Threats To Biological Diversity In Canada

1. There are of course many potential threats to biological diversity in Canada. Changes to the landscape (generally done by humans), can have a devastating affect on biological diversity, due to the destruction of the previous landscape (whether lakes, rivers, forests, or whatever) for human use.

Another is pollution, there are of course many different forms of pollution, so to be more specific, air pollution can have a devastating affect on biological diversity in Canada. Not only can some emissions kill animals/plants, the change in air quality can also affect human health.

Climate change is another biological diversity affecter, climate change can affect so many different aspects, such as lake levels, river flow, climate (of course),
extreme weather events and more. This of course can lead to the extinction of many species, or the destruction of habitable land.

Out of the three threats I mentioned I personally feel that climate change is the most significant long term threat as we still do not know the extent of what climate change can do. We do know that rising waters and extreme weather changes are not good, but we cannot know for certain just how devastating it will be on everything.

2. The most basic way to explain the approaches would be that we cannot rely on just one group to aid Canadian biodiversity. Federal, provincial and territorial governements along with indigenous people, businesses and citizens need to play their role in maintaining biological resources. The 5 main goals, as the www.biodivcanada.ca states are: Conservation and Sustainable Use, Ecological Management Education and Awareness, Incentives and Legislation and International Cooperation.

3. Non-native species are often a threat to many different areas biological diversity, not just Canada's. Certain species just do not belong in certain areas as they do not have natural predator to handle them, or do not have adequate competition, which can lead to a huge population growth, which can damage or kill off other species.

Public awareness is a major strategy being used, as boats going across provinces, or from lake to lake can easily carry species such as Zebra Mussels that should be removed before they get the chance.
Public awareness can be a powerful strategy as a well-educated public can make way larger strides than just a few researchers or conservation officers can.

Other strategies have been to train other species in how to handle the invasive species. Some invasive species have evolved certain defenses that many native species would never have encountered. This can unfortunately take a few generations to handle, but training and aiding the adaption of the native species is a relatively successful strategy.

4. The biological factors that contribute to a species vulnerability to extinction seem to be mostly related to species that live a long time and breed less. Ironically, if humans were not capable of the “adaption” that we are, we would likely be vulnerable to extinction. The long-livers are vulnerable due to a slower adaption process. Whereas species that breed a ton and die off quickly make quicker room for the new generation to have less competition, whilst also ensuring that at least some of the newer children are capable of surviving in newer
conditions.

5. On a national level certain species can fall into different levels of danger, the species are put into different categories such as Schedule 1, 2 or 3 to differentiate the level of danger. Schedule 1 are the species that are in clear danger, while schedule 2 and 3 are for species that are at risk but are being assessed for level of risk.

On a provincial level (Manitoba in this case) the Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act is in place to ensure the specific species and ecosystems that fall under it are protected. It is created to protect their habitats and the species themselves from danger.

Internationally there is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which has an incredibly comprehensive list of various species and ecosystems all under many different levels of danger. The list ranges from “Least Concern (LC)” to “Extinct (EX)”

The classifications at different levels is fairly interesting as it seems as the wider the net is cast from provincial to international the more classifications there are. Provincially Manitoba places species under protection and that's where it is, nationally Canada has a few levels of danger, where as internationally there is a huge web of varying levels of danger. An emotional guess could put this on a more intimate level, whereas on a provincial level any species under any sort of danger should fall under immediate concern. However, it is more likely that the wider the scale the larger the picture needs to be painted, so to provide a more accurate image of what sorts of species are surviving or not surviving, where and why.

Part B.
6. For the most part Ecosystem Management is the management of of ecosystem that promotes conservation so that we can maintain use, whilst also ensuring the ecosystem maintains its integrity.

Ecosystem Management is important as it attempts ensure biological diversity is maintained by keeping ecosystems as close to their standard as possible. It does this while allowing for human consumption needs and ensuring any change that does happen limits damage and keeps a healthy biological diversity.

