Orcas or killer whales have a cosmopolitan distribution and several distinct populations or types have been documented or suggested. Three to five types of orcas may be distinct enough to be considered different races, subspecies, or possibly even species (see species problem). The IUCN reported in 2008, "The taxonomy of this genus is clearly in need of review, and it is likely that O. orca will be split into a number of different species or at least subspecies over the next few years." However, large variation in the ecological distinctiveness of different orca groups complicate simple differentiation into types. Mammal-eating orcas in different regions were long thought likely to be closely related, but genetic testing has refuted this hypothesis.
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- IUCN in the context of Orca types and populations
- IUCN in the context of List of largest protected areas
- IUCN in the context of Thayatal National Park
- IUCN in the context of Threatened sharks
- IUCN in the context of Flightless dung beetle
- IUCN in the context of Wollemia
- IUCN in the context of Critically endangered
IUCN in the context of List of largest protected areas
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is compiled and managed by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme. It uses the IUCN and CBD definitions of protected areas to determine whether a site should be included in the WDPA. The extent to which each area and the resources within are protected can vary significantly.
The largest protected areas – those exceeding an area of 250,000 square kilometres – are listed below in order of total area protected. All are marine protected areas except for Northeast Greenland National Park – which is mostly terrestrial but also has a marine component – and three entirely terrestrial biosphere reserves in Brazil. Protected areas with multiple coterminous or overlapping designations (e.g. Northeast Greenland National Park and the corresponding Biosphere Reserve) are listed only once.
IUCN in the context of Thayatal National Park
Thayatal National Park (German: Nationalpark Thayatal) is a 13.3 km Austrian national park located in the Lower Austrian border area with the Czech Republic. It connects to the Czech Podyjí National Park. The Thayatal with its steep hillside forests is one of the most beautiful breakthrough valleys in Austria. The highest point is the gneiss mountain around which the Thaya flows.
The basis for the national park is the Lower Austrian National Park Act. It was agreed between the republic and the federal state back in 1997. It is largely based on the international criteria for national parks published by the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Thayatal is referred to as a Category II area. When it was founded, it was planned to enlarge it to 1.7 km.
IUCN in the context of Threatened sharks
Binding legislation and harvest management strategies... are urgently needed to address the disproportionate impact of fisheries on cartilaginous fishes.
Threatened sharks are those vulnerable to endangerment (extinction) in the near future. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world's oldest global environmental organization. It evaluates threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened:
The term threatened strictly refers to these three categories (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable), while vulnerable is used to refer to the least at risk of these categories. The terms can be used somewhat interchangeably, as all vulnerable species are threatened, all endangered species are vulnerable and threatened, and all critically endangered species are endangered, vulnerable and threatened. Threatened species are also referred to as a red-listed species, as they are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.