Transcript G. Laycock - Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

It may have begun with Noah, but,
wherever it started, the whole idea of
rearranging the earth’s wild creatures still
seems irresistible. Man, the supreme
meddler, has never been quite satisfied
with the world as he found it.
G. Laycock
Translocated Wildlife
• Moving species: issues
• What makes a species exotic? Invasive?
• Why have exotic wildlife been released?
• How do exotic and invasive species affect native
wildlife?
• Why have we failed so often in dealing with
exotic species?
Translocated Wildlife
• How can we control problems associated with
exotic species?
• What are the pros & cons of wildlife farms and
hunting preserves?
• Who cares?
Translocated Wildlife
• Terminology
– Native
– Indigenous v. nonindigenous
– Feral
– Exotic
– Invasive
– Introduced
– Reintroduced
– Translocated
Translocated Wildlife
• What has been translocated?
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
Translocated Wildlife
• When did translocations start?
Translocated Wildlife
• Where did they come from?
Translocated Wildlife
• Where were they moved to?
Translocated Wildlife
• Exotics in Florida (http://myfwc.com/nonnatives)
– 4 amphibians
• Giant toad, greenhouse frog, Cuban treefrog
– 48 reptiles
• Spectacled caiman, Nile monitor, Burmese python
– 196 birds
• Monk parakeet, starlings, black swan
– 20 mammals
• Wild hogs, vervet monkey, ferret
Many fish, invertebrates, & plants (habitat)
• Habitat
– Cheatgrass
– Fragmites
– Purple loosestrife
– Hydrilla
– Tropical soda apple
– Melaluca
Translocated Wildlife
• How & why were they moved?
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
Translocated Wildlife
• Should exotics be introduced in areas
where native species already fill a similar
niche?
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
Translocated Wildlife
• Have we failed as wildlife managers if we
must introduce exotic species?
Jeff Vanuga, USDA NRCS, www.forestryimages.org
Translocated Wildlife
• Successful invasions
– Wide ranging species, generalists, areas with travelers
• Reasons for failure of (re)introductions
– Failure to evaluate the characteristics of the species
• Weather & climate
• Food, cover, water, & space
• Competitors, predators, disease, parasites, etc.
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–
–
–
Failure to release enough individuals
Failure to properly condition animals prior to release
Failure to manage the population
Failure to understand human dimensions
• Pheasants, chuckars, caribou, & wolves
Translocated Wildlife
• Some regions more vulnerable than others
– Islands
– Crop monocultures
– Heavily altered/disturbed areas
William M. Ciesla, Forest Health Management
International, www.forestryimages.org
Translocated Wildlife
• Costs
– Ecological
• Damage
– Wild hogs
• Predation
– Feral cats, RIFA
• Competition
Thomas C. Croker, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org
– Sitka & white-tailed deer
• Hybridization
– Mallards & mottled ducks
• Disease & parasites
– Parrots
• Ecosystem affects
– Asian earthworms
• Monetary
Kenneth M. Gale, www.forestryimages.org
• Hundreds of billions in damage and control costs
Translocated Wildlife
• Wildlife farming & hunting preserves
– Costs
– Benefits
Kenneth M. Gale, www.forestryimages.org
Paul Bolstad, www.forestryimages.org
Gil Wojciech, www.forestryimages.org
Translocated Wildlife
• A management tool
– Restoration
• MVP’s
• Genetic diversity
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
– Control/reduction
– Can be controversial
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
Large carnivores in Africa
(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)
Translocated Wildlife
• USDI (1966) guidelines
– Research needed
– Not in or around national parks or other public land
dedicated to native species preservation
– Not near rare native species
– No exotic grazers on federal land used for domestic
grazers
– Not in areas where timber production, farming,
recreation, or other land uses have primary value
– Permits & plans needed for release on federal lands
– Private parties will pay for control of exotics spreading
on to federal lands
– Policy will be reviewed periodically
Translocated Wildlife
• Executive Order (Carter 1977)
– No federal agencies will introduce exotics on
their lands
– Encourage the prevention of exotic
introductions
– Restricted federal support for exotic
introductions outside of U.S.
• Lacey Act
Translocated Wildlife
• The Florida Administrative Code & the Florida
Statutes govern the importation and
introduction of nonnative fish and wildlife:
– It is unlawful for any person to possess, transport
or otherwise bring into the state or to release or
introduce in the state any freshwater fish, aquatic
invertebrate, marine plant, marine animal, or wild
animal life that is not native to the state without a
permit from the Commission, except fathead
minnow, variable platy, coturnix quail, and ringnecked pheasant. (68-5.001, F.A.C.)
Translocated Wildlife
• So what!