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Critical Thinking Skills • First, need to differentiate between beliefs and knowledge • Process: 1) Gather complete information 2) Question the methods, conclusions, sources of study 3) Tolerate some level of uncertainty 4) Look at the Big Picture Scientific Method Reject Fail to Reject "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. ...To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution to intelligent tinkering." (Aldo Leopold, champion of conservation & father of wildlife biology) “In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his [her] fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.” Aldo Leopold History of Wildlife Management Making way for “modern” wildlife species History of Wildlife Management • Humans colonize N.A. – Quaternary Period, Pleistocene Epoch – ice ages 13,000 ybp - evidence for 50,000 ybp History of Wildlife Management • Large mammal extinctions (exploitation?) = 66% of megafauna extinct History of Wildlife Management • American Indians • wildlife • fire History of Wildlife Management • 500 ybp, Europeans arrive…. • Spanish bring horses, livestock History of Wildlife Management • 500 ybp, Europeans arrive…. • Other Europeans exploit fisheries, fur, meat, feathers…. (1870-1915) History of Wildlife Management • Fur trade & near extinction of beaver (Castor canadensis) History of Wildlife Management • Market hunting • Near extinction of bison : 60M to ~150 History of Wildlife Management • Market hunting • Bison • Successful extinction of passenger pigeon - immense abundance (400 km long, 1800) History of Wildlife Management • Passenger pigeon - immense abundance (400 km long, 1800) - 1878 – 3 months, 1.5 M pigeons from MI to market History of Wildlife Management • Passenger pigeon - last sighting 1899 - 14-yr old boy shot last wild pigeon in Ohio (1900) - last captive pigeon died: Male (1912) Female (1914) History of Wildlife Management • Habitat loss & Exploitation History of Wildlife Management • Habitat loss & Exploitation Or is it gone? History of Wildlife Management Or is it gone? http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/multimedia/vi os/index_html http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/multimedia/so ds History of Wildlife Management • U.S. policy • Manifest Destiny • Land Rush • Agricultural Development History of Wildlife Management • Fear of losing species at such fast rates (especially game species)…..birth of modern wildlife conservation movement… Modern Wildlife Management • Aldo Leopold – wrote Sand County Almanac – wrote Game Management – 1st university wildlife program (UW-Madison) – Land Ethic April 22, 1970 Recent Epoch (~0.01 Mybp present) – historic time – green & industrial revolutions – rapid loss of biodiversity *Largest extinction event? Our Insatiable Appetite for Energy Guild Concept • guild = group of species that exploit the same class of resources in similar way • community guild = no taxonomic restrictions; guild members chosen based on investigator-defined resources • assemblage guild = guild members based on taxonomic relations Habitat • An area supporting a particular type of vegetation (habitat type) • An area with the combination of resources and environmental conditions that allows a species (or population) to occupy, survive and reproduce – habitat quality as relative term Habitat Quality • Good habitat means there are higher densities of a species compared to Poor habitat…….Right!? • Not necessarily….Van Horne (1983) pointed out that animal density may not be the most accurate measure of habitat quality. • Quality relates more to vital rates (survival and reproduction), vitality of offspring, temporal nature Habitat • Habitat from an evolutionary perspective • Species distribution relative to habitat dist’n • Climatic events • Pleistocene Epoch & dist’n of modern species • Evolutionary underpinnings • Adaptation & Evolution for habitat Behavior is Important! Concept of Habitat Selection • Wildlife perceiving correct configuration of habitat needed for survival – differences based on age/experience/chance? – hierarchy to decision process • Niche concept (time/place/functional role) & habitat selection Hutchison’s n-dimensional hypervolume Concept of Habitat Selection • Hutchison = n-dimensional hypervolume as explanation of the niche • Fundamental vs. Realized Niche Species 1 Species 2 Testing the Hutchinsonian Niche Concept