Glossary

Biological diversity - biodiversity: the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

COSEWIC: the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, This is a committee of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada.

Critical habitat: the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species' critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species.

Ecosystem: an interdependent and dynamic system of living organisms with their physical and geographical environment.

Ecotype: subspecific form within a true species, resulting from selection within a particular habitat and therefore adapted genetically to that habitat, but which can interbreed with other members of the species.

Endangered: a wildlife species that is facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Endemic species: a species native and confined to a certain region; having comparatively restricted distribution.

Exotic species: a species that did not originally occur in the areas in which it is now found, but that arrived as a direct or indirect result of human activity.

Extinct: a species that no longer exists.

Extirpated: a wildlife species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but exists elsewhere.

Habitat: the particular type of local environment occupied by an individual or a population.

Historic range: those geographic areas the species was known or believed to occupy in the past.

Indigenous species: a species native to Canada.

Invasive species: a species that has moved into an area and reproduced so aggressively that it has replaced some of the original species.

Organism: any individual living creature, either unicellular (e.g., bacteria) or multicellular (e.g., fungi, plants, animals).

Population: a group of individuals of one species, found within a prescribed area and usually somewhat isolated from other groups of the same species.

Range: the geographical limits of a species or group; a migratory species usually has both a breeding range and a wintering range.

Recovery: the restoration of a species to a viable, self-sustaining population level, able to withstand random events and other environmental variables.

Special concern: a wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Species: a group of closely related organisms which are capable of interbreeding, and which are reproductively isolated from other groups of organisms; the basic unit of biological classification.

Stewardship: management of the heritage of our natural spaces and species in such a way that it can be passed on to future Canadians intact.

Threatened: a wildlife species that is likely to become an endangered species if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its extirpation or extinction.

Thanks to COSEWIC and Parks Canada for their collaboration in this glossary.