Savannah sparrow (princeps subspecies) management plan: chapter 2

INTRODUCTION

 

Status: The Savannah Sparrow, princeps subspecies, hereafter referred to as the Ipswich Sparrow, was first listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Threatened in 1979 (McLaren 1979) and was reclassified as Special Concern (formerly “Vulnerable”) in 1999 (Horn 1999) when assessment criteria were redefined. It is currently considered to be a subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, with which it occasionally hybridizes (Horn 1999), but from which it is morphologically and behaviourally distinct (Stobo and McLaren 1975; Rising 2001). The DNA that is currently most useful in species taxonomy, mitochondrial DNA, shows no clear genetic difference between the Ipswich Sparrow and the subspecies of Savannah Sparrow that occupies most of North America (Zink et al. 2005).

Reason for status:The breeding population is restricted to one 40-km island. This necessitates designation as a Species of Special Concern, while the sparrow’s moderately large and stable population size does not justify a higher designation.

Occurrence:Sable Island, Nova Scotia, with a few individuals, perhaps fewer than 10 per year, breeding on the Nova Scotian mainland.

 

Information contained in the latest status report for this species is summarized only briefly here. This allows more space for information relevant to management that has become available since then, especially new population size estimates and new genetic information.

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