Endangered and Threatened Species 

There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. This includes both endangered animals and endangered plants.

Bagheera. 25 June, 2009. http://www.bagheera.com/index.htm

There are many Library of Congress subject headings which you may want to use to look for books and journals in the online catalog. You can divide many of these subject headings further by geography and/or a more specific subject (e.g. Endangered species--Illinois or Endangered species--Governmental policy).

Biological diversity conservation

Birds, protection of

Conservation Biology

Endangered animal species

Endangered animals

Endangered ecosystems

Endangered fungi

Endangered plants

Endangered species

Endangered wildlife

Environmental degradation

Nature conservation

Plant conservation

Rare animals

Rare birds

Rare vertebrates

Threatened animals

Threatened animal species

Threatened species

Threatened wildlife

Vanishing species

Wildlife conservation

Wildlife management

Wildlife recovery

A species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened species” is a related term, referring to a species likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. The main factors that cause species to become endangered are habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation. more

"endangered species." McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005. Answers.com 24 Jun. 2009. http://www.answers.com/topic/endangered-species

For more information see the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia's entry for Endangered Species.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 is "one of the most comprehensive wildlife conservation laws in the world." Its purpose is "to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend and to conserve and recover listed species." To find more information about the ESA, go to http://endangered.fws.gov/esa.html.

• Federally Endangered - The classification provided to an animal or plant in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
• Federally Threatened - The classification provided to an animal or plant likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

*from the Endangered Species Glossary found on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service web site. For more terms that may be encountered when researching endangered and threatened species, go to the above link.

 

Also see the link for the Endangered Species Act in the Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.