System Glossary
 Glossary Search for vulnerable (Search Options)

Definition of Term

vulnerable
(English) 1) that part of a population likely to be captured by a particular gear, 2)in the IUCN Criteria for threatened species, a taxon is Vulnerable when it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future, as defined by any of the following criteria (A to E): A. Population reduction in the form of either of the following: 1. An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the least 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on (and specifying) any of the following: a) direct observation, b) an index of abundance appropriate for the taxon, c) a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat, d) actual or potential levels of exploitation, e) the effects of introduced taxa, hybridization, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites. 2. A reduction of at least 20%, projected or suspected to be met within the next ten years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on (and specifying) any of (b), (c), (d) or (e) above. B. Extent of occurrence estimated to be less than 20,000 km2 or area of occupancy estimated to be less than 2000 km2, and estimates indicating any two of the following: 1. Severely fragmented or known to exist at no more than ten locations. 2. Continuing decline, inferred, observed or projected, in any of the following: a) extent of occurrence, b) area of occupancy, c) area, extent and/or quality of habitat, d) number of locations or subpopulations, e) number of mature individuals. 3. Extreme fluctuations in any of the following: a) extent of occurrence, b) area of occupancy, c) number of locations or subpopulations, d) number of mature individuals. C. Population estimated to number less than 10,000 mature individuals and either: 1. An estimated continuing decline of at least 10% within 10 years or 3 generations, whichever is longer, or 2. A continuing decline, observed, projected, or inferred, in numbers of mature individuals and population structure in the form of either a) severely fragmented (i.e., no subpopulation estimated to contain more than 1,000 mature individuals), b) all individuals are in a single subpopulation. D. Population very small or restricted in the form of either of the following: 1. Population estimated to number less than 1,000 mature individuals. 2. Population is characterized by an acute restriction in its area of occupancy (typically less than 100 km2) or in the number of locations (typically less than 5). Such a taxon would thus be prone to the effects of human activities) within a very short period of time in an unforeseeable future, and is thus capable of becoming Critically Endangered or even Extinct in a very short period. E. Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in the wild is at least 10% within 100 years.

Other Search Engines

European Environment Agency Glossary of the European Environmental Agency
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Britannica Highly authoritative source
EPA Terms Glossary of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Google Search The largest Internet Search Engine
Google Image Search for Images related to the term
eENVplus Thesaurus Thesaurus gathering glossaries for biodiversity, environment and biogeography
A-Z Biodiversity Terms Glossary providing definitions of terms, areas and acronyms related to biodiversity, commonly used, internationally recognized where possible, well referenced, and derived from legitimate sources
Glossary Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Back to Search
Back to Top