Activity 13 - Studying Animals and Plants at Risk

Focus
Many animals in the Wet Tropics have a crucial role in sustaining the tropical rainforest. Due to various reasons, some animals have become endangered.

Background
Authorities categorise animals and plants at risk and develop management plans to try to protect them. Some of the categeries used to describe them are:
• Species are presumed extinct if they haven’t been found in the last 50 years despite thorough searching
• Species are endangered when they are at serious risk of disappearing from the wild within 10-20 years if current pressures continue
• Vulnerable species are not currently endangered but are at risk of becoming endangered because of long-term population decreases, or because they are found in areas which are likely to experience changes in land use.
• Rare species may have a large population restricted to a small area, or may have a small population spread over a wide range.
• Poorly known species are suspected of belonging to the above categories, but there’s not enough information about them.

The short video Animals and Plants in Danger

Animals and Plants in Danger

and the following tables provide detailed information:
• Rare and Threatened Animal Classification Table
• Rare and Threatened Animal Percentages Table
• Rare and Threatened Animal Species List
• Rare and Threatened Plant Classification Table
• Rare and Threatened Plant Percentages Table
• Rare and Threatened Plant Species List.

Pedagogy/teaching strategies
The ability to analyse and interpret data and make inferences based on the data is the focus of this activity. Remember an inference is an explanation of observations sometimes presented in data tables.

Activity sequence
1. View the video Animals and Plants in Danger.

Animals and Plants in Danger

Define the terms threatened, vulnerable, endangered and rare.

2. Add terms and explanations to glossary.

3. Examine the tables and analyse the data around questions such as: Which plant type has the most threatened number of species? Which animal type has the most number of threatened species? Which life form (plant or animal) has the most number of threatened species and by how many? Is this information common knowledge of the public? Write an inference to explain this.

4. Make a list of the names of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs and plants you know that are in various degrees of being at risk.

5. Write inferences explaining reasons for each species being threatened.

6. Infer and prioritise the trends which cause most impact on animals being listed as endangered.