of Habitat Selection • James – work with birds in Arkansas…quantified habitat relationships • How do birds select habitat? • niche gestalt : each species has characteristic perceptual world…responds to that world as organized whole … search image concept • How do we (as wildlife biologists) “see” through the eyes of wildlife species? Scale Dependence of Habitat Selection 1st Order 2nd Order 3rd Order 4th Order Macrohabitat vs. Microhabitat Habitat Selection Proximate Factors *Immediate context *Predation *Competition *Abiotic factors vs. Ultimate Factors *Evolutionary context *Fitness relations Human Resource Use Human Values & Attitudes (Socio-political) *Naturally patchy distribution of resources *Heterogeneity supports greater diversity right!? habitat interspersion – Leopold’s Law of Interspersion Managing for Biodiversity Paradigm of Wildlife Biology & Conservation Biology Human-induced “heterogeneity” Land-use Trends: Private vs. Public Human Land Use Practices 1) Agriculture 2) Suburban Development Let’s pick on Indiana: • • 97% of land in state = privatelyowned In central Indiana, • 70+% of land in row crop • <10% in forest • Urban sprawl intensifying Intensive Agriculture & Clean Farming Timber Extraction & Fragmentation Formation of Terrestrial “Islands” Oceanic Island = Terrestrial Island ????? Important Wildlife Legislation 1900 Lacey Act – no interstate commerce 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act 1934 Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act – federal assistance 1934 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act – duck stamp revenue for habitat purchase 1937 Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act – Pittman-Robertson Act (P-R funds) 1956 Fish & Wildlife Act – set up US Fish & Wildlife Service Important Wildlife Legislation 1964 Wilderness Act 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1973 Endangered Species Act – federal action for recovery & mgt 1974 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITES) – import/export regulation 1976 Federal Land Policy & Mgt Act – BLM & land use plans 1976 National Forest Mgt Act (NFMA) – USFS & forest mgt plans Important Wildlife Legislation 1980 Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act – P-R funds to nongame research & mgt 1980 National Forest Mgt Act (NFMA) – USFS & forest mgt plans 1985 Food Security Act – Farm Bill Provisions - Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) CREP (enhancement) - Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) - Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) 2001 Conservation & Reinvestment Act (CARA) Importance of Management • Finite natural resources (land, water, wildlife, fuel, etc…) • Future generations inherit our world Managing for Biodiversity Biodiversity • Genetic diversity and: • evolution • reproduction • adaptation • disease Biodiversity • Species Diversity and: • Evolution • Community stability • Predator-prey relations (keystone predators) • Umbrella species Biodiversity • Ecosystem Diversity and: • Evolution • Flow of Energy & Nutrients • Disturbance & change Types of Management 1) Manage Populations • Protect species • Remove individuals by exploitation • Re-establish species • Add to population from captive source • Control predators and/or diseases • Artificial feeding Types of Management 2) Manage People • Law enforcement • Public relations • Control access and/or use • Education Types of Management 3) Manage Habitat • Maintain habitat • Improve habitat “Land” to Manage 2.3 billion acres in U.S. 741 million acres in public ownership - 336 MA = BLM - 189 MA = USFS - 86 MA = USFWS - 68 MA = NPS - 13 MA = U.S. Army “Land” to Manage in Michigan 36.4 million acres in Michigan 6.9+ million acres in public ownership - 2.8 MA = USFS - 93,000 A = USFWS - 140,000 A = NPS - 3.8 MA = State Forests Ways to Manage 1) Featured Species Mgt – single species – particular purpose – e.g., white-tailed deer – could also include “umbrella species” and “flagship species” Ways to Manage 2) Species Richness Mgt – maintain diversity and certain # of each species (follow MVP concept) 3) Indicator Species Mgt – use a species (or group of species) to monitor environmental conditions – not necessarily managing for these spp. – bioindicators, biosentinels, “canary in coal mine” Ways to Manage 4) Guild Mgt or Life-Form Mgt – grouping of species based on use of same type of resources (e.g., foraging guilds)