Wildlife of Canada
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Canadian wildlife |
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The wildlife of Canada or biodiversity of Canada consist of over 80,000 classified species,
Due to human activities, invasive species and environmental issues in the country,[9] there are currently more than 800 species at risk of being lost.[10] About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered secure.[4] Protected and conservation areas have been established to preserve and restore Canadian flora and fauna species.[11] Approximately 5000 Canadian animal species and 30,000 Canadian plant species are restricted from export for international trade.[12]
Biodiversity
Habitat
Canada is characterized by a wide range of both
Canada's major biomes are the
Over half of Canada's landscape is intact and relatively free of human development.
Fauna
There are approximately 200 mammal species, over 460 bird species, over 40 amphibian species, over 40 reptile species, and over 1,200 fish species in Canada.[3] Invertebrates present include 55,000 species of insects and 11,000 species of mites and spiders.[25]
The
The
Many of North America's migratory birds, including
Flora
Since the end of the last glacial period, Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions.[30] According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the nation hosts approximately 17,000 identified species of trees, flowers, herbs, ferns, mosses and other flora.[31] Approximately 95 percent of the vascular plants in Canada are of the flowering variety.[32] Roughly half of Canada is covered by forest, totalling around 2.4 millionkm2 (0.93 millionsq mi).[33] Over 90% of Canada's forests are owned by the public (crown land, and the majority being provincial forests).[34] About half of the forests are allocated for logging.[35]
The Great Lakes region flora includes
The west coast has the
Species at risk
Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) is the federal government legislation to prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct.[38] The goal of the act is to protect endangered or threatened organisms and their habitats.[39] Provinces, territories and large municipalities also have their own species and habitat conservation regulations.[40]
Although Canada has a low percentage of
In addition to the extirpated species, at least 19 have become completely extinct,
Species at risk include the Canada lynx, polar bear, sea otter, wolverine, black-footed ferret, northern fur seal, steller sea lion, hooded seal, North Atlantic right whale, sei whale and whooping crane.[10]
Invasive species
Over 1400
Invasive species such as the
The most invasive flora species are the
Invasive species cost billions of dollars each year from the loss of economic value of crops, forests and fisheries. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, in 2004 the estimated annual lost revenue caused by the top 16 invasive species was between $13 and $35 billion.[51] The economic cost to agricultural crops and forestry alone is estimated at $7.5 billion.[51]
Conservation
Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are considered
Canada established the world's first national park management agency the
The primary focus of the Canadian national parks system is to preserve ecological integrity.
Canada's 18
National wildlife symbols
Canada does not have a
Symbol | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|
Maple leaf | Maple leaf |
Perhaps the most prominent symbol of Canada has been a de facto symbol since the 1700s[75] |
National flag | Official symbol as of February 15, 1965 features a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre.[76] | |
National tree | Maple |
Official symbol since 1996.[76] |
National animals | Beaver |
Official symbol since 1975.[76] |
Canadian horse |
Official symbol since 2002.[76] |
Provincial and territorial wildlife symbols
Canadian provinces and territories have a variety of official fauna, flora and organic matter based on the biodiversity of the area.[77]
Flower | Area | Plant | Tree | Mammal | Bird | Fish | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta[78] | Prickly wild rose (Rosa acicularis) | Lodgepole pine
|
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep
|
Great horned owl | Bull trout | Rough fescue (grass)
| |
British Columbia[79] | Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
|
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)
|
Spirit bear (Kermode bear, Ursus americanus kermodei) | Steller's jay (Cyanacitta dtelleri) | Pacific salmon
|
||
Manitoba[80] | Prairie crocus (Pulsatilla patens)
|
White spruce (Picea glauca) | American bison (Bison bison) | Great gray owl (Strix nebulosa)
|
Walleye | Big bluestem (grass)
| |
Newfoundland and Labrador[81] | Purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) | Black spruce
|
Newfoundland dog | Atlantic puffin | |||
Nova Scotia[82] | Mayflower (Epigaea repens) | Red spruce (Picea rubens) | Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever dog
|
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) | Wild blueberry | ||
New Brunswick[83] | Purple violet
|
Balsam fir
|
Black-capped chickadee | Holmesville Soil | |||
Ontario[84] | Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) | Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus linnaeus)
|
Common loon (Gavia immer) | ||||
Prince Edward Island[85] | Lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule) | Red oak (Quercus rubra) | Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) | Charlottetown soil | |||
Quebec[86] | Blue flag iris | Yellow birch
|
Snowy owl | ||||
Saskatchewan[87] | Western red lily
|
White birch
|
White-tailed deer | Sharp-tailed grouse | Walleye | Needle-and-thread grass
Saskatoon berry
| |
Northwest Territories[88] | Mountain avens | Tamarack (Larix laricina)
|
Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) | Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) | |||
Nunavut[89]
|
Purple saxifrage
|
Canadian Inuit Dog
|
Rock ptarmigan | ||||
Yukon[90] | Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
|
Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
|
Raven (Corvus corax) |
See also
- List of botanical gardens in Canada
- List of Canadian protected areas
- List of national parks of Canada
- List of National Wildlife Areas in Canada
- List of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada
- List of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Canada
- National Historic Sites of Canada
- List of World Heritage Sites in Canada
Overlapping ecosystems
Notes
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4875-7037-8.
