FACT SHEET:

BUNDLE A: -Species that are considered threatened or Endangered in the United States.

US Fish & Wildlife Service (Federal Agency)

Blue Whale: (ENDANGERED)- Many countries

Along with hunting, collisions with ships, and the degradation of their habitat due to pollution, the greatest threat to whales, dolphins and porpoises is entanglement in fishing gear, also known as bycatch. (WWF)

Manatee: (THREATENED)- Caribbean

Almost half of the known causes of manatee deaths are human- related. These include watercraft collisions; being crushed and drowned in canal locks and flood control structures; ingestion of fish hooks and litter; entanglement in crab trap lines and vandalism. Habitat loss and water pollution also pose serious threats to manatees.

-Nearly 40 percent of known causes of manatee deaths are caused by watercraft

-More than 80 percent of living manatees have scars on their bodies left by boat propellers

- Excessive nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers and poultry waste may result in an outbreak of toxic organisms known as Red Tide. A Red Tide in 1996 killed at least 151 manatees

Red Wolves: (CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)à Endemic to USA

Threats to the red wolf include habitat loss because of human development and illegal hunting. (National Park Conservation Association)

Bald Eagle: (THREATENED at Federal Level- ENDANGERED)

Habitat loss because of development in coastal areas, PCB= polychlorinated byphenyls (DDT) poisoning, and shooting for feathers.

BUNDLE B: Missouri Endangered & Threatened species.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation

Prarie Chicken (THREATENED)

Rana pipiens (ENDANGERED)

Niangua Darter (THREATENED

Hine’s emerald dragonfly (ENDANGERED)

BUNDLE c

YEW: (NEARLY WIPED OUT)

LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL RAW MATERIALS. Photo of Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) bark with breast cancer pathology. Taxol, the biggest recent advance in the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer, is derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew. This tree grows in the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest and was considered an "understory weed" by foresters and routinely burned as trash during timber operations. Anti-cancer activity was discovered in a large-scale screening program in 1963 at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Before a semi-synthetic product was available in 1995, collection of taxol from 3 to 12 trees was necessary for treatment of a single patient -- as a result the Pacific Yew suffered extreme overharvesting.

ROSY PERIWINKLE (NEARLY WIPED OUT)

Rosy- Periwinkle (Catharantus roseus)

LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL RAW MATERIALS. Photo of the Madagascar rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). The Madagascar rosy periwinkle is the source of vincristine and vinblastine, used for chemotherapy against several cancers: leukemia, Hodgkin's, breast cancer, and lung cancer. This plant first came to the attention of Western scientists in 1952 because of the claims by traditional healers of its usefulness as a treatment for diabetes. When tested it had no anti-diabetic effects, but was found to cause severe bone marrow suppression. The active alkaloid constituents were isolated thereafter. The rosy periwinkle was nearly wiped out in its native range due to severe habitat degradation before its life-saving properties were discovered. If this plant had been lost to extinction prior these discoveries, tens of thousands of people -- including innumerable small children -- who have been saved by vincristine and vinblastine would have died needlessly due to mankind's wasteful attitude toward nature.

Other familiar examples of medications from plants include aspirin from willow bark and quinine for malaria from cinchona bark.

PITVIPER

Photo of pit viper. With a loss of species, we are also losing valuable biological models that may help to understand human physiology and disease. The understanding of the renin-angiotensin system evolved from the study of pit viper venom which contains angiotensin converting enzyme factors; this led to the development of the class of synthetic ACE inhibitors which we use daily for hypertension. For example, the study of a neotropical rainforest viper's venom led to the formulation of Capoten.

Sometimes important results are obtained by studying rather unimpressive (some might say repulsive or frightening) organisms. Streptomycin, neomycin, and erythromycin -- powerful and important antibiotics -- are all the result of research conducted on tropical soil fungi.

PENICILLIUM

Fungus Penicillium (Penicillium spp)

The antibacterial effect of penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. He noted that a fungal colony had grown as a contaminant on an agar plate streaked with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and that the bacterial colonies around the fungus were transparent, because their cells were lysing. Fleming had devoted much of his career to finding methods for treating wound infections, and immediately recognised the importance of a fungal metabolite that might be used to control bacteria. The substance was named penicillin, because the fungal contaminant was identified as Penicillium notatum.

Federally Listed Species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 as Amended:

Endangered = Any species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Threatened = Any species that is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.

Candidate = Plants or animals that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is reviewing for possible addition to the list of Endangered and Threatened species.

Proposed = Any species proposed for listing as Threatened or Endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Total U.S. Endangered -- 989 (390 animals, 599 plants)
Total U.S. Threatened -- 275 (128 animals, 147 plants)

Total U.S. Species -- 1264 (518 animals***, 746 plants)

Missouri USFWS --- 25

Missouri Dep Conser --- 64