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.
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.
Nature of Science
Assigning a conservation ranking to a species is an important process that requires input from a number of scientific experts. Rankings are not fixed and may change as new information becomes available.
Related content
Explore current and historic threats to native reptiles and amphibians, how conservation rankings help to prioritise actions and what it really means if a species becomes extinct.
Find out more about the work being undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand to protect our endemic species.
Discover more about our native frogs, skinks and geckos and tuatara.
Activity idea
Ethics in conservation science encourages students to consider the conservation of native frogs from a number of different perspectives.
Useful links
Visit the IUCN website for detailed information about each category on the Red List and to search for the latest international conservation rankings.
View the Conservation status of plants and animals on the DOC website and additional information about the New Zealand Threat Classification System in the manual published by DOC.
Access the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) database here.
Visit the EDGE of Existence website to find out more about this unique programme that ranks animals according to their evolutionary distinctiveness and global risk of extinction. Archey’s frog ranks as number one on their list of EDGE (Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered) amphibians.
