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Species in Danger of Extinction1
Center for Natural Resources2Countless species have gone extinct from natural processes. Unfortunately we can no longer attribute the accelerating extinction of plants and animals to natural causes. Today most species of plants and animals become extinct because of habitat destruction (loss of living space to development or pollution) introduction of non-native organisms, and direct killing (overharvesting, poisoning). Since the widespread settlement of Florida in the mid-1800s, at least 19 species of animals and 12 plants are believed to have become extinct.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) maintains the state list of 117 animals that are endangered, threatened, or species of special concern in Rules 39-27.003, 39-27.004 and 39-27.005, respectively, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) maintains the state list of 413 plants that are endangered, threatened and commercially exploited via chapter 5B-40, F.A.C. The federal lists of animals and plants are administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and categorized into endangered and threatened, and are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 50 CFR, part 17, deals with animals and 50 CFR, part 23, deals with plants.
According to the USFWS listings, Florida trails only California and Hawaii, in numbers of listed endangered species. About 4 dozen other species are in as much jeopardy of extinction as those species already listed, and nearly half (44%) of all Florida vertebrates are known or suspected to be declining in number of distribution ( Figure 1 ).
Figure 1. There are about 50 - 70 adult Florida panthers (Panthera floridanus) in the State (FWC, 2003).
Extinction occurs gradually. When an essential habitat component is diminished to a level insufficient for a species survival, that species becomes extinct in that area. From an individual site, extinction can then spread to township, county, state, national and global levels.
University of Florida Units
Botany Department
352-392-1175
http://web.botany.ufl.edu/
Entomology and Nematology Department
352-392-1901
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/
Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences Department
352-392-9617
http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/
Florida Biological Diversity Project
352-846-0630
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/coop/gap/
Florida Coop. Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
352-846-0626
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/coop/
Florida Museum of Natural History
352-846-2000
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/
School of Forest Resources & Conservation
352-846-0850
http://aris.sfrc.ufl.edu/welcome.html
Governmental Responsibility Center
Levin College of Law
352-392-2237
http://www.law.ufl.edu/college/CGR/
Pathobiology Department
Veterinary Medicine College
352-392-4700
http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/path/path.htm
Florida Sea Grant College
352-392-5870
http://www.flseagrant.org/
Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Department
352-846-0643
http://www.wec.ufl.edu
Zoology Department
352-392-1107
http://www.zoo.ufl.eduOther Contacts
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
http://doacs.state.fl.us/
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
http://southeast.fws.gov/maps/fl.html
Florida Biological Diversity Project
941-947-3567
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/coop/GAP/Default.htm
Florida Internet Center for Understanding
http://www.ficus.usf.edu/
Florida Natural Areas Inventory
http://www.fnai.org/
National Audubon Society
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/esa
The Nature Conservancy - FL Chapter
http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/florida/
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/Footnotes
1. This publication was produced by the Center for Natural Resources at the University of Florida. CNR 6 is part of a Program Summary Series. First published: September 2000. Minor revision: March 2003. 1051 McCarty Hall D. Post Office Box 110230. Tel: (352) 392-7622 Fax: (352) 846-2856 Email: cnr_mail@mail.ifas.ufl.edu Web: http://cnr.ifas.ufl.edu/2. This fact sheet was written by The Center for Natural Resources (CNR). Established in 1973, CNR, at the University of Florida, plays a major role in the conservation, preservation and restoration of our nation's natural resources by facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations between UF faculty and external stakeholders.
Nancy Peterson, Program Coordinator
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
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