Species at Risk in Ireland
Researchers have documented more than 40,000 species in Ireland. This large number is possible because the island offers the environmental conditions and habitats for a range of species so that plants and animals can live, thrive and reproduce. However, this diversity of species has become increasing under threat from changes in land management and other changes caused by humans that have reduced the quality of habitats and harmed the environment for these organisms. The effects of these changes has meant that 20 percent of Ireland’s species are now threatened with extinction. Here are just a few of them:
Top 10 Spices at Risk Of Losing
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Curlew - Just 130 breeding pairs of Curlew have been recorded in Ireland in the last few years. This is a fall of 97 percent fall from about 5,000 breeding pairs recorded in the late 1980s. Curlews have lost a lot of their habitat due to advances in land management which means there are no longer damp, rushy pastures and bogland for them to nest. Nests have also been destroyed by predators such as foxes and crows, who often thrive in the newer, heavily modified and fragmented landscapes. Curlews are still seen in good numbers during the winter months, but these are visitors from Scotland and Scandinavia. The Curlew Conservation Society is working with farmers to ensure farming operations support breeding success, by delaying mowing and encouraging beneficial farming practices including changing livestock grazing regimes. Since 2018 a Post-doctoral researcher has been analysing the effectiveness of these actions.
Curlew
European eel
Yellow Bumblebee
Alpine Saxifrage
Atlantic Salmon
Wall
Twite
Pearl Mussel
Thrift Clearwing
White Skate