U of G grad Laura Timms (B.Sc. 2001) was featured in a Toronto Star article on species at risk in the Credit River watershed. Timms is the Credit Valley Conservation ecologist.
There are 65 species of plants and animals living in the Credit River watershed that are at risk of extinction, according to the United Nations (UN) agency Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Among the 65 threatened species living in the Credit River watershed are three amphibian species, over 30 bird species, as well as several fish and mammal species. One million species are threatened worldwide, according to the UN assessment.
“The number of species going extinct now is way higher because of human activity,” Timms said in the Star article. “There’s a lot of evidence for it.”
The Jefferson salamander, lake sturgeon, peregrine falcon, monarch butterfly, eastern milksnake and American chestnut are among the species at risk in the Credit River watershed.