Endangered Organisms and Selected Endangered Species

Vaccines and improved hygiene have greatly reduced the numbers of various microorganisms. These microorganisms were and are known to us because they affect humans in adverse ways. Look at the list of some once-common pathogens below. Do you think these species should be considered endangered or threatened? Explain your answer.

Endangered (Asexually-Reproducing) Species
smallpox virus	rubella virus	polio virus	pertussis bacteria
tuberculosis bacteria	tetanus bacteria	diptheria bacteria	cholera bacteria
measles virus	hanta virus	mumps virus	anthrax bacteria

In contrast, as of 1990 there were many more sexually-reproducing species on the United States' Endangered Wildlife and Plants list. There isn't room to list all 416 endangered species. A selected listing appears below.

Selected Endangered (Sexually-Reproducing) Species
Mammals grey bat wood bison woodland caribou eastern cougar Key deer northern swift fox jaguar Columbian white-tailed deer West Indian manatee Florida panther ocelot Sonoran pronghorn Fresno kangaroo rat Hawaiian monk seal salt marsh harvest mouse gray wolf red wolf Key Largo woodrat
Birds masked bobwhite Guam broadbill California condor Hawaiian coot Mississippi sandhill crane whooping crane Oahu creeper Hawaiian crow Mariana crow yellow-shouldered blackbird Layson duck American peregrine falcon bald eagle Audubon's crested caracara peregrine falcon Layson finch (honeycreeper) Hawaiian goose Nihoa finch (honeycreeper) Aleutian Canada goose Hawaiian hawk Hawaiian duck Florida scrubjay Puerto Rican parrot thick-billed parrot Northern aplomado falcon Puerto Rican nightjar Attwater's greater prairie chicken California clapper rail crested honeycreeper Puerto Rican plain pigeon Mariana common moorhen