7. The five-steps are such:

Step 1: Determine who plays the most vital part in the ecosystem , allowing a deeper understanding of the ecosystem, which will allow for stronger relationships.

– Figuring out who may play the most vital role in the ecosystem can be difficult and can be a very time consuming part. One species or “stakeholder” may appear prominent and another not as important, but that could ultimately lead to being incorrect.

Also, relationships are not always wanted between stakeholders and those looking to prevent ecological damage --

Step 2: Figuring out how the ecosystem works and what it is made up of so that it can be monitored and controlled more efficiently.

– The structure and function of an ecosystem can vary greatly depending on seasons. Step 2 demands strong research to ensure the ecosystem is being managed in the way that it should be. Which is why monitoring plays an important part –

Step 3: Take the economic situation of the ecosystem into consideration and how it will play on the ecosystem and the species that live within it.

– Economic issues can range from mining, to power needs, to water needs. It is probably the easiest step to do as it relies on just knowing what the surrounding communities need from the ecosystem, however it plays the role of also trying to control the economic needs –

Step 4: Figure out how much the ecosystem plays on the surrounding ecosystems

– Impact of one ecosystem can be difficult to figure out as causation versus correlation can come into affect. If one change to the ecosystem happens and another adjacent ecosystem changes too, is it because of the initial ecosystem changing or is it a natural change, or a completely different reason. Like most of the steps, heavy research and monitoring is necessary.

Step 5: Establish goals for the long term while creating ways to reach them.

– Long term goals can be difficult to maintain, flexibility is a must, but a certain amount of rigidness needs to be put in place too, to ensure the ecosystem is not flexing to far into its destruction –

8. The steps taken for both a park and protected area and a forested ecosystem follow the ecosystem management process pretty heavily.

Since parks are generally open to the public the system is obviously a bit different than a forested ecosystem which would see little publi8c interference. The Tram Chim National Park for example is surrounded by about 42,000 people. However, the park was designated as a national park to ensure preservation of a small portion of the area.

The same general system is followed for the park, however, in the specific case, the threat of fire and high water levels have to be looked at.

With fires several things were noted, most of them occurred a distance away from canals. The fires are likely caused by the canals due to increased drainage. Unfortunately the current objectives in place seem to make it impossible to restore the original species diversity.

An example of forest objectives is the Northern Congo which has had to deal with logging, among other things. The goals have changed over the years, but the 2006 goals are quite thorough and break down the various goals into easier to handle bits. Wildlife management is managed by a few different groups, both for the sake of sustainability of the wildlife, but also to ensure the indigenous populations are able to still hunt.

They have also done a better job of marking out forestry and hunting zones, to ensure proper environmental diversity can be maintained,.

PART C.

9. The Boreal Woodland Caribou are registered as a threatened species. Their threatened status seems to be decreased due to a loss of their habitat, possibly due to humans. They have also seen an increase of predators.

Most Boreal Woodland Caribou deaths happen when they are before 6 months, primarily if they make it past that, they are more likely to survive. However, they stay safe by maintaining distance from predators, if their habitat shrinks, then they are far more likely to be at risk.

10. The Caribou can be found all over Canada, from British Columbia, to the Territories to Quebec. The status doe differ from Province to Province quite a bit. For example, the Yukon is rated as an S1 status, which is critical whereas Ontario is an S4.

Seeing as the Boreal Woodland Caribou are heavily affected by the state of their habitats, it is likely that the various provinces see different damage to the Caribous habitat, or see more predators to the Caribou in their ecosystems.

11.
Currently Manitoba Boreal Caribou populations are considered to be stable. There are fifteen identified Boreal Cariobu ranges throughout Manitoba.

