TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Disappearing Opportunities
Species Highly Vulnerable to Extinction
· Species with a narrow geographic range: like mountain tops, valleys, islands· Niche species: once their niche is lost they quickly disappear
· Species adapted to stable environments: like the shade of the canopy
· Endemic (especially island) species: easily decimated by introduced species
· Species with naturally small, dispersed populations
· Species with few populations
· Species with poor dispersal: species that need specific pollinators or dispersers
· Species with low reproduction rates: gorillas, indri lemurs, harpy eagles, etc.
· Ecologically naive species: species that have been isolated and have no natural predators
· Species with a large body size
· Migratory species
· Predatory species
· Species that are used (hunted, harvested, or killed) by humans
Continued: Extinction