Conservation ranking in action
In this activity, students work in small groups to rank a number of native reptiles and amphibians according to their conservation threat status or risk of extinction.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
better understand key conservation terms including ‘extinction’, ‘endangered’, ‘threats’ and ‘habitats
better understand the importance of a recognised ranking system
describe typical criteria used by scientists to rank animals according to their conservation threat status
understand more about human impacts on living things and the most common threats to reptiles and amphibians in New Zealand
appreciate why it is a difficult job to assign a conservation ranking to a species and that scientists may not always agree.
Conservation rankings
Dr Phil Bishop talks about our native frogs and some of the reasons they are so vulnerable to extinction. He describes the process of assigning a conservation ranking or threat status to a species.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
instructions on what you need and what to do
discussion questions
ideas for extending your students
species cards.
