|
Mammals | ||
| Sei Whale | Balaenoptera borealis | Endangered |
| Pacific population | ||
| Assessment Criteria A2ad; D1 | ||
| Reason for
Designation Individuals off the coast of British Columbia are likely part of a northeastern Pacific population that was depleted by whaling. The infrequency of observations (visual and acoustic) suggests that numbers in Canada are currently very low (well below 250 mature individuals) and reports of this species are similarly rare in adjacent US waters to the north (Alaska) and south (Washington, Oregon, California). Threats to this species along the coast of British Columbia are poorly known, but may include ship strikes, anthropogenic noise, and long-term changes in climate (which could affect the abundance of their zooplankton prey). | ||
| Range Pacific Ocean | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2003. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
|
Birds | ||
| Northern Bobwhite | Colinus virginianus | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii); D1 | ||
| Reason for
Designation Owing to habitat loss, this grassland bird’s population has declined dramatically over historical levels and shows no sign of recovery. There is only one viable population remaining in Canada, located on Walpole Island, Ontario. The status of this species is complicated by the presence of introduced pen-reared birds whose genetic composition is believed to pose a threat to the remaining native population. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in April 1994. Status re-examined and confirmed in November 2003 and May 2013. | ||
| Bank Swallow | Riparia riparia | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria A2b | ||
| Reason for
Designation This widespread species has shown a severe long-term decline amounting to a loss of 98% of its Canadian population over the last 40 years. As with many other aerial insectivores, the decline continues, albeit at a slower rate since the 1980s. Breeding Bird Survey data from 2001-2011 indicate a potential loss of 31% of the population during that 10-year time period. The reasons for these declines are not well understood, but are likely driven by the cumulative effects of several threats. These include loss of breeding and foraging habitat, destruction of nests during aggregate excavation, collision with vehicles, widespread pesticide use affecting prey abundance, and impacts of climate change, which may reduce survival or reproductive potential. | ||
| Range YT NT BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2013. | ||
| Northern Goshawk laingi subspecies | Accipiter gentilis laingi | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria C2a(ii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation Over half of the global range of this subspecies occurs in coastal British Columbia, where it favours mature coniferous forest. This non-migratory bird needs a relatively large home range that contains a good food supply. Despite some recent habitat protection efforts, continuing habitat loss is predicted, in part because of anticipated short rotation times in forest harvest. On Haida Gwaii, populations are very low and face an added risk from declines of prey species due to forest understory losses associated with high levels of browsing from an introduced population of deer. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in April 1995. Status re-examined and designated Threatened in November 2000 and May 2013. | ||
|
Reptiles | ||
| Great Basin Gophersnake | Pituophis catenifer deserticola | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria A3b | ||
| Reason for
Designation This large, non-venomous snake is restricted in Canada to the dry southern interior of British Columbia, where it occurs within landscapes fragmented by roads, orchards, vineyards, and houses. Because of its low reproductive rate and late age at maturity, seasonal migrations, and habit of lingering on warm roads, this snake is especially vulnerable to road mortality. This mortality, together with habitat loss and degradation and intentional and inadvertent killing, are expected to continue and result in population declines over the next 24 years (3 generations). | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2002. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
|
Fishes | ||
| Pugnose Shiner | Notropis anogenus | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria Does not meet any criteria, but designated Threatened because of a small area of occupancy, declining habitat quality, and concerns that many subpopulations may not be viable. | ||
| Reason for
Designation The species has a small area of occupancy and consists of numerous small populations, many of which may not be viable. At least two populations have been extirpated. Habitat degradation and loss continues to threaten populations, particularly in the western part of their distribution in the Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie watersheds. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in April 1985. Status re-examined and designated Endangered in November 2002. Status re-examined and designated Threatened in May 2013. | ||
| Bridle Shiner | Notropis bifrenatus | Special Concern |
| Assessment Criteria not applicable | ||
| Reason for
