This glossary is shared by the Endangered Species and Ecosystems,
Conservation Data Centre and BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer websites.
Click on a term below to link to further information. If you don't
find the
term
you
are
looking
for,
please e-mail the
British Columbia Conservation Data Centre and we will add it to our
glossary.
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| Accidental |
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Species occurring infrequently and unpredicatably, outside their usual range. Accidental species are excluded from the Red, Blue and Yellow list. |
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| Alpine |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities on barren substrate or herbaceous and low shrubby vegetation above treeline. |
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| Blue list |
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List of ecological communities, and indigenous species
and subspecies of special concern (formerly vulnerable) in British
Columbia. |
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| Conservation |
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Preservation, especially of the natural environment. |
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| COSEWIC |
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Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada |
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| Cultivated |
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Cultivated populations are those plant populations that are being grown, attended, and/or propogated by humans outside of the species' natural habitat. They are also grown from plant material obtained from a "cultivated" source. |
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| Ecological Community |
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This term is used by the BC CDC and NatureServe to include natural
plant communities and plant associations and the full range of ecosystems
that occur in British Columbia. These may represent ecosystems as
small as a vernal pool, or as large as an entire river basin, an
Ecoregion or a Biogeoclimatic Zone. |
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| Ecosystem |
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An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit. Ecosystems vary enormously in size: a temporary pond in a tree hollow and an ocean basin can both be ecosystems. |
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| Ecosystem at Risk |
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An extirpated, endangered or threatened ecosystem or an ecosystem
of special concern (formerly called vulnerable). |
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| Element |
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A species or ecological community. The term "species"
is used to include all entities at the taxonomic level of species,
including interspecific hybrids, as well as all subspecies and plant
varieties. Ecological communities are based primarily on Ministry
of Forests vegetation classification and the International Classification
of Ecological Communities. |
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| Element Occurrence |
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An area of land and/or water in which
a species or ecological community is, or was present. An Element
Occurrence(EO) should have practical conservation value for the
Element as evidenced by potential continued (or historic) presence
and/or regular recurrence at a give location. For species Elements,
the EO often corresponds with the local population, but when appropriate
may be a portion of a population (e.g., long distance dispersers)
or a group of nearby populations (e.g., metapopulation). For ecological
community Elements, the EO may represent a stand or patch of an
ecological community, or a cluster of stands or patches of an
ecological community.
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| Element Occurrence Record |
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A record from the BC Conservation Data Centre containing
information about an element occurrence, such as location, condition,
and type of occurrence. |
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| Endangered |
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Facing imminent extirpation or extinction. |
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| EOR |
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Element Occurrence Record. |
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| Estuarine |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: coastal ecological communities dominated by plants and other organisms tolerant of wet, brackish soils. These sites are found at the confluence of a freshwater source and the marine environment and affected by occasional or diurnal tidal inundation. |
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| Exotic |
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Species that have been moved beyond their natural range as a result
of human activity. Exotic species are also known as alien species,
foreign species, introduced species, non-indigenous species and
non-native species. Exotic species are excluded from the Red, Blue
and Yellow lists. |
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| Extant |
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Still existing. Not extinct or extirpated. |
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| Extinct |
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Species that no longer exist. |
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| Extirpated |
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Species that no longer exist in the wild in British Columbia, but
do occur elsewhere. Ecological communities that no longer exist
in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. |
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| Forest |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities with greater than 10% tree cover including coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests with more-or-less continuous canopies and trees not clumped. |
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| GIS |
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Geographic Information System. Computer software which
allows electronic spatial data to be viewed, manipulated, and printed. |
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| Global
rank |
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Global conservation status rank for an element, as
determined by NatureServe,
based on information provided by Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation
Data Centres. |
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| Grasslands |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities dominated by grasses or forbs; trees and shrubs are very widely scattered, if present. |
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| Herbaceous |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities dominated by herbaceous vegetation. Shrubs generally account for less than 20% of vegetation cover, and tree cover is generally less than 10%. |
