spawning grounds, pollution in both its freshwater and saltwater homes, and being heavily fished for its meat and eggs, which are used to make caviar.

IUCN Status: Endangered
Major Threat: Overfishing, pollution and habitat loss
Habitat: Seas and large rivers
Location: Black Sea, Caspian Sea and adjacent river systems
Diet: Mainly mollusks

SMALLTOOTH SAWFISH

 
Like sharks, skates and rays, sawfish have skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The smalltooth sawfish is a long, sleek fish that occurs in shallow coastal and estuarine waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico. It also has a long, flattened snout lined with rows of teeth that it uses to locate and subdue prey. In addition to facing the threat of hunting, pollution and habitat loss, it is extremely vulnerable to being caught in fishing lines.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
USFWS Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Hunting, pollution, habitat loss and being caught in fishing lines
Habitat: Shallow coastal and estuarine waters
Location: Altantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico
Diet: Mainly fish and some crustaceans

List of Evnironmental issues

This is a list of environmental issues that are due to human activity. These articles relate to the anthropogenic effects on the natural environment.

* Climate change — Global warming • Fossil fuels • Sea level rise • Greenhouse gas

* Conservation — Habitat destruction • Habitat fragmentation • Species extinction • Pollinator decline • Coral bleaching • Whaling • Holocene extinction event • Invasive species

* Dams - Environmental impacts of dams

* Energy - Energy conservation • Renewable energy • Efficient energy use • Renewable energy commercialization

* Genetic engineering — Genetic pollution

* Intensive farming — Overgrazing • Irrigation • Monoculture • Environmental effects of meat production

* Land degradation — Land pollution • Desertification

Soil — Soil conservation • Soil erosion • Soil contamination • Soil salination

* Nanotechnology — Nanotoxicology • Nanopollution

* Nuclear issues — Nuclear fallout • Nuclear meltdown • Nuclear power

* Overpopulation — Burial

* Ozone depletion

* Pollution — Air pollution • Light pollution • Noise pollution • Thermal pollution

Water pollution — Acid rain • Eutrophication • Ocean dumping • Oil spills • Water crisis

* Resource depletion — Exploitation of natural resources

Consumerism — Consumer capitalism • Planned obsolescence
Fishing — Blast fishing • Bottom trawling • Cyanide fishing • Ghost nets • Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing • Overfishing • Shark finning
Logging — Clearcutting • Deforestation • Illegal logging
Mining — Acid mine drainage • Mountaintop removal mining

* Toxins — Chlorofluorocarbons • DDT • Dioxin • Heavy metals • Herbicides • Pesticides • Toxics use reduction • Toxic waste

* Urban sprawl

* Waste — E-waste • Waste disposal incidents

Green Tips to Save the Earth - SHOPPING TIPS

General Considerations

Being environmentally conscious when shopping, we should only buy items which are actually needed.

• If you prepare a shopping list before buying, you can avoid purchasing redundant or unnecessary items, which will reduce waste.
• Family-sized products require less packaging and generally cost less.
• Overall, if you only purchase products with minimal packaging you will not only save resource, but also help to decrease the amount of energy used during the packaging process.

When Buying Food and Drinks

Food and drinks tend to be heavily packaged, but more environmentally friendly alternatives are available.

• You can cut down on take-away food, which uses more disposable packaging, and choose to eat at home.
• Buy drinks in returnable bottles where possible.
• You should avoid laminated beverages, the containers cannot be recycled.
• Try to use durable tablewares instead of disposable ones such as foam containers, paper cups, disposable plastic cutleries and wooden chopsticks.

There are also ways in which you can protect nature when purchasing food.

• Try to buy fresh local food, which requires little packaging and reduces energy consumption and pollution because no long-distance transportation is required.
• When organic food is available, choose it to lessen the harm caused by chemical pesticides and fertilisers to both the environment and your health.
• Do not consume products containing endangered animal parts or plants because they help to maintain the biodiversity that keeps the environment in balance.

When Buying Daily Necessities

Our daily necessities are often the most polluting, but there are always more environmentally friendly alternatives that are easy to find or make.

• Buy ant or cockroach traps instead of fluorocarbon sprays; they are less polluting and can reduce insect populations effectively.
• Minimise your purchases of products such as aerosol sprays that contain ozone depleting substances.
• Replace non-rechargeable batteries with rechargeable batteries, old rechargeable batteries can be collected at collection points throughout Hong Kong.
• A simple solution of vinegar and baking soda is an effective multi-purpose cleaner, which is more environmentally friendly and much cheaper than cleaners containing chemicals.
• Handkerchiefs are more environmentally friendly than tissues.

When Buying Clothes

The process of manufacturing of materials for clothes might cause harm to the environment.

• Choose clothes that are made of non-bleached materials because waste water generated from the bleaching process affects the marine ecology.
• Choose clothes made of materials which do not crease easily, thus less energy is consumed for ironing.

When Buying Electrical Appliances

Think green when buying electrical appliances. Always choose refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines, tumble dryers and other electrical appliances with Grade 1 Energy Efficiency Labels; these products consume less energy than those with higher grade energy labels.