What is Wildlife Science?

1. What is Wildlife Science? Applied Ecology ECOLOGY CONSERVATION BIOLOGY Population Growth Community Organization Ecosystem Organization Processes & Interactions Threatened & Endangered species Reserve Design Restoration Habitat WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT Increase or Decrease Populations Sustainable Harvest Monitor Population Status

2. Information Needs for Wildlife Conservation • Habitat requirements • Assessment of past and current populations • Growth or decline? • Major limiting factors • Ability to survive, reproduce and disperse • How to manage the population(s)? • Habitat protection • Captive breeding • Legal protection

3. Era of Environmental Management: 1966-present Examples of Success in Wildlife Conservation • American Bison • From the surviving 150 individuals, there are now over 30,000 bison in many different herds

4. Era of Environmental Management: 1966-present Examples of Success in Wildlife Conservation • White-tailed (E. U.S.) and mule deer (W. of Cascades to Dakotas) • Suffered from loss of habitat and overharvesting • Habitat restoration and better protection resulted in many recovered populations and even over-population in places

5. Era of Environmental Management: 1966-present Examples of Success in Wildlife Conservation • Elk (wapiti) • Suffered from over-harvesting and loss of habitat • Habitat restoration & better protection have led to many recovered populations

6. Era of Environmental Management: 1966-present Examples of Success in Wildlife Conservation • Gray wolf • Persecuted for centuries, ongoing in some places • Change of attitudes has made restoration efforts possible (e.g. Yellowstone NP) • Still controversial species, especially with respect to ranching

7. Today:Human Relationships with Wildlife

8. Today:Human Relationships with Wildlife • Permanent settlements, transportation dramatically change where wildlife can survive • Humans move around a lot of species to areas they were never found before • Technological advances – allow us to harvest more wildlife • Pollution from human activities directly and indirectly (climate change) influences wildlife

9. In other words . . . • Habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation • Biological invasions • Overexploitation • Climate change

10. Why does it matter? • Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970 (Zoological Society of London) • Wildlife has value for humans • Economic • Recreational • Intrinsic

11. Human Attitudes Toward Wildlife • Scientific: curiosity, study, knowledge • Ecological: ecosystem, species interdependence • Naturalistic: wildlife exposure, contact with nature • Humanistic: pets, love for animals • Moralistic: ethical concern for animal welfare • Aesthetic: artistic and display • Utilitarian: practicality, usefulness • Dominionistic: mastery, superiority • Negativistic: avoidance, dislike, indifference, fear

12. Different Views of Wildlife Wildlife means different things to different people: • Traditional view: Species that are hunted or trapped • In last 25 years: All species

13. Historical perspectives: Hunting • Subsistence hunting - 1.8 million years • Protein • Bone for implements • Sinew for cordage • Fur and feathers for warmth and ornament • Rawhide and leather for clothing and shelter

14. Historical perspectives: Hunting • Early colonists • Access to land in New World • Tradition established • “Birth right” • Percentage of hunters declined since 1960s

15. Hunting vs. No Hunting Controversy • Hunters • Hunt legal game species by trapping or shooting • Non-hunters • Do not hunt or trap, but do not oppose or interrupt those that do • Anti-hunters • Do not hunt or trap, but do oppose and try to disrupt hunting

16. Animal Rights vs. Wildlife Conservation Philosophies Animal Rights • Humans should cause no pain, suffering or death to sentient animals • Animals should be treated with same ethical standards as humans • Rights of individual animals of primary importance; integrity of ecology and populations, other concerns secondary

17. Animal Rights vs. Wildlife Conservation Philosophies Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic • “A thing is right if it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends to do otherwise.” (1949 A Sand County Almanac) • Hunting is permissible

18. Hunting terms • Harvest • Game legally shot and retrieved (“bagged”) • Bag limit • Max. number of legally taken game animals (daily, possession, season limits) • Surplus • Proportion of population in excess of the number of breeders required to maintain the population at a desired level • Poaching • Illegal take or possession of animals • Closed season, closed area, illegal methods, threatened and endangered species, age/sex of animal

