More Than 1,000 Freshwater Species of Fish Could go Extinct

Just found this on yahoo news.

Scientists found that 1,147 freshwater fish are threatened with extinction out of the 3,120 they studied this year. Along with freshwater fish they also added 1,360 species of dragonflies and damselflies to the list.

news.yahoo.com...

GENEVA (AFP) – More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources, an updated global "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday. The list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the most respected inventory of biodiversity covering more than 47,000 of the world's species. Scientists looked at 3,120 freshwater fish this year, 510 more than a year ago. They found that 1,147, or a third, are now threatened with extinction. "Creatures living in freshwater have long been neglected," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of species programme at the IUCN. "This year we have again added a large number of them to the IUCN Red List and are confirming the high levels of threat to many freshwater animals and plants. "This reflects the state of our previous water resources. There is now an urgency to pursue our effort but more importantly, to start using this information to move towards a wise use of water resources." The scientists also added 1,360 species of dragonflies and damselflies to the Red List, and found that out of 1,989 in all, 261 were at risk of disappearing. Dragonflies provided a good gauge of the state of freshwater ecosystems as "many are very sensitive" to changes, said Vie. "We found that they are highly threatened wherever we looked," he said, noting that water resources were under strain due to pollution and intensive usage. Meanwhile, the tiny Kihansi Spray Toad, which once numbered at least 17,000 at the Kihansi Falls in Tanzania, joined the list of creatures which are now extinct in the wild. "Its decline is due to the construction of a dam upstream of the Kihansi Falls that removed 90 percent of the original water flow to the gorge," said the IUCN in a statement. Overall, this year's survey found that over a third, or 17,291 species out of 47,677 assessed are now threatened with extinction. Last year, the Red List examined 44,838 species and found that a similar proportion (16,298 species) were close to becoming extinct. "What we haven't got this year is good news," said Vie. The overall situation may be worse than reflected according to the IUCN, since data was lacking for 14 percent of the species surveyed. In addition, the survey only covers a fraction of the world's species. "These results are just the tip of the iceberg. We have only managed to assess 47,663 species so far; there are many more millions out there which could be under serious threat," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List unit. The environmental group WWF also urged action, saying the latest Red List update "should cause alarm over the continuing unprecedented loss of species and the failure so far of mechanisms to arrest biodiversity loss." "As crucial climate talks in Copenhagen draw near and with the International Year of Biodiversity around the corner, this is a wake-up call for world leaders," said Amanda Nickson, Director of the WWF International Species Programme.

The situation keeps getting worse with very little being done to prevent this extinction problem. Its only a matter of time before everything else goes, the Human race included.


Mankind is destroying the world's habitats faster than mother nature can rejuvenate herself, killing off mass species of native creatures who populate oceans,lakes,ponds and rivers to shores, swamps, hardwood forests to jungles all across the planet. Mining minerals in one place, clear cutting in another only to ship that material to another part of the planet to build on another clear cut selection of land and cement over what was once untouched. Doing so without ever really taking into account that other animals and insects make these places their home. We destroy their homes and threaten their well being so we can put in a parking lot, a building, a subdivision, or another thing we call a luxury. Along with physically denting large sections of land, we release so many dangerous and deadly poisons into the land, water and air that are causing total chaos and greatly affecting the natural order of the whole ecosystem, we find it necessary for some reason or no reason all at to destroy and kill things without every really questioning why? And pollute everything from the waters,land,air and even space above earth. Mankind has developed so far from the days of living in caves, became so advanced but yet so blind and in doing so have pushed the planet to the brink of no return. We are to smart for our own good and to dumb at the same time, its amazing how that is possible, we can harness to a point the powers of nature, get information from side of the planet to another in the blink of an eye, travel across great distances in a short amount of time, send humans into space. We can do so much with our knowledge, but yet we cant maintain a balanced sustainable life style with ourselves and nature. Hopefully some day we can use our knowledge for great things, fixing all of our problems and balancing out the lopsided system we currently have, maybe even one day returning the animals that we wiped out. We humans along with animals and insects share this great house together, its time we are start cleaning the place up and getting along together otherwise this house will not last.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species link.
www.iucn.org.../Extinction-crisis-continues-apace

[edit on 3-11-2009 by InvisibleObserver]



[edit on 3-11-2009 by asala]

The rising dominance of humankind coincides with one of the most drastic species extinctions in planet history.