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| Identified Wildlife |
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Species at risk in British Columbia that have been designated
by the Chief Forester (Ministry of Forests and Range) and Deputy Minister
(Ministry of Environment) as requiring special
management attention during forest and range operational planning
or higher level planning. |
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| Indigenous |
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Native to BC. |
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| Natural
Heritage Network |
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The network of Conservation Data Centres and Natural
Heritage Programs throughout the Americas. All network members use
the same methodology and database to track the rare elements of
biodiversity in their jurisdictions. |
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| Natural Plant Community |
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A natural plant community is a naturally occurring unit of vegetation with a relatively
uniform species composition and physical structure. Natural plant
communities also tend to have characteristic environmental features
such as soil moisture and nutrients, climate, topgraphic features and energy cycles. |
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| NatureServe |
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An organization dedicated to providing reliable information on species and ecological communities for use in conservation and land use planning. NatureServe is an independent nonprofit organization created in collaboration with the Network of Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation Data Centres and The Nature Conservancy (U.S.). |
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| Occurrence |
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See Element Occurrence. |
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| Plant Association |
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A recurring plant community with a characteristic range in species composition, specific diagnostic species, and a defined range in habitat conditions and physiognomy or structure. |
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| Provincial lists |
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List of elements considered to be either endangered
or threatened (Red List), special concern (Blue List) or not at
risk (Yellow List) in BC. |
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| Provincial (subnational)
rank |
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Conservation status rank for an element occurring
or formerly occurring in BC. |
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| Red list |
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List of ecological communities, and indigenous species
and subspecies that are extirpated, endangered or threatened in
British Columbia. Red listed species and sub-species may be legally designated as, or may be considered
candidates for legal designations as Extirpated, Endangered or Threatened under the Wildlife Act (see http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/faq.htm#2). Not all Red-listed taxa will necessarily become formally
designated. Placing taxa on these lists flags them as being at risk
and requiring investigation. |
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| Riparian |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities influenced by proximity to water bodies (rivers, streams, lakes) and processes associated with moving water. |
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| Shrub |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities dominated by shrubby vegetation (many-stemmed woody plants). Examples include: Antelope-brush Steppe ecosystems or Sagebrush Steppe ecosystems in the southern Okanagan or shrub-maintained ecosystems such as avalanche track communities or shrub-dominated, low-bench floodplains. |
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| Sparsely Vegetated |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: ecological communities dominated by exposed rock or mineral soil, with a generally sparse vegetation layer (less than 10-25% cover) dominated by lichens and xerophytes, or low herbaceous vegetation. |
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| Species at Risk |
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An extirpated, endangered or threatened species or a species of
special concern (formerly called vulnerable). |
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| Special Concern |
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Particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events but
not endangered or threatened [as used by COSEWIC - A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.] Special Concern was formerly referred
to as Vulnerable. |
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| The Nature
Conservancy (U.S.) |
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The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a private,
international conservation group whose mission is to preserve plants,
animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of
life on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
TNC used to oversee the Natural Heritage
Network, but that duty has been taken over by NatureServe. |
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| Threatened |
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Likely to become endangered if limiting factors are
not reversed. |
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| TNC |
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The Nature Conservancy (U.S.). |
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| Tracking |
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Tracking means to be actively mapping
known locations of species and/or ecological communities. The Conservation
Data Centre tracks Red- and Blue-listed elements, and also some Yellow-listed taxa that are vulnerable during times of seasonal concentration
(e.g., breeding colonies). |
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| Vulnerable |
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Particularly sensitive to human activities or natural
events. [As used by NatureServe - Vulnerable due to a restricted range, relatively few populations (often 80 or fewer), recent and widespread declines, or other factors making it vulnerable to extirpation.] |
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| Woodland |
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Ecosystem Group in BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer: Ecological communities characterized by open stands of trees, with crowns often not interlocking at stand maturity; tree canopy discontinuous (often clumped) and generally less than 10% crown closure. |
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| Yellow List |
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List of ecological communities and indigenous species
that are not at risk in British Columbia. |
