Bats Biodiversity Boreal birds

SHAPE of Nature - Migratory Species

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]

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This evaluation tracks the number and status of migratory species in Canada.

Key points

• Nearly 1/4 of migratory species are at some level of risk
• Birds and fishes represent the group with the highest number of migratory species.
• The greatest threats to Canada’s migratory species are habitat loss, barriers to movement, and climate change.

Abstract

Nearly one quarter of the 577 migratory animals found in Canada are at some level of risk.

Birds (70%) and fishes (19%) represent the groups with the highest number of migratory species in Canada. Canada also has migratory insects, sea turtles, and terrestrial and marine mammals.

Canada’s Arctic Tern and Caribou have some of the longest migrations on Earth.

Threats to migratory species in Canada include habitat loss, barriers to movement, and climate change. Migratory species are particularly vulnerable when they form large aggregations or rely on a few key stopover sites or ecological corridors.

Protecting migratory species is challenging because it requires the conservation of wintering, feeding, and breeding grounds, as well as corridors connecting these sites. Effective conservation actions will require the participation and collaboration of international partners.

Canada is a signatory of the Migratory Bird Treaty with the United States. However, Canada is not a member of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals a global treaty intended to bring international participants together with the objective to coordinate conservation actions to protect migratory species and their habitat, in the form of a legally binding agreement.

Recommended citation

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada] (2024). SHAPE of Nature - Migratory Species. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/shape-of-nature-migratory-species/