Wildlife Biology and Management: Studying Life's Basic Needs and Preserving Species

1. Chapter 9 Wildlife Biology and Management

2. Study of Life • Basic needs of animals • Food, water, shelter, and space • These basic needs are of equal importance • Suitable wildlife habitat requires a balance of these requirements

3. Animal Behaviors and Habits • Life is the product of distinct behaviors • Behavior is both learned and instinctive • instinctive: evident at birth • learned: behavior picked up through life experiences

4. Life Requires Energy • Food • Amount of food required depends on age, sex, size, location, season of year • Differences exist in ways organisms obtain nutrients • Herbivores: Obtain food directly from plants • Carnivores: Consume other animals (predators) • Omnivores: Consume both plants and other animals

5. Water • Organisms differ in their relationship to a necessary resource: water • Some require standing water • Some drink water • Others get water from food they eat • Still others absorb water from the environment • Aquatic organisms actually live in water

6. Shelter • All organisms have basic habitat needs • Habitat: Home where organism eats, rests, and reproduces • Suitable habitat provides adequate shelter • Shelter can take many forms

7. Space • All organisms have a home range • Area within which they live and obtain resources • Size of home range varies • Tolerance of others’ presence varies • In any habitat, animals must not be overcrowded

8. Arrangement of Basic Needs • Optimal populations achieved when basic needs are appropriately arranged • What if primary food supply is across a four-lane highway?

9. Wildlife Relationships • Many organisms participate in many types of relationships • parasitism • mutualism • Predation (important in controlling population) • commensalism • competition

10. Predation • Populations of predators and prey tend to fluctuate widely • When predators are in abundance, prey becomes scarce because of overfeeding • When prey becomes scarce, predators may starve or move to other areas

11. Preserving Wildlife • Various efforts have been made to protect wildlife • U.S. Endangered Species Act • passed to protect at-risk animal species and their habitats

12. Preserving Wildlife • U.S. Endangered Species Act • identifies two classes of at-risk species • endangered: immediate danger of extinction • threatened: at risk of becoming endangered • Strategies include transplanting organisms, hatcheries, breeding programs

13. Human Impacts on Wildlife • Humans impact wildlife in many ways • Habitat destruction is the single greatest threat facing wildlife • Habitat destruction occurs as a result of many human activities • Construction, farming, mining, timber harvesting, and pollution

14. Stewardship • Wildlife and other natural resources should be managed with a long-term view and commitment to the resources • Will require knowledge of proven management practices and ecology and habitat requirements

15. Stewardship • Wise stewardship occurs when managers of natural resources make management decisions based on dependable information

16. Extinction • Extinction of species is serious concern • Several factors contribute to extinction • introduction of alien species that outcompete native species • overhunting by humans • lack of adaptability in a species • slow rate of reproduction

17. Extinction • Destruction or modification of habitat • single greatest cause of extinction

18. Managing At-Risk Species • Managing populations of endangered or threatened species is difficult • Effective management of endangered species must be based on reliable research • Managing at-risk species will involve providing acceptable shelter and food sources

19. Managing At-Risk Species • Management decisions must be applied in a variety of habitats • farms, forests, wetlands, streams, lakes, and ponds

20. Managing Farmlands • Management of farm wildlife often involves providing suitable habitat • usually by-product of farming or ranching practices

21. Managing Farmlands • Farmland management techniques include • leaving corners of fields unharvested • leaving shrubs and brush piles • leaving crop residue standing through winter • planting crops attractive to wildlife • harvesting farm and ranch wildlife by hunting

22. Managing Forests • Managing forests often focuses on increasing populations of a certain species • If species is present, the goal is to maintain its population

23. Managing Forests • Management of forests often involves • developing a forest-management plan • making clearings to provide new growth • selective harvesting to produce a variety of habitats • leaving piles of brush for cover

24. Managing Forests • Developing a forest-management plan • taking an inventory of species • goal setting for habitat and species within it • deciding how to support desired species

25. Managing Wetlands • Most important habitat to wildlife • provide food, nesting sites, and cover for many species of wildlife • Wetland management techniques include • impounding or holding water • cutting trees to open up wetland area • leaving hollow trees for nesting

26. Managing Wetlands • establishing open, grassy areas around wetlands • planting vegetation for food and cover • protecting from pollution • providing artificial nesting areas • breeding and release programs

27. Managing Streams • Protecting existing is critical because we cannot build new streams • Stream management plans usually focus on fish • Management of streams often involves • preventing overgrazing of stream banks • limiting access to stream by livestock

28. Managing Streams • maintaining streamside vegetation • sustaining desirable species of wildlife • balancing populations with food supply • using hatchery and stocking programs • regulating sport fishing

29. Managing Lakes and Ponds • Management techniques similar to streams • Several management practices unique to standing water • controlling pollution • sustaining desired mixtures of species

30. Managing Lakes and Ponds • maintaining appropriate dissolved oxygen levels • eliminating unwanted species • stocking desired species