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Wildlife Species of Concern

Primary Question (chapter 5): What conditions will be needed to maintain animal species associations in the South?

Related Question (chapter 2): What are the history, status, and projected future of native plant communities in the South?

Substantial alterations to forested communities have impacted several terrestrial species in the South. To enumerate and examine species of concern, the databases of the State Natural Heritage agencies were used to list species by their global conservation rank. The global ranks reflect scarcity for the entire range of the species. These ranks include presumed extinct, possibly extinct, critically imperiled, imperiled, vulnerable, apparently secure, and secure. Species of conservation concern include those that are critically imperiled (extremely rare—observed at 5 or fewer locations or fewer than 1,000 animals—or otherwise vulnerable to extinction), imperiled (rare—observations in 6 to 20 locations or fewer than 2000 animals—or otherwise vulnerable to extinction), or vulnerable (21 to 100 locations or 3,000 to 10,000 animals or found locally in a restricted area). Table 2 shows species of concern and critically imperiled species. In addition, data on the status of threatened and endangered vertebrate species were compiled from the Department of Interior. We examined the status of terrestrial wildlife species and found:

• Of the 1,208 vertebrate species known to exist in the South, 132 are considered to be of conservation concern. Twenty-eight species are classified as critically imperiled.

• Seven southern terrestrial vertebrate species are now presumed extinct.

• The South is a center of amphibian biodiversity in the United States. Fifty-four amphibian species are classified as species of concern, and 19 are critically imperiled. Many amphibians require both wet and upland habitats, emphasizing the critical biological importance of wetlands and of ecotones (the gradients between wet and dry habitats). Wetlands are discussed in more detail in “Forested Wetlands.”

The South contains several areas where the number of endangered species is high, including the Southern Appalachians, Atlantic and eastern gulf coast flatwoods, gulf coast marsh and prairie, and peninsular Florida. Loss of habitat is the primary cause of endangerment of terrestrial vertebrates. Forests, grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands have been converted to urban, industrial, and agricultural uses. Other factors include environmental contamination and commercial exploitation. Florida and Texas are the States with the greatest numbers of endangered vertebrate species (fig. 43).

The South also has a large complement of rare plants. Rare vascular plant species are not evenly distributed throughout the South. Concentrations of rare species diversity occur in the Southern Appalachians, the Florida Panhandle, and the Lake Wales Ridge region of Florida. Rare species are also concentrated in the Ouachita Mountains and on the Cumberland Plateau (chapter 2, fig. 44).