Transcript benefits of wildlife

BENEFITS OF
WILDLIFE
Agriscience 381
Wildlife and Recreation Management
#8981-A
TEKS: (c)(2)(A)
Introduction
Wildlife includes all undomesticated
living plant and animal species.
Through proper wildlife management,
humans are also preserving the
environment.
The majority of land in the U. S. is
under private ownership.
Therefore, it appears evident that
wildlife refuges alone cannot be
responsible for all of the wildlife
management activities.
Every landowner should have a goal
of achieving sound, responsible
wildlife management.
There are four areas where wild plant
and animal species benefit human
existence:
• economic,
• medical and scientific,
• aesthetic and recreational, and
• ecological.
Once people understand the
importance of wildlife, it will no
longer be necessary to convince
them of the need for wildlife
management.
Economic Benefits
Early economic benefits of wildlife
focused on plants and animals as a
source of food and clothing.
The current economic benefit is one
of outdoor recreational activities.
The two major
sources of
economic revenues
in the wildlife
industry are
hunting and
fishing.
Photo Steve Hillebrand by courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Individuals spend money on licenses,
leases, supplies, and guide services.
Photo courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Americans spend 18 billion dollars
simply to watch wildlife.
Photo by Leslie Quinn courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, National Park System, DOI.
Bird watching alone makes up $5.2
billion of that amount.
Photo by Jim Frates courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, National Park System, DOI.
State and federal agencies require
the use of trained individuals to carry
out wildlife-related activities.
People trained in this area can also
serve as independent consultants.
They assist private landowners in
reaching their management goals.
Other wildlife that have economic
importance include:
• fur-bearing animals,
• plants,
• insects, and
• birds.
Medical and Scientific Benefits
Medically, plants or their extract are a
source of medicine for 80 percent of
the world’s population.
In less-developed tropical countries
alone, wild plants have an estimated
value of 100 billion dollars annually.
These plants make up about 40
percent of all medicines, drugs, and
pharmaceuticals.
Currently, scientists have studied
about 5,000 of the 250,000 known
plant species.
Photo by Jim Peaco courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, National Park System, DOI.
The main value of plants is that they
• produce oxygen;
• regulate the water supply; and
• use solar energy to make chemical
energy.
It must be understood that the
diversity of life includes:
• bacteria,
• fungi, and
• insects.
Photo by Ed Loth courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
These three groups dominate and aid
in the functioning of the natural
ecosystem.
Aesthetic and
Recreational Benefits
The aesthetic value of wildlife is often
the motivation for recreational
activities.
Photo by J. Schmidt courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, National Park System, DOI.
Another name for wildlife tourism is
ecotourism.
Ecotourism is a potential source of
revenue for many Third World
countries.
A disadvantage to the
growing industry of
ecotourism is the
impact the people
have on the local
ecosystems.
Heavy human activity
will damage an
ecosystem.
Photo by Steve Hillebrand courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Ecological Benefits
Ecology is the relationship of all living
things with their environment.
A biotic community is the collection of
all plants and animals in the same
environment.
The use of one resource in an
ecosystem will have an effect on all of
the other resources.
Let’s discuss a scenario about the
relationship between organisms in
an ecosystem.
Coyotes attack a lamb. In response,
the rancher kills the coyotes.
How would this affect the ecosystem?
Killing the coyotes would allow
rabbits, mice, and field rats to
multiply.
The increase in population of those
species would affect the food
supplies for other animals.
The benefits of wildlife overlap and
a wildlife manager must look at
the big picture when making and
implementing decisions regarding
wildlife.
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Reproduction or redistribution of all, or part, of this
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Instructional Materials Service
Texas A&M University
2588 TAMUS
College Station, Texas 77843-2588
http://www-ims.tamu.edu
2006