Welcome to CoreFacts. I'm Hannah from Page Middle School in Arizona.
Today's question is...
How do you know when an animal is becoming endangered or extinct? What is the determining factor?
My name is Rachel Muir. I am the Imperiled Species Coordinator from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Actually there are two answers to your question. The first one is we base it on science. We are a science agency. Secondly, there are requirements under the Endangered Species Act and they use what is called a five factor analysis.
They are presence of threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; number two—overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; number three—disease or predation; number four—inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms to protect the species; and finally—other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. Those are the five factors that are used to list a species under the Endangered Species Act.
Thank you Rachel. And now you know. Join us again every weekday for a new CoreFact. For other CoreFacts, or for CoreCast, the USGS in-depth science podcast, go to usgs.gov/podcasts. If you'd like to have a question featured on this show, send an email to corefacts@usgs.gov or a phone call at 703-648-5600. Remember, long distance fees do apply.
CoreFacts is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.
A CoreFact is a weekly audio podcast from the USGS that asks and answers a natural science question. When you subscribe to CoreFacts, episodes will be automatically downloaded to your computer as soon as they're available.
Huh? What's a Podcast?
A podcast is an audio (e.g. mp3) or video file (e.g. mpeg) that can be played
on a mobile media player (i.e. Apple iPod)1 or
personal computer.2
So, How Do I Listen/Watch?
You can subscribe to CoreFacts via RSS
feed1 (click for details), or you can listen to individual
CoreFacts by selecting the play button next to the episode you’re interested
in. When you subscribe to CoreFacts, each episode will automatically download
to your computer as soon as they become available. Some specific instructions can be found on our Adding a Podcast page.
1 Make sure you have the right software
to download CoreFacts from a computer to your mobile media player—this software
usually comes with the player. 2 To play CoreFacts on your computer, you will need media
player software such as: iTunes, Windows
Media Player, or Real
Media Player.
Most computers already have media player software installed—check
with your computer administrator to see if you’re already set up for CoreFacts!
508 Compliance
Every episode is transcribed and can be viewed in the Show Details section.
All links to Web sites or data referenced in the show are included.