Habitat loss from development in the 20th century is the main reason the tree went extinct in the wild. A single specimen survived at the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, until 1990, when that, too, was lost. Probability of extinction in the wild is at least 20 percent within 20 years or five generations, whichever is longer.

Founded on the principle of data sharing – collect it once, share it, use it many times – the ALA provides free, online access to more than 85 million occurrence records 1, based on specimens from natural history collections, field observations and surveys. The Tahiti reed-warbler ( Acrocephalus caffer) is a songbird found on the Pacific island of Tahiti. It is an endangered species because it has a very small population. The bird is only found on a single island, meaning both its extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are very small. The Siberian sturgeon is an endangered species because its total population has declined between 50 and 80 percent during the past 60 years (three generations of sturgeon). Overfishing, poaching, and dam construction have caused this decline. Pollution from mining activities has also contributed to abnormalities in the sturgeon’s reproductive system. Joyful and heartbreaking, an inspiring celebration of some of our planet’s most endangered species and those who champion them’– Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth However, the snaggletooth shark is a vulnerable species because of a severe population reduction rate. Its population has fallen more than 10 percent over 10 years. The number of sharks is declining due to fisheries, especially in the Java Sea and Gulf of Thailand. The snaggletooth shark’s flesh, fins, and liver are considered high-quality foods. They are sold in commercial fish markets, as well as restaurants.

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A species is classified as endangered when its population is restricted to less than 250 mature individuals. When a species’ population is this low, its area of occupancy is not considered. The Ethiopian banana frog ( Afrixalus enseticola) is a small frog native to high- altitude areas of southern Ethiopia. It is a vulnerable species because its area of occupancy is less than 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles). The extent and quality of its forest habitat are in decline. Threats to this habitat include forest clearance, mostly for housing and agriculture. Since 2010, the ALA team has worked to aggregate Australia's biodiversity information and make it available online at the Atlas of Living Australia . In her new book, An Atlas of Endangered Species, which is illustrated by Emily Robertson, McCubbin alights on 20 species (10 from each hemisphere) that are in danger of extinction, ending with humans. If this sounds stark – and, yes, it is stark – the message is more practical. If the small army of scientists, rangers and conservationists dedicating their lives to the species in her book can make the gains she describes, well, the rest of us might actually achieve something if we would just get a move on.

Species that are not threatened by extinction are placed within the first two categories—least concern and near-threatened. Those that are most threatened are placed within the next three categories, known as the threatened categories—vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered. Those species that are extinct in some form are placed within the last two categories—extinct in the wild and extinct. Inbreeding is reproduction with close family members. Groups of species that have a tendency to inbreed usually have little genetic variation, because no new genetic information is introduced to the group. Disease is much more common, and much more deadly, among inbred groups. Inbred species do not have the genetic variation to develop resistance to the disease. For this reason, fewer offspring of inbred groups survive to maturity. The snaggletooth shark ( Hemipristis elongatus) is found in the tropical, coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its area of occupancy is enormous, from southeast Africa to the Philippines, and from China to Australia. A collaboration between CSIRO, Australia's museums and herbaria, universities, and the Australian Government established the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA); a national project focused on making biodiversity information accessible and usable.Mt. Kaala cyanea trees survive in tropical nurseries and botanical gardens. Many botanists and conservationists look forward to establishing a new population in the wild. In the fiction category Kuang’s Yellowface (The Borough Press) is up against Lydia Davis’ Our Strangers (Canongate), Natalie Haynes’ Divine Might (Picador), Women’s Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead (Faber), Benjamin Myers’ Cuddy (Bloomsbury Circus) and Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Chatto & Windus).

A species is extinct in the wild when it only survives in cultivation (plants), in captivity (animals), or as a population well outside its established range. A species may be listed as extinct in the wild only after years of surveys have failed to record an individual in its native or expected habitat. I really like sharks. I love misunderstood creatures. If I can convince one person who reads the book to love glow-worms as much as orangutans, I’ll be very happy. Because they’re not the most attractive animals in the daytime. But at night, when they light up, is there anything more magical than that? You’ve got these fairy lights twinkling at you. How amazing is that, that you can create light in your abdomen? What a beautiful thing to be able to do. Trying to imagine what it’s like to live as a glow-worm is more intriguing to me than trying to imagine what it’s like to live as an orangutan.” An Atlas of Endangered Species: stories from the brink of extinction – and the fight for survival by Megan McCubbin is published by Two Roads. A species is classified as critically endangered when its population is restricted to less than 50 mature individuals. When a species’ population is this low, its area of occupancy is not considered.

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The major threat to this species is loss of its cloud forest habitat. People are clearing forests to create cattle pastures. A critically endangered species’ population has declined between 80 and 90 percent. This decline is measured over 10 years or three generations of the species, whichever is longer. The lifestyle and culture category sees Gelf Alderson’s River Cottage Great Roasts (Bloomsbury) face Cold War Steve’s satirical annual (Constable), Katherine May’s Wintering (Rider), Anthony Penrose’s Lee Miller: Photographs (Thames & Hudson), Alice Vincent’s Why Women Grow (Canongate) and Bee Wilson’s The Secret of Cooking (Fourth Estate). Many species of violets, native to tropical jungles in South America and Africa, are near threatened, for instance. They have healthy populations, but their rain forest habitat is disappearing at a fast pace. People are cutting down huge areas of rain forest for development and timber. Many violet species are likely to become threatened. The diversity of life on earth is astounding, with each species perfectly adapted to its environment. Sharks can navigate the ocean using electromagnetic fields; sloths use algae as camouflage; albatross can fly for hours without beating their wings; and orca pods each have unique cultures and languages.

Rebecca F Kuang, Fern Brady and Katherine Rundell are among the authors shortlisted for Bookshop.org’s Indie Champions Awards, alongside publishers including Bloomsbury and Canongate and organisations such as The Jhalak Prize. The brown pelican was taken off the endangered species list in 2009, for instance. This seabird is native to the coasts of North America and South America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean Sea. It is the state bird of the U.S. state of Louisiana. In 1970, the number of brown pelicans in the wild was estimated at 10,000. The bird was classified as vulnerable. An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. Working with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF),the ALAcontinue to facilitate other countries to develop biodiversity information platforms using ALA e-infrastructure. The ALA’s open source platform is becoming a critical component within the GBIF network. Spain, France, Portugal, Canada, Sweden, Andorra, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil and Scotland have used ALA’s open infrastructure to help establish national biodiversity information portals, with several other countries investigating its use.A species is classified as endangered when there are fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. When a species population declines by at least 20 percent within five years or two generations, it is also classified as endangered. Least concern is the lowest level of conservation. A species of least concern is one that has a widespread and abundant population. Human beings are a species of least concern, along with most domestic animals, such as dogs and cats. Many wild animals, such as pigeons and houseflies, are also classified as least concern. She went to Liverpool to do a foundation degree in biological science, then did a zoology degree, spending four months in China as an animal behavioural volunteer for Animals Asia, rehabilitating bears from the bear bile farming industry. “This is a hideous, awful business,” she says, shaking her head. The rescued bears had spent their lives in tiny cages up to that point. “Some of them are more tolerant of people than others. It’s amazing how forgiving they are of humans, considering the torture they’ve been through. It was just really joyful watching them be bears again.” It was the best of times – a lot of people, locals and volunteers from across the world, coming together to save bears – and it was the worst of times: bears in terrible condition after lifelong maltreatment, other people kidnapping dogs for a dog meat festival. “An amazing experience, a very eye-opening experience,” she says, more sober than enthusiastic.