1. Teacher Information! Necessary materials: PowerPoint Guide
Presentation (ppt.)
Teacher Information!
Necessary materials:
PowerPoint Guide
“Unintended Consequences: The case of the red-cockaded woodpecker”—in-class reading
Activity for establishing prior knowledge and getting interest.
**all relevant terms are bolded.

2. Presentation (ppt.)
Causes of Extinction
Fish and Wildlife Resources

3. Students will be able to…
Presentation (ppt.)
Students will be able to…
Discuss factors contributing to extinction/endangerment
Discuss the Endangered Species Act

4. Why do some species become extinct or endangered and others do not?
Presentation (ppt.)
Why do some species become extinct or endangered and others do not?
Extinction is natural
99% of all species that have ever existed are extinct.
Species spend about 1 to 10 million years on earth.

5. Why do some species become extinct or endangered and others do not?
Presentation (ppt.)
Why do some species become extinct or endangered and others do not?
Some species are more vulnerable and less adaptive
Specialists
Require very specific foods
Endemic species
Occur in only one place on earth
Specialists have very restricted diets and thus restricted habitat: pygmy rabbit, koala, woolly flying squirrel, giant panda, red panda.
Endemic species occur in only one place on earth—cloud frog (extinct), Hawaiian hawk. Often found in isolated places like islands.

6. Presentation (ppt.)
The extinction rate has greatly increased in the last 10,000 years. WHY?
Golden Toad—1989
Photos from: very interesting website
Pyrenean Ibex—2000
Tasmanian Tiger—1936
Passenger
Pigeon—1914

7. PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased rate of extinction
Presentation (ppt.)
PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased rate of extinction
HIPPO
Habitat alteration:
desertification, deforestation
urbanization, wetland destruction
agriculture, global climate change
Invasive species
Utilize resources
Outcompete native species
Desertification  The degradation and loss of productivity of arid lands often because of human activities. Arid ecosystems are very fragile, and activities such as overgrazing and unmanaged irrigation can cause desertification.
Deforestation  The clearing of natural forests, often by logging or burning.

8. PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased rate of extinction
Presentation (ppt.)
PEOPLE are the root cause of the increased rate of extinction
HIPPO
Pollution—probably less of a threat than other factors
Population growth (human)
Exacerbates other factors
Overexploitation
Hunting
Resource consumption

9. Endangered Species Act (1966)
Presentation (ppt.)
Endangered Species Act (1966)
Led to the creation of the “Endangered Species List”
Positive effects
Recovery & removal (delisted) from the Endangered Species List
American alligator, peregrine falcon, bald eagle, brown pelican, gray wolf, gray whale

10. Endangered Species Act (1966)
Presentation (ppt.)
Endangered Species Act (1966)
What are the negative effects of the ESA?
Read : “Unintended Consequences: The Case of the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker”
Why would land users not want endangered species in an area?
“Shoot, shovel, and shut up” principle
Read as a class.
Consequences article:
Shoot, shovel, and shut up—can students guess what that means? It refers to the practice of landowners destroying habitat, or even endangered species, before their land becomes regulated by the government.—The ESA highly regulates endangered species habitat which can hinder the recreational, developmental, or agricultural goals of land users.

11. Review Discuss factors contributing to extinction/endangerment
Presentation (ppt.)
Review
Discuss factors contributing to extinction/endangerment
Summarize the Endangered Species Act