19. Hunting areas of Washington Go Hunt: http://wdfw.wa.gov/mapping/gohunt/index.html

20. The premise behind game harvest • Without harvest • Growth and recruitment of population are balanced by natural mortality • Average growth rate of a population at its carrying capacity (k) = 0 • Harvest • Reduces number of animals in a population • Increases growth rate (decreased competition) • Results in “harvestable surplus”

21. Births = Deaths Annual surplus: without harvest

22. + Births = Compensatory mortality: with harvest

23. Game species of WA • Big game • Deer, Elk, Black Bear

24. Game species of WA • Predators • Cougar, Coyote

25. Game species of WA • Small Game • Cottontail, Snowshoe Hare • Furbearers • Ex. Red Fox, Mink, Beaver, Marten, Badger, Bobcat, Lynx

26. Game species of WA • Upland game birds • Ex. Blue (now Dusky), Ruffed and Spruce Grouse, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wild Turkey, California and Mountain Quail • Waterfowl • Ducks, Coots, Snipe, Geese

27. Examples of hunted species White-tailed deer • Population extremely high through much of its range • Recent declines due to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

28. Examples of hunted species Mule deer • Primary deer species in Rocky Mountain states • Populations fluctuate but most are healthy

29. Examples of hunted species Black-tailed deer • Coastal form of mule deer • Hybridize with mule deer in North Cascades • Populations mostly stable but may suffer from overlap with elk in part of range

30. Factors important to successful game management • Populations stable or slightly increasing • Animals in population are healthy • Harvest and access regulated • Habitat management and conservation • Educate public (Peterson 2004)

31. What do we actually do to have successful game management? • Populations stable or slightly increasing • Animals in population are healthy • Harvest and access regulated • Habitat management and conservation • Educate public (Peterson 2004)

32. What do we actually do to have successful game management? • Populations stable or slightly increasing • Animals in population are healthy • Harvest and access regulated • Habitat management and conservation • Educate public (Peterson 2004)

33. Chronic Wasting Disease Signs: Slobbering Tremors Low appetite Reduced coordination

34. What do we actually do to have successful game management? • Populations stable or slightly increasing • Animals in population are healthy • Harvest and access regulated • Habitat management and conservation • Educate public (Peterson 2004)

38. What do we actually do to have successful game management? • Populations stable or slightly increasing • Animals in population are healthy • Harvest and access regulated • Habitat management and conservation • Educate public (Peterson 2004)

39. Examples of hunted species American Woodcock • Forest-dwelling shorebird • Population stable in most of range

40. “The woodcock is a living refutation of the theory that the utility of a game bird is to serve as a target, or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast. No one would rather hunt woodcock in October than I, but since learning of the sky dance I find myself calling one or two birds enough. I must be sure that, come April, there be no dearth of dancers in the sunset sky.” • (Leopold, p. 34) • “The woodcock is a living refutation of the theory that the utility of a game bird is to serve as a target, or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast. No one would rather hunt woodcock in October than I, but since learning of the sky dance I find myself calling one or two birds enough. I must be sure that, come April, there be no dearth of dancers in the sunset sky.” • (Leopold, p. 34)

41. Examples of hunted species How many waterfowl are there? • Declines in the 1980s • Recovery 1990s – fall flight 105 million North American goose population: 6-8 million Hunting harvests • 10-20 million ducks/year • 1-2 million geese/year

42. Waterfowl annual cycle

43. How harvest levels are obtained

44. Benefits of hunting • Deepens appreciation and understanding of land and its wildlife • Hunting organizations contribute millions of dollars and volunteer time to conservation causes • Hunting important tool for wildlife management to prevent negative aspects of overpopulated species

45. Hunting recap • Hunting is traditional • Can take the place of natural predation in some places • Hunting is regulated • In recent history of N. America, no game species has become threatened or endangered because of overharvesting

46. More Information on Hunting • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/hunting • Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: http://wdfw.wa.gov