Biodiversity

Changes in the Conservation Status of Threatened and Endangered Vertebrates of the Coast of B.C.

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There has been no overall improvement in the conservation status of red-listed vertebrates of coastal British Columbia since 1992.

In 1992, the B.C. Conservation Data Centre published its first “red list” of provincially threatened or endangered species. Since then, some changes in the status of species listed have been a result of changes in classification or knowledge and not because there has been a real change in outlook.

Photo credit: L. Bonner

Between 1992 and 2004, the genuine changes in the conservation status of red-listed coastal mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fishes included:

• Improved status for two species: the sea otter and the purple martin.

• Further declines in status for the Vancouver Island wolverine, the Vancouver Island marmot, and the two subspecies of Hadley Lake stickleback fish.

• Four additions to the red list: the marbled murrelet, the double-crested cormorant, and two populations of killer whales.

• No change in status for 22 species. Of these, 12 appear to be naturally rare and mostly confined to very specific, rare habitats. An example is a subspecies of Townsend’s vole that lives only on Triangle Island.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report [pdf].

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