BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Cottus hubbsi
Columbia Sculpin
| Scientific Name: | Cottus hubbsi |
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Cottus bairdi hubbsi
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| English Name: | Columbia Sculpin |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S3 |
| Date Status Assigned: | May 09, 2001 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | May 15, 2019 |
| Reasons: | Columbia Sculpin has a small distribution within the Columbia River basin; major threats include drought, urbanization, development and impacts from mining activities. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | E = 5,000-20,000 square km |
| Range Extent Estimate (km2): | 17,593 |
| Range Extent Comments: | Columbia Sculpin is restricted to parts of the Columbia River and it's tributaries in south-central B.C. In the Columbia River it is found from the Keenleyside Dam near Castelgar to the U.S. border. Tributaries include the Kettle River, the Similkameen River and Tulameen River (COSEWIC 2010m). |
| Area of Occupancy (km2): | F = 126-500 |
| Area of Occupancy Estimate (km2): | 972 |
| Area of Occupancy Comments: | The index of total area of occupancy is 972 square kiometres, calculated by overlaying a 2km x 2km grid over the known locations (COSEWIC 2010m). |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | C = 21 - 80 |
| Comments: | COSEWIC (2010m) describes 21 locations in Canada divided into the following populations: Columbia (6 locations), Kootenay/Slocan (5 locations), Bonnington (1 location), Kettle (1 location) and Similkameen (8 locations). |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | A = None |
| Comments: | "There are no habitat protection provisions specifically for Columbia sculpin, however, the fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act provide protection for Columbia sculpin, and the BC Forest and Range Practices Act has provisions to protect fish habitat from forestry and range activities." (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2012). |
| Population Size: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | There are no current quantitative data on population numbers (COSEWIC 2010m). |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | C = Medium |
| Comments: | Columbia Sculpin have a restricted distribution and are vulnerable to a variety of threats including flow regulation, consumptive water uses, point and non-point pollution, introduction of non-native species, and climate change." (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2012). COSEWIC (2010m) describes major threats as drought, urbanization, industrial development, and mining activities. |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | G = Relatively Stable (<=10% change) |
| Comments: | The reduction in the total number of mature individuals over the last 10 years is about 2.5 %. It appears to be declining in small streams where it has previously occurred - for example, part of Otter Creek that used to support fish, has gone dry in the summers over recent years (COSEWIC 2010m). |
| Long-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | "The historic distribution in Canada is assumed to be similar to its present-day distribution, but habitat alterations from flow regulation have been significant in the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers, and it is possible that historic distribution differed. The historic distribution also included several lakes in the Similkameen system that were poisoned as part of fisheries enhancement projects in the 1950s (McPhail 2007)." (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2012). |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Environmental Specificity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | "The streams in Gladstone Provincial Park have never been sampled and it is possible that the lower reaches of Sander and Troy creeks might contain Columbia Sculpins." (COSEWIC 2010m). |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | |
| Management: | |
| Version | |
| Author: | Gelling, L. |
| Date: | October 19, 2018 |
| References | |
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COSEWIC. 2010m. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Columbia Sculpin Cottus hubbsi in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xii + 32 pp.
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2018. Conservation Status Report: Cottus hubbsi. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jan 24, 2025).