- ^ a b c "Wild Species 2015: The General Status of Species in Canada" (PDF). National General Status Working Group: 1. Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council. 2016. p. 2.
- ^ a b "Canada Animals | Canadian Animals | Canada Wildlife | AZ Animals". A-Z Animals.
- ^ a b "Wild Species 2000: The General Status of Species in Canada". Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. Conservation Council (CESCC). 2001.
- ^ Hayward, Abi (2020-06-05). "Ours to save: the species that can only be found in Canada". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2018-01-10). "Introduction to the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) 2017". www.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
- ISBN 978-0-7705-1198-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7748-2069-1.
- ^ "Biodiversity in Canada: Commitments and Trends". Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada - The Office of the Auditor General of Canada. 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ a b c "COSEWIC Annual Report". Species at Risk Public Registry. 2019.
- ^ "What Are Protected Areas?". Nature Canada. 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ Canada, Environment and Climate Change (May 19, 2017). "Endangered species list". aem.
- ISBN 978-3-662-10868-0. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ "Introduction to the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) 2017". Statistics Canada. January 10, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ Wiken, Ed. "Casting the bottom line on the blue planet". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-08-045418-4.
- ^ "State of Canada's Biodiversity Highlighted in New Government Report". October 22, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-470-94570-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7710-2099-5.
- .
- ^ Hein, Treena (2020). "Agriculture in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ISBN 92-807-2398-7.
- ISBN 978-0-17-675682-6.
- Environment Canada. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "Canada's Insect Fauna". Biological Survey of Canada. 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8018-7416-1.
- ^ Michael Chalupovitsch; Daniele Lafrance; Thai Nguyen. (2019). "Statistics For Canada's 2018 Commercial Fisheries". Library of Parliament.
- ^ "Freshwater fish of Canada". Mongabay.com.
- ISBN 978-0-226-64729-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4786-0895-0. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ "Environment Canada - Nature - Flora". Government of Canada. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
- ^ Canada, Environment and Climate Change (February 24, 2017). "Wild species 2010: chapter 8". aem.
- ^ "Total forest coverage by country". The Guardian. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ Canada, Natural Resources (May 25, 2015). "Forest land ownership". www.nrcan.gc.ca.
- ^ Graham Duggan (2018). "The World's Biggest Forest Is In Our Own Backyard And We Need To Protect It". The Nature of Things (CBC).
- ^ a b "Native Plant Encyclopedia". cwf-fcf.org.
- ^ "Canada's Boreal Forest, Forest Products Association of Canada, map, inside front cover.
- ISBN 978-0-17-675682-6.
- ISSN 0006-3207. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-5428-3.
- ^ Oscar Venter, Nathalie N. Brodeur, Leah Nemiroff, Brenna Belland, Ivan J. Dolinsek, James W. A. Grant. (2006), Threats to Endangered Species in Canada, BioScience, Volume 56, Issue 11.
- ^ a b "COSEWIC Annual Report" (PDF). Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 2020-09-02. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ "Species at Risk in Canada". Hinterland Who's Who. 2010.
at least 13 of our plant and animal species have disappeared entirely from the Earth and at least 20 others are no longer found in Canada.
- ^ "Hinterland Who's Who - Biodiversity". Canadian Wildlife Federation.
