From the Amazon rainforests to the frozen ice fields of the arctic, animals, plants and insects are disappearing at alarming rates from pollution, habitat loss, climate change and hunting.

Nearly 17,000 species are now considered to be threatened with extinction and 869 species are classed as extinct or extinct in the wild on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. In the last year alone 183 species became more endangered.

Now, in the face of the growing threat posed by environmental changes around the globe, five leading scientists are to argue whether there is a single type of plant or animal which the planet really cannot afford to lose.

The debate, titled Irreplaceable - The World's Most Invaluable Species, will see five experts present the case for the world's most important animals and plants from a shortlist of five: primates, bats, bees, fungi and plankton.

Primates, which are among the most threatened of animals, are likely to win hearts due to their cuddly exterior while those with a sweet tooth for honey will doubtless sympathise with the bees, which are suffering near catastrophic declines.

Fungi are among the most abundant organisms on the planet and include amongst their numbers the Earth's biggest living organism, a giant fungus known as Armillaria ostoyae which stretches for 2,384 acres in Oregon's Blue Mountains.

Bats are the biggest family of mammals and the only one that can fly, but are threatened by habitat loss and persecution by humans.

Plankton provides food for some of the smallest and biggest animals on the planet, including the Blue Whale.

Here we examine the contenders in detail and asks if we can afford to lose any of them at all.

Full Story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/3463912/The-animals-and-plants-we-cannot-live-without.html

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