What Is a Species?

One widely used definition is based on reproductive

isolation: “Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding
natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such
groups” (Mayr 1942).
How many species are there? Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish biologist
who founded modern taxonomy, described about 13,000 species in
1758 , but must have been well aware that this list was incomplete
because in the eighteenth century much of the world remained
unexplored by scientists. It is interesting to speculate how many
species he might have estimated to exist. Today, roughly two and a half
centuries later, scientists have described about 1.7 million species
using Linnaeus’s system. ( Roughly 1.7 million species have been
described by scientists; arthropods, primarily insects, constitute almost
half this number).
Do we really need to know how many species there are? The number
of species may not matter strategically, but these estimates do convey
two fundamental ideas. First, the number of species that may
ultimately be at risk is enormous; in other words, we have a lot to lose.
Second, we have a great deal to learn about the world.
The Intrinsic Value of Species and Their Conservation Status.
Many conservationists believe that every species has intrinsic
value. Its value is independent of its usefulness to people. Strictly
speaking, its value is even independent of its usefulness to other
species or within an ecosystem. In other words, every species has
value without reference to anything but its own existence. The
idea of things having value without reference to humans is hard
for many philosophers to accept ,but it does appeal to many
conservationists. If you accept the idea of species having intrinsic
value, then to decide which species merit more attention from
conservation biologists: they are those species most threatened
with extinction, the ones whose continued existence is
jeopardized by people. In the task of assigning conservation status
to various species, the probability of extinction is the primary
consideration
The World Conservation Union (which is still widely known as the
IUCN, the initials of its former name) maintains a web-based database
that lists the species that fall into these categories, commonly called
the Red List (www.redlist.org). This provides the primary international
standard for the conservation status of various species, but there are
others. For example, the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (www.cites.org)
lists species in various appendices depending on how endangered
they are and Nature Serve (www.natureserve.org) maintains lists for
large portions of the western hemisphere. At a more local level, many
national and state governments also maintain lists of species that are
threatened within their borders (e.g. www. endangered.fws.gov).
Sometimes, global categories are used at these local levels ,but more
often different sets of criteria are used. Most of these organizations
also maintain lists of species that are not yet endangered but are
declining and need to be monitored. These are often called “species of
special concern” or “species to watch.”
INSTRUMENTAL VALUE:
When we think about the instrumental value of a species, we
are likely to go straight to the basics: Can I eat it? Can I make
it into clothing or shelter, or burn it to keep me warm? Or, in
the market-based economies in which most of us live: Can I
sell it? Materialistic uses of a species may be the core of
instrumental values, but this is not the whole story. People
also value species for purely aesthetic or spiritual reasons;
species have instrumental value as members of ecosystems
and as models for science and education; and conservation
biologists use certain species to expedite their larger goal of
maintaining biodiversity.
Categories of the IUCN Red List: The following categories are used
by the World Conservation Union to classify species for the IUCN Red List,
Extinct (EX) A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the
last individual has died. Carolina parakeet, and over 1000 other species
have become extinct since 1600.
Extinct in the Wild (EW) A taxon is Extinct in the Wild when it is known
only to survive in cultivation, in captivity, or as a naturalized population
well outside the past range. Dozens of species are currently found only in
captivity (e.g. several tree snails) or used to be Extinct in the Wild until
they were successfully reintroduced (e.g. nene goose).
Species that fall in the next three categories are collectively called
Threatened. Note that the US Fish and Wildlife Service uses “threatened”
as a category of jeopardy one step below “endangered.”
Critically Endangered (CR) A taxon is Critically Endangered when it is
considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Well known examples include the Sumatran, Javan, and black
rhinoceroses, Philippine eagle, California condor, hawksbill turtle.
Endangered (EN) A taxon is Endangered when available scientific
evidence indicates that it is considered to be facing a very high risk of
extinction in the wild. Many high-profile endangered species fall in this
group: for example, giant pandas, tigers,3 snow leopards, gorillas,
chimpanzees, Asian and African elephants, blue and fin whales,
whooping and Siberian cranes, and loggerhead and green turtles.
Vulnerable (VU) A taxon is Vulnerable when available scientific evidence
indicates that it is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in
the wild. Most threatened species are listed as Vulnerable; examples
include the cheetah,, humpback whale, .
Near Threatened (NT) A taxon is Near Threatened when it has been
assessed against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically
Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying
for, or is likely to qualify for, a threatened category in the near future.
Least Concern (LC) A taxon is Least Concern when it has been evaluated
against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically Endangered,
Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened. Widespread and abundant
taxa are included in this category.
