Protected Species in Beringia

Sockeye salmon

Beringia is home to a great diversity of species of both ecological and cultural importance. These flora and fauna have supported key ecological processes as well as the subsistence needs of humans for thousands of years. Unfortunately, ecological changes and human-caused stressors have endangered many species of plants and animals.

This endangerment is not unique to Beringia. As of October, 2020, 2,363 species were listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To be listed as endangered under ESA, the animal, plant, or insect must be "in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range." Thus, they are prioritized for coordinated and collaborative conservation efforts.

Of the species listed under the ESA, about 1,867 are endangered. The ESA is not the only authority on endangered species. For example, species can also be assigned a conservation status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to these listings, eighteen endangered species are found in Beringia. These are listed below.

Steller sea lions hauled out on the rocks.

Mammals

• Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
• Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
• Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
• Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
• Humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae)
• Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
• North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica)
• Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
• Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
• Steller sea lion (Eumetopia jubatus)

Fish

• Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)
• Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
• Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Birds

• Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)
• Short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albarus)
• Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus)
• Spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea)

Plants

• Aleutian shield fern (Plystichum aleuticum)