Designation This species comes close to meeting Threatened status with reductions in the abundance of adults inferred from declines in the species’ range. Threats to habitat are most severe in the central part of its distribution in Quebec, where intensive agriculture results in substantial turbidity, sedimentation, eutrophication, and loss of aquatic vegetation. The species may become Threatened if factors suspected of negatively influencing its persistence are not reversed. | ||
| Range ON QC | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in April 1999. Status re-examined and confirmed in November 2001 and May 2013. | ||
| Eulachon | Thaleichthys pacificus | Special Concern |
| Nass / Skeena Rivers population | ||
| Assessment Criteria not applicable | ||
| Reason for
Designation This short-lived species spends over 95% of its life in the marine environment. It spawns in the lower reaches of two rivers in northern British Columbia where its spawning areas are small (<500 km2). Recent information from this area indicates the population appears stable and threats in the freshwater environment are considered to be small. However, the abundance of the species in adjacent areas has declined substantially in the recent past. The causes of these declines are poorly understood and are likely to be due to threats in both the spawning habitat and the marine environment. Threats in the marine environment would also affect the Nass and Skeena rivers population. This population could become Threatened in a relatively short period of time if marine survival deteriorates or threats in the spawning area increase. | ||
| Range BC Pacific Ocean | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2011. Status re-examined and designated Special Concern in May 2013. | ||
|
Arthropods | ||
| Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth | Prodoxus quinquepunctellus | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation The Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth is known from only two sites in Canada, one of which was discovered in 2011. This moth species is an obligate stem borer on the stalks of Soapweed. Larval survival is dependent on the mutualistic relationship between the Soapweed and its pollinator Yucca Moth. The flowers on non-pollinated Soapweed stalks whither faster than pollinated stalks, resulting in almost complete mortality of immature life stages of Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth. The loss of flowers or seeds as a result of ungulate herbivory is an ongoing threat, while in the long term Soapweed populations may be limited by the lack of fire and other disturbances that provide sites for the establishment of seedlings. | ||
| Range AB | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in April 2006. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Non-pollinating Yucca Moth | Tegeticula corruptrix | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation Only two populations of the Non-pollinating Yucca Moth are known from an extremely small and restricted area. One site has a small and fluctuating moth population, while only a single adult was observed from 1998-2011 at the other site. This moth species is an obligate seed parasite, the larvae feeding on Soapweed seeds. It relies on the mutualistic relationship between the Soapweed and its pollinator Yucca Moth, as fruit production is needed by larvae of the Non-pollinating Yucca Moth. The loss of flowers or seeds as a result of ungulate herbivory is an ongoing threat, while in the long term Soapweed populations may be limited by the lack of fire and other disturbances that provide sites for the establishment of seedlings. | ||
| Range AB | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in April 2006. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Yucca Moth | Tegeticula yuccasella | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation Only two populations of the Yucca Moth are known from an extremely small and restricted area. This moth species has an obligate mutualistic relationship with Soapweed; Yucca Moth is the sole pollinator of Soapweed and its larvae depend on Soapweed seeds as a food source. One population may not be sustainable as it persists with human intervention that prevents severe herbivory of the flowers, fruits and stalks by wild ungulates. The Non-pollinating Yucca Moth larvae consume Soapweed seeds and compete with Yucca Moth for food. The loss of flowers or seeds as a result of ungulate herbivory is an ongoing threat, while in the long term Soapweed populations may be limited by the lack of fire and other disturbances that provide sites for the establishment of seedlings. | ||
| Range AB | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2002. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Dun Skipper vestris subspecies | Euphyes vestris vestris | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria C1 | ||
| Reason for
