Kelp forests are important for several reasons, not least because they provide food and shelter for many other marine animals and birds, store carbon dioxide and protect coastal areas from storms. These cute, furry mammals feed on invertebrates including clams and sea urchins, which would otherwise run rampant and devour entire kelp forests. Sea otters are a keystone species which means they play an important role in keeping the balance of coastal ecosystems around northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. As a result, the Mallorcan midwife toad is now the only amphibian species to have its conservation status downgraded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) from critically endangered to vulnerable. The introduction of non-native species, particularly the viperine snake, has limited the toads to small streams in limestone mountain tops.Ĭhanges in land and water use to accommodate a growing human population and rural tourism also contributed to the diminishing population.Ĭonservation actions, including captive breeding programmes helped increase the number, distribution and range. They were once thought to be extinct but were rediscovered in Mallorca in the 1970s. The isolated species does not handle habitat change very well. Males then wind the string of eggs around their legs and carry them on their backs until the young tadpoles are ready to hatch.

Mallorcan midwife toads are one of the smallest toads in the world with an unusual way of raising their young.įemales lay a string of between seven and 12 eggs. Mallorcan midwife toad (Alytes muletensis)

What animals are endangered 2020