COSEWIC Status Appraisal Summary on the Columbian Carpet Moss (Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum) in Canada - 2014

• Document Information
• COSEWIC Assessment Summary
• COSEWIC Status Appraisal Summary
• Acknowledgements
• Authorities contacted
• Information sources
• Technical Summary
• COSEWIC History
• Additional Sources of Information:

• Figure 1. The distribution of Columbian Carpet Moss in Canada.
• Figure 2. The distribution of Columbian Carpet Moss in North America.

• Table 1.Occurrences of Columbian Carpet Moss in Canada. "EO ID" refers to the unique identifier applied by the BC Conservation Data Centre. Data sources: COSEWIC 2004, BCBRT 2010, Environment Canada 2012, Terry McIntosh pers. comm. 2012, 2013, and BC Conservation Data Centre 2013.

COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows:

COSEWIC. 2014. COSEWIC status appraisal summary on the Columbian Carpet Moss Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum in Canada. Committee on the Status of Special Concern Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xviii pp.

COSEWIC acknowledges Karen Golinski for writing the status report on the Columbian Carpet Moss, Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum,prepared under contract with Environment Canada. This report was overseen and edited by René Belland, Co-chair of the Mosses and Lichens Specialist Subcommittee.

COSEWIC Secretariat
c/o Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment Canada
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0H3

Tel.: 819-938-4125
Fax: 819-938-3984
E-mail: COSEWIC/COSEPAC
Website: COSEWIC

Également disponible en français sous le titre Sommaire du statut de l'espèce du COSEPAC sur L'érythrophylle du Columbia (Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum) au Canada.

• Designated Special Concern in May 2004. Status re-examined and confirmed in November 2014.

• Wildlife Species

  Change in eligibility, taxonomy or designatable units

  • No

  Explanation:

  The eligibility, taxonomy and designatable units for this species have not changed since the last status assessment.

• Change in estimated extent of occurrence

  • Yes

• Change in index of area of occupancy (IAO, 2 x 2 km² grid values)

  • Yes

• Change in number of known or infered locations ? ^{Table Footnotea}

  • Unknown

• Significant new survey information:

  • Yes

• Change in number of mature individuals?

  • Unknown

• Change in population trend?

  • Unknown

• Change in severity of population fragmentation

  • Unknown
• Change in trend in area and/or quality of habitat
  • Unknown

• Significant new survey information:

  • No

• Change in nature and/or severity of threats

  • Yes

• Change in effective protection:

  • Yes

• Change in evidence of rescue effect:
  • No

• Change in estimated probability of extirpation:

  Details: No quantitative analyses have been completed.

  • No

• Is this a data sensitive species?

  Columbian Carpet Moss is endemic to western North America. The northernmost extent of its range is in British Columbia. The semi-arid shrub-steppe and grasslands in which it occurs are among the most threatened ecosystems in Canada (COSEWIC 2004).

  Few sites where Columbian Carpet Moss has been found have been revisited since the status report was completed in 2004. Population sizes and characteristics have not been well-documented. If the "management actions" identified in the management plan for Columbian Carpet Moss (BCBRT 2010, Environment Canada 2012) are completed, these gaps should be filled. However, none of the "actions" have been initiated, despite being scheduled to begin in 2012 and 2013.

Marta Donovan and Terry McIntosh reviewed the database of records, clarified details, and helped define occurrences. Terry McIntosh reviewed specimens held in his personal collection to provide additional records.

René Belland, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

Brenda Costanzo, Terrestrial Conservation Science Section, BC Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC

Marta Donovan, British Columbia Conservation Data Centre, BC Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC

Judith Harpel, University of British Columbia Herbarium, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver, BC

Steve Joya, University of British Columbia Herbarium, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver, BC

Catherine LaFarge, Cryptogamic Herbarium, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

Olivia Lee, University of British Columbia Herbarium, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver, BC

Michael Ryan, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Kamloops, BC

Terry McIntosh, consultant, Vancouver, BC

British Columbia Bryophyte Recovery Team. 2010. Management Plan for Columbian Carpet Moss (Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 15 pp. (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

COSEWIC 2004. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Columbian Carpet Moss Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 19 pp. PDF file (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

COSEWIC 2007. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Western harvest mouse Reithrodontomys megalotis megalotis andReithrodontomys megalotis dychei in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 27 pp.

