Final answer:
NatureServe, initially established by The Nature Conservancy, focuses on assessing the conservation status of U.S. species. Despite the bias toward vertebrates, habitat destruction remains the principal threat to biodiversity, leading to the need for effective habitat conservation measures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Nature Conservancy created the program now known as NatureServe in the early 1970s with the aim of assessing the conservation status of U.S. species. Only about 15% of known species in the U.S. have been thoroughly investigated to determine their risk of extinction, with a significant bias toward vertebrates nearly 100% of which have known statuses. The overwhelming threat to biodiversity is habitat destruction, which affects roughly 90% of threatened species, implying the critical need for habitat conservation including the establishment of protected areas to ensure the persistence of biodiversity.
Conservation efforts like those of NatureServe are essential for guiding biodiversity preservation on the ground. Tools such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species play a pivotal role in this process, as do actions that protect natural habitats, which are the most significant in preserving biodiversity.