We profile just a few of the newly approved sites on our SHAPE of Nature blog. You can also find out about sites on the revamped KBACanada.org website, which includes an interactive map of Canada’s evolving KBA landscape.

One of the greatest strengths of the KBA initiative is its collaborative nature, which was on display at the event in Ottawa. The event was sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada and we were joined by many conservation partners, Indigenous representatives, and government officials. The KBA program relies heavily on the knowledge of local naturalists, Indigenous Nations, scientists and others to help us zero in on these key places and develop the evidence required to nominate them as KBAs. KBAs are a conservation blueprint of what we must protect to pass on the richness and diversity of nature to future generations.

"We've already had people in all sorts of sectors saying, 'OK, if this is identified as a key biodiversity area, we might be able to get more funding for this, to be able to steward it better,'" said Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, director of KBAs at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada to CBC's What on Earth.

Learn more about KBAs in Ontario in The Globe and Mail, in British Columbia from the Richmond News and Times Colonist, and Manitoba from The Carillion.

When you hear a loud sound, you may cover your ears. If you are a whale swimming in the Arctic Ocean, you may do a U-turn instead. A new study led by Dr. Morgan Martin, post-doctoral fellow with WCS Canada, has documented evasive behaviours by beluga whales in the Arctic Ocean when ships enter their sound space.  

The results painted a picture of a strong reaction to ship noise among the tagged whales. Not only did a number of the whales make sharp changes in direction, we also saw changes in diving behaviour, including more V-shaped dives where whales made quick descents and ascents rather than remaining submerged. Others went into shallow dives and swam below the surface away from the source of the noise. Some of the whales that did not change their behaviour were already moving away from the ship when it came within hearing distance. The belugas also swam faster than average when ships were within the detectable range. 

Understanding beluga response to noise is important because fleeing interrupts the individual or group’s current behaviour (e.g., foraging, nursing, resting, transiting), thereby disrupting important daily activities. It can also lead to breakdowns in group communications for these gregarious whales. With climate change rapidly reducing ice coverage in the Arctic, ship traffic is already increasing, meaning more of these noisy encounters lie ahead for whales. More in Hakai Magazine on this important research. 

Roughly 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries. Already, an estimated 37% of chondrichthyan species sharks, rays and their relatives are threatened with extinction – the second highest rate among all vertebrate groups (after amphibians)

That’s why WCS Canada is calling on the Canadian government to support proposals to cast a wider net of protection for threatened sharks at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference. Canada has been a leader in adopting shark conservation measures, including world-leading measures to ban the trade in detached shark fins in this country. It has also led the way on a ban on the retention of North Atlantic shortfin mako shark that are caught by commercial or recreational fishing and has supported a proposal for a similar ban for the Greenland shark. Canada has about 35 species of sharks – ranging from the tiny deep-sea cat shark to the massive basking shark, and many of these species are declining.

We are urging the federal government to now support proposals being put forward by other countries to list requiem sharks (Family Carcharhinidae), hammerhead sharks (Sphyrindae spp.) that are not already listed, and all species of guitarfishes (Rhinobatidae spp.) on the CITES treaty’s species list. These family-level listings reflect the widespread threats facing sharks and rays, from overfishing to climate change, and the need to focus on more than individual species.

A CITES listing can ensure that any attempts to sell products derived from these sharks can be tightly regulated and controlled. Right now, only 25% of the international shark fin trade comes from species listed under CITES, which must change if we want these ancient predators to survive. WCS Canada, and the entire WCS family, is also calling on Canada and other governments to adopt additional measures for the conservation of several species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.