Environment Canada. 2012. Management Plan for the Columbian Carpet Moss (Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. v + Appendix. PDF file (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. 2013. Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 10. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. PDF file (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

McIntosh, T.T., M. Vander Haegen, and M. Schroeder. 2007. Patterns in biological soil crust recovery in Conservation Reserve Program fields, Washington State.Report prepared for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 22 pp. PDF file (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

NatureServe. 2004. A habitat-based strategy for delimiting plant element occurrences: Guidance from the 2004 Working Group. PDF file (Last accessed September 25, 2014)

NatureServe. 2014. (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

Tropicos. 2012. Tropicos, botanical information system at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum (F.J. Herm. & E. Lawton) R.H. Zander. (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

Vander Haegen, W.M., M.A. Schroeder, S.S. Germaine, S.D. West, and R.A. Gitzen. 2005. Wildlife on Conservation Reserve Program lands and native shrub steppe in Washington: Progress Report for 2004. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia. 51 pp. PDF file (Last accessed September 15, 2014)

Author of SAS: G. Karen Golinski

• Generation time

  Usually average age of parents in the population; indicate if another method of estimating generation time indicated in the IUCN guidelines(2008) is being used

  • Unknown

• Is there an [observed, inferred, or projected] continuing decline in number of mature individuals?

  The number of mature individuals has likely declined as a result of habitat destruction such as vineyard development. However, there are no data to support this assumption.

  • Inferred

• Estimated percent of continuing decline in total number of mature individuals within [5 years or 2 generations] (52-60 years)

  • Unknown

• [Observed, estimated, inferred, or suspected] percent [reduction or increase] in total number of mature individuals over the last [10 years, or 3 generations] (78-90 years)

  • Unknown

• Projected percent reduction in total number of mature individuals over the next 100 years.

  • Unknown

• [Observed, estimated, inferred or suspected] percent [reduction or increase] in total number of mature individuals over any [10 years, or 3 generations] period, over a time period including both the past and the future.(As above)

  • Unknown

• Are the causes of the decline clearly reversible and understood and ceased?

  The causes of decline (i.e., various forms of development, agricultural practices, and recreation) are unlikely to cease without concerted outreach.

  • Unknown

• Are there extreme fluctuations in number of mature individuals?

  • Unlikely

• Change in estimated extent of occurrence

  • 14,869 km²

• Change in index of area of occupancy (IAO, 2 x 2 km² grid values)

  • 64 km²

• Is the population severely fragmented?

  Most occurrences of Columbian Carpet Moss in COSEWIC (2004) have not been observed for >10 years. Therefore, the true extent of population fragmentation is unknown. However, based on known information, at least 50% of the total area of occupancy is in habitat patches that are very small and are separated from other habitat patches by long distances (IUCN 2013).

  • Unknown

• Number of locations ^{Table Footnoteb}

  The species is known from 22 occurrences. However, because few of the previously known occurrences have been revisited to evaluate threats, it is not known how many locations the occurrences represent.

  • Unknown

• Is there a projected continuing decline in extent of occurrence?

  Although several new occurrences for the species have been recently documented and have increased the apparent EO, most of the previous occurrences have not been revisited to determine their status. Until such data are available, a continuing decline remains unknown.

  • Unknown

• Is there a projected continuing decline in index of area of occupancy?

  Although several new occurrences for the species have been recently documented and have increased the apparent IAO, most of the previous occurrences have not been revisited to determine their status. Until such data are available, a continuing decline remains unknown.

