The Threatening of Australias Marsupials :: Endangered Species Animals Nature Essays

The Threatening of Australias MarsupialsAbout fifty share of all(prenominal) mammalianian species worldwide to have be develop extinct in the subsist 200 years have been from Australia, giving Australia the worst record for mammal conservation of any country or continent. Of a total 245 mammalian species, 59 are listed as extinct, threatened, or vulnerable (Short 1994). about of these extinctions and declines come from two taxonomic groups--the rodents and the marsupials. Because marsupials are so abundant and diverse in Australia, I decided to research the endangerment and conservation efforts regarding marsupial species. Sixty percent of the extinct, be, and vulnerable Australian zoology are indeed marsupials table 1 on the next page lists Australias threatened marsupial species. Endangered is specify as a species in danger of extinction whose survival is unconvincing if certain threats continue operating, vulnerable species are believed likely to move into the endangered c ategory in the near future if threats continue, and to be considered extinct the species has unimpeachably not been located in the wild during the last 50 years (ANPWS 1991). Extinctions and declines have not uniformly affected marsupial species. Terrestrial, medium-sized marsupials in the tilt range of 35.0 g to 5.5 kg have proven to be to a greater extent vulnerable, and omnivores and herbivores have declined to a greater extent than carnivores. Arboreal species such as possums and gliders and species that use rock piles for shelter have been less affected. Most problems with extinction and endangerment occur in the southern arid zone and the shuck belt of Western Australia while the tropical north of Australia, the mesic nor-east and coast of New South Wales, Tasmania, and numerous offshore islands have remained relatively unaffected by local extinctions (Short 1994). The problemsSeven main hypotheses have been be sick forward to explain why species have declined and/or dis appeared from various separate of Australia, and they include 1) clearing for agriculture, 2) draining and salination of wetlands, 3) grazing and browsing by disclose animals, 4) changed fire regimes, 5) introduced predators, 6) disease, and 7) overkill by hunters (Kennedy 1992). By studying the history of threatened fauna and patterns of decline, experts have come to the conclusion that some of these hypotheses can be fired as not being a primary cause of declining populations. For instance, on that point is no direct evidence that disease has led to any mammal extinctions, though epidemics have been blamed for the decline of carnivorous marsupials in southeastern Australia and Tasmania at the turn of the century.