Taking Nature's Pulse - Biodiversity BC

taking nature’s pulse: the status of biodiversity in british columbiaCapacity and Knowledgephoto: chris darling.There is a substantial and ever-growing body of knowledge about biodiversity in British Columbia, which includesscientific publications, species checklists, computer databases and individual expertise. However, thereis also much that is not known. Capacity refers to the ability to fill the many knowledge gaps and integrate newand existing information.Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of species in B.C. have not been scientifically described or are notdocumented as being present in the province. Species groups for which such information is particularly lackinginclude most of the invertebrates and non-vascular plants. This taxonomic knowledge gap is currentlybeing exacerbated by an ‘extinction of experience’ as the scientists with the knowledge, skills and inclinationto do the work required to fill the gaps are retiring and often are not being replaced.The majority of species in B.C. have not been assessed for their conservation status and the global ranks formany species that have been assessed are out of date. The ecology of most species and the distributions of all buta very few are poorly understood. Coarse-scale ecosystem classifications are complete in B.C., but informationat a finer ecosystem scale is incomplete, as is ecosystem information from neighbouring jurisdictions. Trendmonitoring is extremely limited and data on distribution and population size are lacking for many species.Information about impacts on biodiversity is generally incomplete or out of date.major findings:22. Gaps in our knowledge of biodiversity in British Columbia create major challenges for effectiveconservation action.23. The capacity to address some of the gaps in our knowledge of biodiversity in British Columbiais being impacted by the loss of already limited taxonomic expertise.ConclusionAll life is part of biodiversity and each living thing depends on a multitude of species, ecosystems and ecologicalprocesses for its existence. Throughout the province there is compelling scientific evidence that biodiversityis being significantly altered by individual and cumulative stresses resulting from human activities. Climatechange is an overriding impact that is already taking a toll on B.C.’s biodiversity and is expected to becomean increasingly significant threat.