Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 2

COSEWIC Executive Summary

Pallid Bat
Antrozous pallidus

The pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) in Canada is found exclusively in the extreme south of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Although common and widespread in arid and semi-arid regions of the south-western United States, this distinctive species is rare in Canada due in part to the fact that the southern Okanagan represents its northern range limit where climate, foraging habitat and roosting habitat may be sub-optimal. Human disturbances, however, which could include habitat degradation and possibly pesticide bioaccumulation may contribute to this species’ rarity in Canada, as well. Because very little land in the southern Okanagan Valley is protected in parks or ecological reserves, anthropogenic factors have the potential to impose dramatic impacts on this species. Relatively little is known about A. pallidus in Canada and further study is required before a management or protection plan can be initiated. Based on recent evidence, however, the presence of a breeding population currently seems much more likely than it did at the time of preparation of the original COSEWIC status report (Balcombe 1988).

COSEWIC Mandate

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) determines the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, and nationally significant populations that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on all native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, lepidopterans, molluscs, vascular plants, lichens, and mosses.

COSEWIC Membership

COSEWIC comprises representatives from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biosystematic Partnership), three nonjurisdictional members and the co-chairs of the species specialist groups. The committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.

Definitions

Species
Any indigenous species, subspecies, variety, or geographically defined population of wild fauna and flora.

Extinct (X)
A species that no longer exists.

Extirpated (XT)
A species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.

Endangered (E)
A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Threatened (T)
A species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.

Special Concern (SC)Footnotea
A species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.

Not at Risk (NAR)Footnoteb
A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk.

Data Deficient (DD)Footnotec
A species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation.

 

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list.

Canadian Wildlife Service

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat.

 

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