Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Qosis, neither krill or plankton are on the endangered list, but the ever increasing asccumulation of industrial toxins in the sea pose potential threats. If we lose the first step in the food chain in the sea it's curtains for everything on up. Also, our oxigen supply will be affected. Your question, with the endangered part, which I didn't take in, makes for a challenge. Clearly an animal in low numbers can't be too much of a threat if lost since the threat would already be visible or over. All I can think of at the moment would be anumals without which human life would be poorer emotionally. These would be large mammals like the elephant, rhino, and particularly the chimp and gorilla. We would not only loose our closest relatives in the case of the last two, but profound and yet unexplored avenues of research. We would forever taint our race with the crime of lack of resopnsibility. With the bald eagle, don't know it it's still on the endangered list, we would loose a national symbol which would say alot. That is a possibility right now with the state fish of Calif, the golden trout. Some other thoughts were animals whose biochemistry offers unique potential for pharmacological research, various species of frogs, for example, particularly the poisonous ones. Hope this offers some ideas.