The NatureServe conservation status system, maintained and presented by NatureServe in cooperation with the Natural Heritage Network, was developed in the United States in the 1980s by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as a means for ranking or categorizing the relative imperilment of species of plants, animals, or other organisms, as well as natural ecological communities, on the global, national or subnational levels. These designations are also referred to as NatureServe ranks, NatureServe statuses, or Natural Heritage ranks. While the Nature Conservancy is no longer substantially involved in the maintenance of these ranks, the name TNC ranks is still sometimes encountered for them.
The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels, as well as for consumer use such as sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification. The two international systems are by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon, scarce, or infrequently encountered. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and is distinct from the term endangered or threatened. Designation of a rare species may be made by an official body, such as a national government, state, or province. The term more commonly appears without reference to specific criteria. The International Union for Conservation of Nature does not normally make such designations, but may use the term in scientific discussion.
Blue-listed species are species that belong to the Blue List and includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be vulnerable in their locale in order to provide early warning to federal and regional governments. Vulnerable taxa are of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but are not extirpated, endangered or threatened.
GRANK, or Global Rank is a ranking of the rarity of a species, and is a useful tool in determining conservation needs. Global Ranks are derived from a consensus of various conservation data centres, natural heritage programmes, scientific experts and NatureServe.
The crystal darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. This small North American fish is found in small, moderate, and swift rivers in the drainage basins of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It is now extirpated from a majority of its range along the Ohio River.
The Fresno kangaroo rat or San Joaquin kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to areas within and near the San Joaquin Valley of California in the United States. Habitat destruction due to agricultural development and urbanization has put this species at risk, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable".
The frecklebelly madtom is a species of fish in the family Ictaluridae endemic to the United States. Madtoms are in the genus Noturus, which is a group of catfish prevalent in North America. In 2023, the Upper Coosa River distinct population segment (DPS) of N. munitus was listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Lampsilis rafinesqueana, the Neosho mucket or Neosho pearly mussel, is a species of North American freshwater mussel endemic to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.
Erigeron philadelphicus, the Philadelphia fleabane, is a species of flowering plant in the composite family (Asteraceae). Other common names include common fleabane, daisy fleabane, frost-root, marsh fleabane, poor robin's plantain, skevish or skervish, and, in the British Isles, robin's-plantain, but all of these names are shared with other species of fleabanes (Erigeron). It is native to North America and has been introduced to Eurasia.
The American hog-nosed skunk is a species of hog-nosed skunk from Central and North America, and is one of the largest skunks in the world, growing to lengths of up to 2.7 feet (82 cm). Recent work has concluded the western hog-nosed skunk is the same species, and Conepatus leuconotus is the correct name of the merged populations.
Oryctes is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family containing the single species Oryctes nevadensis, which is known by the common name Nevada oryctes. This rare plant is native to a small area of desert straddling the California - Nevada border, where it grows in habitat with deep sand. It is difficult to estimate its abundance because the plant is only seen in years with certain rainfall amounts and temperature ranges. This is a small annual herb growing from a taproot and producing sticky, scaly foliage, growing up to about 20 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long, linear in shape to oval and divided into lobes, sometimes wavy along the edges. The inflorescences are umbels of a few tiny flowers each, emerging from leaf axils. The flower is purplish and rounded into an urn shape, measuring a few millimeters wide. The fruit is a spherical capsule containing several seeds. The plant typically flowers in the spring months of April, May and June.
Astragalus osterhoutii, or the Osterhout milkvetch or Kremmling milkvetch, is an endangered species of milkvetch, discovered and collected in 1905 at Sulfur Spring in Grand County Colorado by Colorado botanist George Everett Osterhout for which the plant was named. It is found in the U.S. state of Colorado, in a 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) radius near the town of Kremmling.
The lake chubsucker is a species of freshwater fish endemic to North America, found in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin, as far north as Ontario, Canada, extending south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is mainly found in lakes, ponds, and swamps, rarely in streams.
The splendid darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the Barren River system in south-central Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. This species is usually found in small rocky pools on the sides of creeks and rivers.
British Columbia hosts 22 species of native and introduced salmonids. This list reflects the conservation status of British Columbia salmonids with status from the B.C. Species and Ecosystems Explorer, current as of August 2023. Status definitions were taken from NatureServe.
Gaylussacia orocola, is a plant species native only to the southern Appalachians of western North Carolina. This plant grows only in Mountain Bogs, severely limiting available habitat. This plant has many common names which may be shared with other species. It is known to The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program as the Appalachian dwarf huckleberry and The North Carolina Botanical Garden knows it as the Blue Ridge bog huckleberry. It may also be referred to as the Gopherberry, Blue Ridge huckleberry, or Dwarf Huckleberry.
Endangered species, as classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are species which have been categorized as very likely to become extinct in their known native ranges in the near future. On the IUCN Red List, endangered is the second-most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after critically endangered. In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3,079 animal and 2,655 plant species as endangered worldwide. The figures for 1998 were 1,102 and 1,197 respectively.
Enchylium conglomeratum, commonly known as dotted jelly lichen, is a species of foliose lichen in the family Collemataceae. Formerly known as Collema conglomeratum, it was renamed in 2013. This lichen has a fragmented distribution across the Holarctic region, occurring in both North America and Europe.