Designation This species has a small population found in a restricted range in southwestern British Columbia, where it occurs in moist, open habitats, including meadows, wetlands, and disturbed sites. Meadows and wetlands are declining in area and quality owing to natural succession, residential and commercial development, and invasive plants. Disturbed sites are inherently ephemeral and rapidly becoming unsuitable due to native and invasive plant succession. This is a rare species, and despite significant search effort over the last decade, few new sites have been located. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in November 2000. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Island Tiger Moth | Grammia complicata | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This near endemic moth has a small distribution and is restricted to only 5 locations in the Georgia Basin in British Columbia. Much of its habitat has been destroyed and the quality of what remains is declining due to ongoing residential and commercial development, recreational activities, invasive or non-native species, and vegetation succession that has changed due to disruption of former fire regimes. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2013. | ||
|
Molluscs | ||
| Puget Oregonian | Cryptomastix devia | Extirpated |
| Assessment Criteria not applicable | ||
| Reason for
Designation This large land snail is known in Canada from only three old records (1850-1905) from Vancouver Island and the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Extensive searches within the historical range have failed to find the species. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Extirpated in November 2002. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Kidneyshell | Ptychobranchus fasciolaris | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii,iv)+2ab(iii,iv) | ||
| Reason for
Designation By 2001, this species had been lost from about 70% of its historical range in Canada due to the impacts of the Zebra Mussel and habitat loss from land use practices. It is now restricted to the East Sydenham and Ausable rivers, Lake St. Clair delta, and Medway Creek of the Thames River. The population in Lake St. Clair is close to extirpation. Both Ausable and East Sydenham river populations appear to be reproducing, but populations in Medway Creek and Lake St. Clair are not reproducing. Populations are threatened by pollution from agriculture, urban and road runoff sources, and invasive species (dreissenids and Round Goby). | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2003. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Lilliput | Toxolasma parvum | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This species has a fairly restricted range in Canada, confined to tributaries of Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Populations once found in the open Canadian waters of Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and the Detroit River have disappeared. Overall, the species has lost 44% of its former range in Canada. The invasion of freshwater habitat by the exotic Zebra and Quagga mussels, combined with pollution from urban development and sedimentation are the main cause of populations disappearing and the range shrinking. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2013. | ||
| Oregon Forestsnail | Allogona townsendiana | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This large land snail is endemic to western North America. In Canada, it occurs mainly in the Lower Fraser Valley, the most densely populated and highly fragmented region of British Columbia. It also has been found at a single site on Vancouver Island. Habitat loss due to residential and commercial development continues to fragment and isolate remaining populations. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in November 2002. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Round Hickorynut | Obovaria subrotunda | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria A2ace; B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) | ||
| Reason for
Designation The Carolinian population of this species has declined by 75-95% over the last 10 years, with an estimated 99% decline over the last 30 years. Populations in the Grand and Thames rivers are extirpated and populations in the Sydenham River and Lake St. Clair have declined to very low levels. Losses and declines are due to the combined effects of pollution from agriculture and residential runoff, and the impacts of invasive species like the Zebra Mussel. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2003. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
| Threehorn Wartyback | Obliquaria reflexa | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria B2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This rare species historically occurred in the Great Lakes drainages including Lake St. Clair, western Lake Erie, and the Grand, Thames, and Detroit rivers. The species has not been found since 1992 in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River and may be extirpated there due largely to the impacts of Zebra and Quagga mussels. It was last recorded from the Canadian side of Lake Erie in 1997. Pollution (sediment loading, nutrient loading, contaminants and toxic substances) related to both urban and agricultural activities represents a high and continuing threat at the three remaining riverine locations. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2013. | ||
| Haida Gwaii Slug | Staala gwaii | Special Concern |
| Assessment Criteria not applicable | ||
| Reason for
