CARDINAL NEWMAN CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL

Name: ______Date: ______SNC 2D 2

CANADA’S ENDANGERED SPECIES

Amphibians are not the only wildlife that is disappearing

à ______

In the 1700s and 1800s, they were common along the northern shores of ______

By the 1900s, their numbers were greatly ______

WHY?

à ______ by settlers because they regarded the bald eagle as a ______to ______

à ______from ______and enters ______

à Resulting in ______birth rates and ______ in physical abnormalities

The health of the ______ carnivores like eagles indicates whether ______are entering an ______

Eagles depend directly or indirectly on ______ other members of their food chains

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR AT-RISK SPECIES

CLASSIFICATION / DESCRIPTION / EXAMPLE
EXTINCT / A species that is ______
______ / ______ (last seen in Lake Erie 1965)
ENDANGERED / A species that is ______ ______in all parts of Canada or in a ______
______ / ______ (rare sightings)
EXTIRPATED / Any species that ______ ______of Canada but can be ______ / ______ (no longer in Manitoba or Saskatchewan, mostly found only in Alberta and British Columbia)
THREATENED / Any species that is ______ ______if factors that make it vulnerable ______
______ / ______ (small number, tuberculosis is a problem
VULNERABLE / Any species that is at risk because of ______or ______numbers at the ______of its range or in some ______ / ______ (beginning to return to Southern Ontario but needs woodlands)

QUESTIONS/SELF-CHECK

1. Why is a classification system for at-risk species useful?

2.Using the Classification System for At-Risk Species, classify each of the following species as extinct, endangered, extirpated, threatened or vulnerable. Provide an explanation for each

(a) The wood turtle is found in pockets throughout southern Ontario and Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The number of wood turtles in Canada seems to be stable but in the U.S., their numbers are decreasing as many are being taken from the wild into homes as pets

(b) Furbish’s lousewort is a tall herb that grows on riverbanks. In Canada, it grows only on a 200-km stretch of the Saint John River in New Brunswick. Forestry, farming and flooding caused by hydroelectric damns all affect the area in which it lives

(c) The greater prairie chicken has not been seen in Ontario, Manitoba or Alberta for a long time. It was last seen in Saskatchewan in 1977. It can still be found in the prairie states in the U.S.

3. Predict which area of Canada has the greatest number of organisms at risk. Explain why you think this is the case.