Data Deficient (DD) A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate
information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of
extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. Listing of
taxa in this category indicates that more information is required and
acknowledges the possibility that future research will show that
threatened classification is appropriate. Many molluscs, fishes, and
nocturnal birds and mammals have been evaluated, but could not be
listed as Threatened because there was not enough information.
Not Evaluated (NE) A taxon is Not Evaluated when it is has not yet been
assessed against the criteria. Most of the world’s species, notably all the
invertebrates and other small life-forms, fall into this category
INSTRUMENTAL VALUE:
Economic Values:
1) Food :Except for salt and a few other additives, everything we eat started out as an
organism, an element of biodiversity. Often, we do not even recognize all the organisms
involved: for example, the array of microorganisms that are essential in the production
of cheese, bread, and alcoholic beverages
2) Medicine: There was a time when essentially all of our medicines, like all of our foods,
came directly from other organisms. Traditional medicines remain a conspicuous and
valuable legacy of this past, especially in developing countries where most of the
world’s population resides, but also in industrialized countries where herbal medicines
are worth billions of dollars per year. Plants are a primary source of medicinal
chemicals, largely because they have developed a wide diversity of complex organic
chemicals (often known as secondary compounds) for deterring plant-eating animals
and for other purposes. One of the earliest examples is a Silphion was a plant from
north Africa that became a major trade commodity in the Greek and Roman empires
because of its efficacy as a contraceptive .(Silphion was a plant of such great
commercial value that it was depicted on Greek coins. However, its use (as a
contraceptive) was short-lived because it was apparently overharvested into extinction
roughly 2000 years ago.
Medicines derived from microorganisms include penicillin, tetracycline, and
virtually all other antibiotics, as well as a variety of vaccines, hormones, and
antibodies. Although animals are the source of some medicines – for example,
chemicals used to prevent blood clots have been isolated from the saliva of
two blood-sucking animals, leeches and vampire bats. Medicinal surveys of
plants have long been expedited by consulting with local people about their
use of local plants, a field known as ethnobotany. The role of different species
in medicine is of particular interest to conservation biologists because it so
clearly highlights the need to maintain biodiversity. From a biochemical
perspective every species is unique and thus potentially could be the source of
a major scientific breakthrough. If we lose a species, we may have lost an
invaluable opportunity. Who knows what modern pharmacologists could do if
they had access to silphion. We have only begun to screen organisms for their
biochemical properties, and it promises to be an endless task because by the
time we have completed one round of screening, medical technology will likely
have advanced to the stage where another search could be productive.
Clothing, Shelter, and Tools
Plastics, metals, glass, and concrete may constitute the bulk of materials people use today,
but more traditional materials such as wood, cotton, thatch, sisal, wool, silk, leather, fur,
and others remain very important to us. In industrialized nations natural materials often
command a premium price because people prefer to walk on hardwood floors rather than
linoleum and to sit on leather upholstery rather than plastic. The overexploitation of wild
populations for materials seems particularly unacceptable when they are used to produce
nonessential items: trinkets and toys for wealthy adults such as spotted cat fur coats, rhino-
horn dagger handles, or Brazilian rosewood guitars.
Fuel:
One of the single biggest uses we make of other living creatures, as measured in tons, is
burning them as biomass fuel. Of course, all forms of life are full of carbon and will burn
given sufficient heat and oxygen. Closely related to fuel are various oils and waxes used for
lubricants, chemical feedstocks, and other specialized uses. Some of these substances are
unique to certain species. For example, sperm whale oil has special properties as a
lubricant, properties so valuable that sperm whale populations have been grossly
overexploited. Fortunately, scientists have discovered that a plant, the jojoba, which can
easily be cultivated, produces an oil with qualities very similar to sperm whale oil.
Recreation:
A person’s requirements for food, clothing, shelter, tools, and fuel
are fundamental, but we also have emotional needs that drive our
search for pleasure. Virtually all of us find pleasure in interacting
with other people, and most of us also seek enjoyment from our
interactions with other living creatures.Keeping pets and growing
ornamental plants are the basis for enormous businesses. Dogs,
cats, and roses may be a large part of this trade.
Diversity is the spice of life, and species diversity is a key element in
the recreational value of organisms.
Services; Examples include the pollination services rendered to
farmers by bees and other species, the degradation of oil spills by
bacteria, the aeration of soils, and decomposition of organic matter
by earthworms and many other organisms, and the removal of
pollutants from air and water by plants and other organisms