SHAPE of Nature: Species at Risk
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]
This evaluation tracks the number of species that have been assessed as Extinct, Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife under Canada’s Species at Risk Act each year and the total number in each province.
Key points
- 4% average annual increase in the number of species assessed as at risk in Canada.
- BC, Ontario and Quebec have the greatest number of species at risk.
- 187 species assessed as at risk are not listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.
Abstract
- The number of species at risk in Canada has increased by an average of just under 4% every year since Canada’s Species at Risk Act was enacted in 2002.
- Canada now has 875 species assessed as Extinct (25), Extirpated (21), Endangered (371), Threatened (200) or Special Concern (258) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) .
- BC, Ontario, and Quebec have the greatest number of species at risk.
- Assessments from 2023 include the addition of three bat species with declining populations. Two species have been reassessed as Extinct and two species uplisted from Special Concern to Endangered. The nationally endemic Gulf of St. Lawrence Aster was uplisted because of the impacts of climate change.
- There are 187 species (21% of eligible species) that have been assessed as at risk (Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern) by COSEWIC that are currently not listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.
- Vascular plants (217), freshwater fishes (110), marine fishes (108), and birds (92) are the taxonomic groups with the largest number of species at risk in Canada.
- Many species at risk with small ranges and populations will trigger Key Biodiversity Areas, and benefit from land protection and stewardship.
Recommended citation
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada] (2024). SHAPE of Nature: Species at Risk. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/shape-of-nature-species-at-risk/
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Metadata
- Title
- SHAPE of Nature: Species at Risk
- URL
- https://wcscanada.org/resources/shape-of-nature-species-at-risk/
- Published
- 2024-01-24
- Author(s)
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]
- Publisher
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]
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