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Although British Columbia has a
more varied flora and fauna than
any other province in Canada,
we should not take this rich biodiversity
for granted. Many species and
subspecies are at risk. Worse yet, some
have been extirpated from British
Columbia (they are no longer found
within the province, but still live elsewhere)
or have become extinct (they no
longer exist anywhere in the world).
When a province has nearly 500
species of birds and more than 3000
plant species, the loss of one or two of
these may not seem that serious,
but there are a number of reasons
why every species and subspecies is
worthy of conservation. For some
people, the most important consideration
is the known and potential
economic values of plants and animals,
which provide us with building
materials, medicine, food, pest
control, and much more. For others,
it is the aesthetic or spiritual
significance of living beings. In
addition to these values, ecosystems
are complex networks of
interconnected organisms and the
loss of any one component of an
ecosystem can affect all the remaining
species, often in ways we do
not yet understand. Furthermore,
certain types of organisms, such as
lichens, amphibians, and fish, are
valuable bioindicators – the health of
these species provides us with tangible
evidence about the health of the ecosystems
in which they live.
Backhouse, Francis. 2000. Extinct and Extirpated Species. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Species at Risk Brochure
Topic: Species and Ecosystems at Risk
Keywords: species and ecosystems, at risk, extinct, extirpated, species
English Name: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Sea Otter, Hadley Lake Limnetic Stickleback, Hadley Lake Benthic Stickleback, Dawson Caribou, Dragon Lake Whitefish, Pink Sand-verbena, Common Downingia, Large Marble, Rabbitbrush Goldenweed, Greater Sage-grouse, Lobb's Water-buttercup, Passenger Pigeon, Gopher Snake, Catenifer Subspecies
Other Identifier:
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