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Wildlife habitat is the places that satisfy life requirements. Envirothon Wildlife Workshop. Fredericton – November 18, 2006. +. Food. Water. =. +. +. +. Shelter. Space. Forest Openings Shrub-Seedling Sapling Mature Over-mature Forests are dynamic. Forest Succession.
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Wildlife habitat is the places that satisfy life requirements. Envirothon Wildlife Workshop Fredericton – November 18, 2006
+ Food Water = + + + Shelter Space
Forest Openings Shrub-Seedling Sapling Mature Over-mature Forests are dynamic Forest Succession
Carrying Capacity: # of animals a habitat can support over time. Not a constant over time.
Model if snowfall decreased as much as the decrease from 1970s to 1980s
Bioaccumulation: • increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain • Biomagnification: • increase in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another Case study: Long Island Estuary (1967) The levels of DDT in tissues of various animals in the sound showed bioaccumulation factors of 800x, and biomagnification factors up to 31 times. When we look at the whole food chain, the overall magnification is over 200,000x! Water to Zooplankton 800x Zooplankton to Fish#1 31x Fish#1 to Fish#2 1.7x Fish#2 to Gull 4.8x
Food Webs Using Field Guide Keys Know terminology & be able to provide an example (based on the test site).
Wildlife Mgmt Concepts & Terms: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1682_C1.pdf
Wildlife Interactions: • Placement – migratory routes, etc. Bird/bat mortality at new vs old installations • Auditory – low frequency disturbance? http://www.defenders.org/habitat/renew/wind.html
Wildlife Interactions: • Poor production efficiency lead to large land area covered. Less disruptive mounting structures ?
Wildlife Interactions: • Placement – migratory routes, arrangement on site, • Waste Heat outflow? Closed loop or open? • Cooling water sources in dry rock wells?
Wildlife Interactions: • Crop Pesticides • Greenhouse Gas Neutral or positive • Avian – Bobolink • Land Conversion, total acreage
Wildlife Interactions: • Electricity source for hydrogen production?
Wildlife Interactions: • Significant changes to natural river systems • Land resource use. Plant loss and animal movement • Fish passage-older installations • Water temperature/oxygen variations on either side
Mammals Meadow Vole
Identification • The most common and largest vole in NB • Uniformly dark brown upper parts while underneath it is paler. • Short ears and nearly concealed in the fur. It also has a longer tail than other voles
Diet, Home and Habits • Eats: grasses, sedges, seeds, grain, bark and insects. • Grassy areas, moist and upland pastures, meadows and salt marshes. Seems to prefer the open • Very clean animal. Uses the bathroom away from the nest where most just go right in their nests and will also replace a dirty nest with a new one • Spends a lot of time grooming itself
Young • Most prolific breeder of the small mammals in NB and can become a serious problem under the right conditions • Young are born year around with 1 – 9 young in a litter with several litters a year. • Gestation is 21 days • Lucky ones live about 16 months. Heavily predated
Diet, Home and Habits • Diet: Bark, Twigs, and Green plants, • Really like salt. Have been known to eat axe handles and sides of buildings. • Home: Lives in all forest types; Coniferous, deciduous and mixed woods. • Makes dens in caves, hollow logs, and decaying trees. Uses dens mostly in winter but does not hibernate. • Good swimmer and tree climber
Young • 1 to 2 young are born in the den in April. They are born with quills and mobile. 2 is very rare. • They are fully weaned at 3.5 months • Stay with the mother until she mates again in October. • Live for 6 years but as much as 10 in captivity.
Predators of Porcupine Predators: Fisher, Bobcat, Coyote. Fisher
Identification • Red fox is rusty red in color. There is also a black and silver color phase but is very rare in the wild. • Silver fox is a mutation of the red fox. Man has breed for this mutation for furs.
Diet, Home and Habits • Diet: Grouse, Snowshoe Hare, Mice, Squirrels, Birds, Fruits, Berries, Grasses, Crayfish and Insects. • Will hunt and store food for later. • Home: Mixed wood forest. Farmland and urban areas. • Active mostly at night but will come out in the day on occasion.
Young • Young are born in June in dens the mother has dug herself or has taken from another animal. • The litter can have 1 to 10 pups. But 5 or 6 is the most common. • Male will bring food to the female while she is caring for the young.
Young (con’t) • At 1 month the mother will feed regurgitated food. After that she starts bringing live prey to the den for the pups to kill themselves. Fully weaned at 8 weeks. • The young leave their mother at 7 months. • Live for 3 years in the wild but as long as 12 years in captivity
Birds Barred Owl
Diet, Habitat • Staple is mice/voles and other small mammals but will eat frogs, birds, insects and crayfish. Mostly nocturnal hunter, but may hunt in day if has a brood. • Inhabits extensive, mature mixed wood, especially those with open under story for nesting and foraging. Cavity nester, but will nest on hollow-topped stubs or old hawk nests.
Young and Habits • Typical clutch size 2-3. • One brood/year • Egg dates late March-Early May- born 30 days later. • Shows strong attachment to same nest area year after year.
Diet, Habitat, Young • Small to medium birds (staple), but also rodents and hare. Preferred hunting area is clearings and brushy openings in forest • Open ,stick nest in crotch of large hardwood, near bottom of canopy • Typically3-4 eggs, 1 brood/year. Egg dates: Early April to mid May, hatch 36 days later.
Reptiles Common Garter Snake