The first generations of hunter-gatherers hunted the megafauna and exterminated many large mammals and birds. This happened in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Later farmers altered whole ecosystems. Wood-species were pushed into remote regions. Some plain- and riparian-species profited from mankinds changes. Profiteers were also the domesticated species.

Today the ecosystems are assaulted by humans much more forceful than ever before.

The hunting-practices of the hunter-gatherers have been perfected. More and more fish-species are overfished and are unable to regenerate their populations.
Fertile soil is sealed with streets and buildings.
Now Hundred-thousands of different chemicals alter ecosystems. Gender-bending chemicals will not only effect man and reduce their sperm-count, but also other male vertebrates. Even some invertebrates are effected. While we are exposed to only small amounts of these chemicals, many animals live their whole life immersed in these chemical cocktails. This, and drainage are the main reasons for the decline of many freswater-organisms.

But unlike those innocent species, the polluter-species is far from being endangered.

Nearly everything from our population-biology helps evading extiction:
1. We are a generalist-species and are able to use different resources as food or as habitat. A specialist species is addicted to one resource, if this resource is no longer available it will die. The generalist can always switch to another resource.
2. We are a cosmopolitic species having settled on all continents and all larger isles. So a regional or even continental wide catastrophe or lethal disease, which wipes out all life, will not endanger the species as a whole.
3. We don't have to adapt to the environment, instead technology allows to alter the environment.
4. We have the strength of great numbers. Even, when a catastrophe strikes and wipes out 99% of humankind, a remaining population of about 70 million people will be large, compared to human world population in the stone age.

Modern developments certainly make the earth a poorer and less beautiful place, and our and future generations will probably have to suffer greatly under our exploitations.

I am wondering why you only posted about the freshwater fish? You posted the link to yahoo and then the original link yahoo got their information from. There is so much more on that link..Freshwater fish arent the only ones in trouble...

The IUCN Red List shows that 1,895 of the planet’s 6,285 amphibians are in danger of extinction, making them the most threatened group of species known to date.Of these, 39 are already Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, 484 are Critically Endangered, 754 are Endangered and 657 are Vulnerable.

Seems amphibians are the most threatened group to date.

Many of these if not all are dying off due to OUR careless treatment of the planet. We dont care about what we do to this planet and it shows. We are given everything needed to live here and we carelessly waste it or abuse it away. Its really sad if you think about it.

I understand the cycle of life and things will die off, but why do we have to be the cause of most of it? These animals are just living the lives they were given and we are destroying it as well as our own lives for what, MONEY!

Global figures for 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
Total species assessed = 47,677
Total Extinct or Extinct in the Wild = 875 (2%) [Extinct = 809; Extinct in the Wild = 66].
Total threatened = 17,291 (36%) [Critically Endangered = 3,325; Endangered = 4,891; Vulnerable = 9,075].
Total Near Threatened = 3,650 (8%).
Total Lower Risk/conservation dependent = 281 (

Thanks guys for adding to this, I really appreciate it.

mblahnikluver; I was at work and short on free time, I only had enough time to get the headline out, that's the reason for only posting about the freshwater fish. I wanted to get the thread out before someone else beat me to it. I was planning on coming back to work on it,edit and add to it from the original link. Thanks for helping with the list of other threatened species.

(Edit- As above)

[edit on 3-11-2009 by asala]

As the fish and other species go, so go the humans.

In our zeal to multiply and fill the Earth we are extincting ourselves.

And thus TPTB are poinsoning you and loosing plagues in an attempt to save the Species.