Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 34:185-190 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00850 NOTEExploitation of endangered mammals in the United States Christian J. Rivera* Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA *Corresponding author: cjrivera@alumni.princeton.edu ABSTRACT: Overexploitation is a pervasive threat to mammal species worldwide and ranks second to habitat destruction as the major cause of their decline in the United States. Fine-scale analyses and quantitative studies on the threats to endangered species are lacking, which can undermine conservation and recovery efforts. Using threats data gathered from official Federal Register notices and recovery plans from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, I quantified the extent to which anthropogenic exploitation threatens the mammal species, subspecies, and populations that are protected under the US Endangered Species Act. Of the federally endangered mammal species in the United States, 65% are threatened by intentional or incidental exploitation by humans, including all endangered ungulates and whales. The most prevalent threats to endangered mammals are harvesting for raw materials (53%), incidental shooting, trapping, and poisoning (37%), and persecution (32%). A significantly higher proportion of marine than terrestrial mammals are threatened by exploitation (96 vs. 57%; χ2 = 10.3, df = 1, p = 0.001). The results from this fine-scale analysis can be used to understand the relative importance of threats in order to guide the distribution of conservation resources and develop context-specific conservation strategies. KEY WORDS: Endangered mammals · Exploitation · Overexploitation · United States Endangered Species Act · Threats · National Marine Fisheries Service · US Fish and Wildlife Service Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Rivera CJ (2017) Exploitation of endangered mammals in the United States. Endang Species Res 34:185-190. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00850 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 34. Online publication date: September 05, 2017 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.
Highlights
The overexploitation of species is considered a major factor in the decline of the world’s biodiversity (Wilson 1992)
I quantified the extent to which exploitation by humans threatens the mammal species, subspecies, and populations that are protected under the federal US Endangered Species Act, and that are found at the national scale
Threats data were available for 100% of the federally endangered mammal species, 65% of which are threatened by exploitation
Summary
The overexploitation of species is considered a major factor in the decline of the world’s biodiversity (Wilson 1992). Studies have found that overexploitation ranks second to habitat destruction as the major threat to mammals at both domestic and international scales This type of threat can take a broad variety of forms, including both lethal and nonlethal harvesting from populations by humans (Taylor & Dunstone 1996) (see Table 1). Few quantitative studies on the relative importance of specific threats facing threatened species have been conducted in the United States (Wilcove et al 1998, clear identification of the specific forms of exploitation threatening endangered mammals and the relative importance of those threats can help guide the distribution of often-scarce resources available for conservation (Hayward 2009). Exploitation is defined as direct anthropogenic harvest from a population, whether lethal or nonlethal, and whether intentional
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
