Researcher Laurentne Schiller said the recovery of Canada’s threatened or endangered species is being driven by stopping the main causes of their decline.
Researcher Laurentne Schiller said the recovery of Canada’s threatened or endangered species is being driven by stopping the main causes of their decline.
“If we take away the cause of the decline in population, they will recover,” she and other researchers Schiller said they recently published in a peer-reviewed journal facet.
“But the surprising thing is, I think it’s not actually achieved.”
This study shows that only a handful of risky species are better than they were in the early days of the assessment and protection of Canadian systems than they did 20 years ago.
That administration has a committee on the status of endangered species of wildlife in Canada, an independent panel formed to advise the federal government in the late 1970s, and a risky one that was first passed in 2002. Includes seeds.
However, little has changed regarding the threats facing Canadian wildlife, particularly when it comes to habitat loss and degradation.
The study, published in January, contained two analyses. The researchers began by examining the trajectories of 36 species representing the original taxa assessed by the Canadian Endangered Species Wildlife Committee.
They found that only eight of these species had a reduced risk of extinction compared to the past, and the “only significant difference” of species that are better or worse, is the main reason for their decline. It was whether the cause was stopped.
Historically, Schiller faces singular threats such as the peregrine peregrine falcon, which some species currently disappear, with insecticide DDT poisoning, and have them on the brink of extinction and sea otters in the colonial fur trade. He said he is facing overexpression of the disease.
Both of these species are now better.
“When we can identify what the problem is, when the actions to address it are very, very, very targeted, we see really good results,” said Carlton University and Dalhousie University. said Schiller, a postdoctoral researcher who works for him.
However, the path to recovery has been more difficult for species struggling due to habitat loss and degradation from industry and other developments.
The Beluga whale at the mouth of the St. Lawrence is one such species that is getting worse today, Schiller says, adding that she “falls in love” with Bergus as a child visiting the Vancouver Aquarium, and the species is her motivated him to become a marine biologist.
“These whales live in the mouth of the St. Lawrence Estuary, if not the world, one of the busiest transport areas in North America,” she said. “They are being attacked with noise pollution and they are being fired with chemical contaminants from the area.”
Schiller said the presence of whales protected areas along with recent measures such as seasonal speed limits on ships was “excellent.”
“It’s more than a lot of species,” she said of the marine park, which was created in 1998.
However, Bergas said that there is currently a high risk of extinction as existing measures do not address habitat degradation at the root of the decline.
“I think of it in human language,” she said. “If someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and… you are offering them a healthy diet, a healthy lifestyle and a free yoga session, it’s all great and perhaps even more than their life. It will help to prolong it. It’s not about what’s actually killing them.”
The Canadian economy relies heavily on extraction resources that infringe wildlife habitats, and these constraints are evident in government decisions related to the protection of endangered species, Schiller said.
The paper also highlighted 30 years ago that Canada’s own species recovery document “development projects provide short-term economic benefits, but a truly sustainable economy requires a healthy environment.” He says that.
Schiller said the Canadian government has contributed to international agreements and made commitments related to addressing global climate change and biodiversity losses, saying Canadians usually care about wildlife. Masu.
“But unfortunately, if you look at the evidence we have, it shows it now… that’s not enough,” she said.
In addition to looking at 36 “Sentinel” species, this study examined species that were assessed at least twice by the Wildlife Advisory Committee between 2000 and 2019.
Researchers found that only 1.9%, or 8% of the 422 species, experienced both population growth and a reduced risk of extinction.
“(It’s) a really small number given the time, effort and money that has fallen into conservation in Canada,” Schiller said of the species he is recovering.
In both analyses, the drivers behind species continue for better or worse. The main cause of decline was whether it stopped or not.
In a hopeful note, Schiller said the study shows that it eliminates threats providing a path to recovery.
“Nature is very resilient when you can restore space and conditions.”
The report, which was first published on February 9, 2025, by Canadian report.
Brenna Owen, Canadian media