  • Unknown

• Is there an observed continuing decline in number of populations?

  Although several new occurrences for the species have been recently documented and increased the apparent number of populations, most of the previous occurrences have not been revisited to determine their status. Until such data are available, a continuing decline remains unknown.

  • Unknown

• Is there an observed continuing decline in number of locations? ^{Table Footnoteb}

  Because few of the previously known occurrences have been revisited to evaluate threats, it is not known how many locations the occurrences represent.

  • Inferred

• Is there an observed continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?

  Because few of the previously known occurrences have been revisited, it is unknown whether there is a continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat. However, it is likely because this region has experienced intense agricultural and urban development since the first COSEWIC report in 2004.

  • Yes

• Are there extreme fluctuations in number of populations?

  • No

• Change in number of locations ? ^{Table Footnoteb}

  • No

• Are there extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence?

  • No

• Are there extreme fluctuations in index of area of occupancy?

  • No

• Population:

  • SeeTable 1. Population details for most occurrences are vague, outdated, or non-existent.
    • (N Mature Individuals): Unknown

• Total

  • Unknown

• Probability of extinction in the wild is at least [20% within 20 years or 5 generations, or 10% within 100 years].

  • Not available

Threats to Columbian Carpet Moss identified in previous reports (COSEWIC 2004, BCBRT 2010, Environment Canada 2012) and their impacts on Columbian Carpet moss populations are listed below.

1. Vineyard development: One population has been extirpated because of vineyard construction.
2. Grazing animals. 6 subpopulations are subject to livestock damage.
3. Urban development: At least 1 subpopulation on the west side of Osoyoos has been reduced in size because of housing development and other populations in the same are under similar threat.
4. Road improvements: 4 sites are threatened by road construction or maintenance
5. Outdoor recreational activities: Hiking has negatively impacted the population at 1 site and may have affected 3 other populations.
6. Invasion by non-native plant species: This threat is a potential threat which has yet to be documented.

• Status of outside population(s)?
  • Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum is ranked S2 in both Washington and Oregon. It is ranked SNR in California and Idaho. Its global status is G3G4 (NatureServe 2014).
• Is immigration known or possible?
  • No
• Would immigrants be adapted to survive in Canada?
  • Unknown
• Is there sufficient habitat for immigrants in Canada?
  • Possibly
• Is rescue from outside populations likely?
  • Unlikely

• Is this a data sensitive species?

  Permission has not been granted to share data from three occurrences: one located south of Penticton, west of Kaleden (EO ID 10887), one located just east of Oliver (EO ID 10891), and one located just east of Osoyoos (EO ID 10983).

  • Yes

• Designated Special Concern in May 2004. Status re-examined and confirmed in November 2014.

COSEWIC (2004): Special Concern

Criteria: "Not applicable"

Reasons for Designation (2004): "This is a western North American endemic species. It is a small perennial species and in Canada has a restricted distribution in the shrub-steppe in semi-arid regions of British Columbia where recent surveys have confirmed its presence from 11 sites. The species is never abundant in sites where it is found and extensive surveys have provided few new locations. At least one population is believed to have been lost to cultivation (vineyard) or to stochastic events. Threats include agriculture (especially vineyards), impact by grazing animals, urban development, road improvements, and human recreational impacts. Based on known occurrences, the species appears to have a very restricted distribution. However, the species is patchily distributed at low densities in large habitats not all of which have been censused."

The Committee on the Status of Special Concern 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. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process.

The Committee on the Status of Special Concern Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens.

COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal entities (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government science members and the co-chairs of the species specialist subcommittees and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittee. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.

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

Marta Donovan, British Columbia Conservation Data Centre, BC Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC

Judith Harpel, University of British Columbia Herbarium, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver, BC

Terry McIntosh, pers. comm 2013. Consultant, Vancouver, BC