Designation This small slug is a relict of unglaciated refugia on Haida Gwaii and on the Brooks Peninsula of northwestern Vancouver Island. It represents a recently described species and genus, and is found nowhere else in the world. It lives mostly in cool, moist microhabitats in the subalpine zone, but it has also been found in a few forested sites. Grazing and browsing by introduced deer on Haida Gwaii have greatly modified the species’ habitat and have probably reduced its population; this grazing is apparently increasing at higher elevations. Climate change also threatens to reduce the extent of the slug’s preferred subalpine habitat. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in May 2013. | ||
| Warty Jumping-slug | Hemphillia glandulosa | Special Concern |
| Assessment Criteria not applicable | ||
| Reason for
Designation This small slug has a restricted range and patchy distribution on Vancouver Island, where it exists at the northern extremity of its range. Habitat loss and fragmentation, mainly from forestry activities, disturb the shady, moist forest floor conditions and coarse woody debris required by the slugs and may be restricting dispersal movements. Residential and recreational developments are emerging as a new threat on the southwest coast of the island. The low numbers of scattered populations render it vulnerable to both natural and human disturbances. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in May 2003. Status re-examined and confirmed in May 2013. | ||
|
Vascular Plants | ||
| Hairy Braya | Braya pilosa | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This plant is restricted globally to a very small area in the Northwest Territories. It is endangered by the loss of habitat through very rapid coastal erosion and saline wash resulting from storm surges, and by permafrost melting. These events appear to be increasing in frequency and severity as a consequence of a significant reduction in sea ice cover on the Beaufort Sea and changes in weather patterns. These indirect impacts of climate change are expected to continue into the foreseeable future. | ||
| Range NT | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in May 2013. | ||
| Slender Bush-clover | Lespedeza virginica | Endangered |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii); D1 | ||
| Reason for
Designation This perennial species occupies small patches of remnant tallgrass prairie and savanna at just one location in southern Ontario, where it is at risk from the combined impacts of a lack of natural disturbance by periodic fires and the presence of invasive plant species. There is a continuing decline in the quality and area of habitat available for the plant. | ||
| Range ON | ||
| Status
History Designated Endangered in April 1986. Status re-examined and confirmed Endangered in April 1999, May 2000, and May 2013. | ||
| Silky Beach Pea | Lathyrus littoralis | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria B2ab(ii,iii,iv); C2a(i); D1 | ||
| Reason for
Designation This plant of coastal dunes, which has much of its global range in Canada, is threatened because of competition with invasive alien plants, off-road vehicles, trampling, herbivory, and a decline in suitable habitat associated with more extreme and frequent storm surges due to climate change. The species’ restricted distribution, the very small number of individuals, and the small number of subpopulations make the species at risk. | ||
| Range BC | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2013. | ||
| Soapweed | Yucca glauca | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria Does not strictly meet any criteria, but assessed Threatened because of the interdependency of the Endangered status of the sole pollinator. | ||
| Reason for
Designation This long-lived perennial is known from only three sites in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, where it occurs mainly on south facing coulee slopes. Plants are pollinated exclusively by Yucca Moth, which lays eggs in the flowers. In Canada, the species reproduces almost exclusively by vegetative spread. Seed production is limited by low numbers of Yucca Moth pollinators, while seedling establishment is negatively impacted by lack of natural disturbance, including fire suppression. Herbivory of flowering stalks by native ungulates also limits seed set. Despite improved management to limit the impact of threats, this perennial is designated Threatened. It is the only host for Yucca Moth, Non-pollinating Yucca Moth and Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth, all of which were assessed as Endangered. | ||
| Range AB SK | ||
| Status
History Designated Special Concern in April 1985. Status re-examined and designated Threatened in May 2000 and May 2013. | ||
| Spiked Saxifrage | Micranthes spicata | Threatened |
| Assessment Criteria B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) | ||
| Reason for
Designation This tall wildflower is one of a group of species found only in unglaciated areas of Yukon and Alaska. It lives along creek margins and is prone to the historical and current effects of habitat disturbance, such as placer mining. In addition, habitat is increasingly affected by natural disturbances such as flash flooding, forest fires, and landslides that may be increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change. | ||
| Range YT | ||
| Status
History Designated Threatened in May 2013 | ||