Threatened species

Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of critical depensation, a mathematical measure of biomass related to population growth rate. This quantitative metric is one method of evaluating the degree of endangerment.

IUCN definition

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on 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:

Less-than-threatened categories are near threatened, least concern, and the no longer assigned category of conservation dependent. Species which have not been evaluated (NE), or do not have sufficient data (data deficient) also are not considered "threatened" by the IUCN.

Invincible (Michael Jackson album)

Invincible is the final studio album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was the tenth album and sixth under Epic Records released on October 30, 2001. Similar to Jackson's previous material, Invincible explores themes such as love, romance, isolation, media criticism, and social issues.

The album peaked at number one in eleven territories worldwide, including the United States (with first-week sales of 363,000 units), the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Switzerland. Invincible charted within the top ten in six other territories; its least successful charting area was Mexico, where the album peaked at number 29. Total sales for the album are estimated to be at 10 million copies. Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics.

Background

During Jackson's time as a member of The Jackson 5, he frequently wrote material for the group and began working on projects as a solo artist, which eventually led to recording his own studio albums, notably Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). The success of Thriller, which still holds its place as the best selling album of all time with a reported 68 million units sold, often over-shadowed Jackson's other projects. Prior to the release of Invincible, Jackson had not released any new material since Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix in 1997, or a studio album since HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995. Invincible was thus looked at as Jackson's 'career come back'.