- ^ "Invasive Species in Canada: Animals | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
- ISBN 978-94-007-2576-8.
- ^ "The invasive species threatening Canada's biodiversity you may not know about". www.theweathernetwork.com. Pelmorex Weather Networks Inc. 22 May 2020.
- S2CID 9422553.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-662-34262-5.
- S2CID 9422553.
- ^ a b "Invasive species". Canadian Council on Invasive Species. 2017.
- ^ a b c "Canada's conserved areas". Environment and Climate Canada. 2020.
- ^ "Protected Areas". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2014.
- ^ Irish, Paul (May 13, 2011). "Parks Canada celebrates a century of discovery". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
- ^ Canada, Environment and Climate Change (February 27, 2015). "Canada-US convention protecting migratory birds". aem.
- ^ Branch, Legislative Services (December 12, 2017). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Canada Wildlife Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
- ^ Branch, Legislative Services (August 28, 2019). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Fisheries Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
- ^ Branch, Legislative Services (August 28, 2019). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
- ^ Canada. Parliament. House of Commons (November 2004). House of Commons Debates. p. 1830.
- ^ "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act". Legislative Services. Government of Canada. August 28, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7748-4252-5.
- ^ "Environment Canada's Protected Areas Network". Hinterland Who's Who. Canadian Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
- ^ "Canadian Provinces/Territories By Percentage Of Protected Terrestrial Area". WorldAtlas. 25 April 2017.
- ^ "City parks". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2017.
- ISBN 978-3-03897-732-2.
- ^ "UNESCO Biosphere Reserves of Canada". e CanadianBiosphere Reserves Association and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. 2018. PDF
- ^ "The Mountain Guide – Banff National Park" (PDF). Parks Canada. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-84977-201-3.
- ^ "Algonquin Provincial Park Management Plan". Queen's Printer for Ontario. 1998.
- ^ Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (December 13, 2017). "Spotlight on Marine Protected Areas in Canada". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
- ^ "Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ Canada, Environment and Climate Change (February 7, 2013). "Proposed Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area: regulatory strategy". aem.
- Canadian Heritage. 21 March 2009. Archivedfrom the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
- ^ "Official Canadian Provincial Birds". The Spruce.
- ^ "Unofficial symbols of Canada". The Department of Canadian Heritage. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
- ^ a b c d "Official symbols of Canada". Government of Canada. 2017.
- ^ "Provincial and Territorial Emblems". Government of Canada. 15 August 2017.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Alberta". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "British Columbia". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Manitoba". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Newfoundland and Labrador". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Nova Scotia". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "New Brunswick". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Ontario". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Prince Edward Island". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Quebec". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Saskatchewan". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Northwest Territories". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Nunavut". aem.
- ^ Heritage, Canadian (August 15, 2017). "Yukon". aem.
Further reading
- Bumstead, Pat; Norman H. Worsley (2003), Canadian skin and scales, Simply Wild Publications, ISBN 0-9689278-1-5
- Drushka, Ken (2003), Canada's forests: a history, McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 0-7735-2660-9
- Feldhamer, George A (2003), Wild mammals of North America (2nd ed.), Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-7416-5
- Nils, John Macoun; Conrad Kindberg (1883), Catalogue of Canadian plants, Geological Survey of Canada
- Ross, Alexander Milton (1871), The Birds of Canada, Rowsell and Hutchison. ISBN 1-146-72072-6
- Stephen Bocking (2000). Biodiversity in Canada: Ecology, Ideas, and Action. Broadview Press. ISBN 978-1-55111-238-1.
- Max Foran (2018). The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife: Failures of Principle and Policy. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-5428-3.
- Jamie Benidickson (2020). Environmental Law in Canada. Wolters Kluwer. ISBN 978-94-035-1895-4.
- Max Foran (2018). The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife: Failures of Principle and Policy. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-5428-3.
- Andrea Olive (2015). The Canadian Environment in Political Context. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-0871-9.
- C. Tyler DesRoches; Frank Jankunis; Byron Williston (2019). Canadian Environmental Philosophy. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-5777-2.
- Parks Canada (2003), Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada -
External links
- Wildlife, plants and species - Government of Canada
- Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 - Government of Canada
- Species at Risk Public Registry - Canadian Wildlife Federation