Manitoba has a ten year Boreal Woodland Caribou Recovery Strategy. The strategy will help maintain or even strengthen the Woodland Caribou populations by ensuring human activity limits the damage it can do on the population. As well, all Stakeholders are doing their part in maintaining the life style of the Boreal Caribou. So, yes, the population is self-sustaining as long as we do our part in keeping them protected from us.

12. Since the Caribou are distributed throughout Manitoba, the stakeholders are obviously going to be all over Canada. As the Manitoba government already dictates on their website, there are Boreal Caribou advisory committee established in the various regions, comprised of First Nations, Metis, industry, government and non-government organizations and local wildlife associations.

A major part is ensuring an human settlement, growth or development does not destroy the caribou's habitats or hinder their seasonal movement. This could be Hydro developments, human settlement, highways or
anything.

13. Primary Producers – Since primary producers for the Caribou's ecosystem would primarily be edible for them (as they primarily eat lichens). The management plan for the Caribou would need to ensure that the primary producers (lichens primarily) are not being destroyed by any other portion of the plan or any other situation.

Competitors – If the Boreal Woodland Caribou have any competitors for the lichens then a management plan would need to take the level of competition into consideration. Would hunting licenses for competition aid the Caribou or damage them? Are the competitors worth worrying about or can their be a strong balance between the species?

Predators – Predators are a huge part of the Caribou's dangers. If the Caribou are not able to have a safe habitat away from predators then they will be threatened. The Caribou rely on safe habitats mostly for their young as the young are extremely vulnerable. Management of the predators is absolutely important for the management plan.

Forestry and Mining Practices – Forestry and Mining practices can have devastating affects on the Boreal Caribous ecosystem (or most species), a management plan would ensure that any mining or forestry that cannot be prevented should cause the least damage to the species as possible. Either by moving the forestry and mining as much as possible, or rerouting the Caribou if necessary.

Roads and Hydro Lines – These can have a devastating affect on an ecosystem, as roads and hydro lines effectively split ecosystems in half. Roads creating hazards (vehicles) for crossing animals and hydro lines being hazardous and disruptive in general. A management plan would take these things into consideration and would opt to try to provide the Caribou and other species a way under, over or around the roads in general as the ability to migrate is important for most species survival.

14. Seasonal factors play a large part in ecosystem management as it will generally create large migration patterns for food. The stomach content of the Woodland Caribou shows a somewhat implied migration from a primary food source of ground lichen to arboreal lichen. This migration is likely also what caused the Caribou to have to enter more dangerous areas which is what likely leads to the increase of death by Grey Wolves, just over a 6 times increase!

15. If I were to consider one major change to enhance conservation of the woodland caribou species, I would figure out a way to ensure they have a safe breeding grounds, especially during the winter when their most vulnerable. This could be done by providing a safer pathway, more open pastures or elevated grounds that wolves would have trouble reaching.

It's obvious that the Caribou are forced into deadly situations in the winter time for the search for food, so providing them the means to get that food would likely help conserve their numbers.

16. Since certain parts of the land are owned by different people, corporations or Indigenous lands, partnerships are necessary to be able to establish proper plans and to be able to study the needs of a species. If researchers are not given access to certain areas where Caribou roam, or cannot suggest changes due to stubbornness or legal rights, than even the most well-devised plans can fail or at least be changed enough that the effectiveness is hindered greatly.

Therefore, partnerships, management practices and different knowledge systems can be greatly used for management plans, as working together, using the already gained knowledge and devising proper plans around that will allow for the ecosystem management plans to have a much higher success rate.

17. Mining, forestry and human expansion in general can cause a lot of problems for Boreal Woodland Caribou as they can create many problems. The destruction of ecosystems can obviously make Boreal Woodland Caribou lose food, but even expansion in other species territories can cause those species to enter Boreal Caribou territory, causing more competition but also generally bringing more predation. This along with forest fires, forest disease and vehicular death can potentially be a major threat to the Boreal Woodland Caribou's existence as a species. Thankfully, as of right now in Manitoba the Caribou are doing alright.