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quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: western toads!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #BritishColumbia #Canada #Toad
A photo of a Western toad sitting in dirt, on a sunny day. The Western toad, Anaxyrus boreas, is a small toad found in a fairly wide range of habitats in British Columbia, particularly in forested or semi-forested areas, from lowlands to mountainous areas. Despite its this flexibility, this toad is vulnerable to chytridiomycosis, a deadly infection caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dedrobatidis (Bd). In some local areas with nearby Bd infections, the toad seems to have disappeared entirely. According to the species' COSEWIC status report, Bd isn't well established in northern toad populations yet due to low temperatures, but as climate change raises annual low and high temperatures, Bd is better able to infect toads and reproduce, and toads' immune systems are weakened by temperature stress, making the species increasingly vulnerable to this devastating amphibian pandemic.
October 31, 2026 at 5:14 PM
quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: painted turtles!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #BritishColumbia #Canada #Turtle
A photo of a turtle standing on some rocks in a pond, with long grass in the background. The turtle has a visible bright red fringe just inside the edges of its shell and plastron, and a smoothly domed shell. The painted turtle, Chrysemys picta, is a freshwater turtle that lives in wetlands and freshwater bodies across much of Canada. The Pacific Coast subspecies of this turtle is assessed as Threatened, while the intermountain species in interior BC is assessed as at Special Risk. According to the species' COSEWIC report, climate change will increase human use of freshwater by potentially up to 40% in areas like the Okanagan, threatening what little freshwater habitat remains for these turtles. Additionally, increasing local temperatures may affect these turtles because their hatchlings' sex is in part driven by incubation temperature, with higher temperatures producing higher ratios of females. It is not known with certainty how strong these impacts might be on our local populations.
November 3, 2026 at 6:07 PM
quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: Oregon forestsnails!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #BritishColumbia #Canada #Snail
A very close-up photo of a snail crawling along the forest floor, with a blackish body emerging from a shell that is mostly warm browns, with patchy chipped patterns increasing inward along the spiral. The Oregon Forestsnail, Allogona townsendiana, is a somewhat larger land snail that lives in very close association with stinging nettle, in only a few dozen small spots across the Lower Mainland of BC. They live in the forest floor, often Climate change isn't the most immediate threat to these snails; their biggest threat is development of their habitat for residential or land use, and the clearing of nettle stands. But climate still poses a modest threat: according to the species' COSEWIC status report, climate change is increasing drought conditions in the region, which is dangerous to these snails who require constantly moist microclimates on the forest floor. Climate change is also raising the risk of serious flooding of the Fraser River, which could damage or wipe out habitat. While not immediate dangers, these risks compound things for this already-endangered snail.
November 1, 2026 at 10:01 PM
quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: Great Basin spadefoots!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #BritishColumbia #Toad #Frog
A very close-op photo of a squat little toad sitting on some asphalt. It has huge round eyes, a fairly round body even for a toad, and a brownish back with black and red speckles. The Great Basin spadefoot, Spea intermontana, is a toad that lives the dry interior of BC, spending much of its time underground and emerging during cool and humid nights to explore for food or mates. Their eggs and tadpoles are particularly dependent on seasonal ponds. According to the species' COSEWIC report, climate change is changing how the water systems of these ponds function, shortening and shifting the time when the ponds exist and drying out habitats overall. As well as directly threatening these toads, increasing drought means nearby human agriculture uses more water, lowering the water table and adding a compounding double threat to their lifestyle.
November 3, 2026 at 12:28 AM
quillipede.bsky.social
For a course in my sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: Vancouver island marmots!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #Frog #BritishColumbia #Canada
A photo of a brown marmot with white patches on its nose and chest, lounging in the sun amidst long grasses and fireweed. The Vancouver island marmot, Marmota vancouverensis, is a chocolate-brown marmot with distinct white patches on its nose and chest that is sometimes called North America's most endangered mammal. They live in alpine meadows and slopes on a few mountains on Vancouver Island. According to the species' COSEWIC status report, climate change is shrinking the alpine meadows these marmots depend on, by making conditions less suitable for the plant life that forms those meadows. The report estimates that in the worst case scenario, by 2080, up to 97% of suitable marmot habitat on the island may be gone due to climatic changes.
October 29, 2026 at 3:14 PM
quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: horned grebes!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #BritishColumbia #Canada #Birding
A photo of a horned grebe in winter plumage swimming along the water. The horned grebe, Podiceps auritus, is a small waterbird that overwinters in marine waters around the northern hemisphere, including the coastal waters of British Columbia. During breeding season, they seek out shallow freshwater habitats in the continental interior. Despite its wide range, the horned grebe needs very specific breeding grounds. According to the species' COSEWIC status report, climate change is causing precipitation changes that lead to temporary drying-out of that wetland habitat. This will make it difficult for them to find suitable places to lay eggs and raise chicks.
October 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM
quillipede.bsky.social
I'm pursuing a sustainable economics certificate at Capilano University. For one course, I'm doing a two-week, daily series of posts on native animals I've photographed, and their vulnerability to climate change.

Today: coastal tailed frogs!

#ClimateCritters #Climate #Frog #BritishColumbia #Canada
A close-up photo of a very small frog, mostly coppery-brown with near-black and paler copper markings. It is sitting on wet rocks. The coastal tailed frog, Ascaphus truei, is a small frog that lives in rocky creeks in coastal British Columbia. Its tadpoles sucker onto rocks in the streams, and the adults can live for decades without ever moving far from their home stream. Unfortunately, according to the COSEWIC report on the species, climate change is increasing early-year flooding and turbulent water scouring that can disturb the streams and kill tadpoles, while also increasing later-season droughts that dry up the streams these frogs need to survive.
October 28, 2026 at 3:16 PM