What is wildlife population management and why is it important?
Wildlife population management can also use the legal system to prosecute those found responsible for illegally hunting or trapping species. In the United States, there were few laws or regulations on the hunting of wild animals before 1900. Virtually all animal and bird species were hunted throughout the year.
What do hunters do for the environment?
“Hunters do more to help wildlife than any other group in America,” said Chris DePerno, a professor of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology at the College of Natural Resources. “They not only provide financial support for state wildlife agencies, but they also play an important role in wildlife management activities.”
Is hunting necessary for population control?
“Hunting is necessary for population control.” This is the main defense from the hunting establishment that the public has come to widely believe.
Is hunting a form of conservation?
This is the main defense from the hunting establishment that the public has come to widely believe. This false narrative frame hunting, not as sport or leisure, but as essential conservation work, based on an appeal to fear, warning that wildlife populations will spiral out of control and become a nuisance to communities without their intervention.
What is wildlife population management?
Wildlife population management refers to any strategy that seeks to maintain a target population at a level that can be supported by the ecosystem. This can involve protecting a threatened population from declining further in numbers, or even re-stocking a population. Conversely, when the numbers of a target population have become too great to be sustained by the food or territory available, then predators can be introduced, or a human-mediated cull can be done. Culls have also been done when an infectious disease is present in a population; the deliberate killing of the infected animals can help protect other members of the population as well as other species in the same habitat. Put another way, the management strategies focus on the habitats of the species of concern. Wildlife population management can also use the legal system to prosecute those found responsible for illegally hunting or trapping species.
How does increasing the number of species affect the balance of an ecosystem?
Increased numbers of a particular species can upset the balance of a ecosystem, as the burgeoning population requires more food and , if individuals of the species each require substantial territory, can exceed the available space. The limit of an ecosystem on the numbers of any particular species is known as the carrying capacity.
Why is the predator-prey balance important?
In years when the deer population is high, more licenses will be issued. The predator-prey balance is an important influence on wildlife populations. In the absence of wolves, for example, the number of deer can rapidly increase. The high number can exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat, leading to a die-off and the sudden decline in ...
What is the limit of an ecosystem on the numbers of any particular species?
The limit of an ecosystem on the numbers of any particular species is known as the carrying capacity. There are differing carrying capac ities for different species. Carrying capacity is determined by whatever factor limits the particular population.
What is the limiting factor for wolves?
For wolves, the limiting factor can be territorial size, while for deer the limiting factor can be the available food. A wildlife population management strategy that can be very effective is hunting. A well-known example is the hunting of deer that takes place in the autumn. Hunters must possess a current license.
What non profit organizations are helping to preserve the species of birds?
The efforts of non-profit organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Club have and continue to be tremendously helpful in preserving a variety of bird and animal species.
What is the landscape approach?
Although in the case of a species at risk the immediate goal is to stabilize the population, the landscape approach recognizes that by addressing the stability of the entire ecosystem, the threatened species also benefits.
Introduction
- Wildlife population management refers to any strategy that seeks to maintain a target population at a level that can be supported by the ecosystem. This can involve protecting a threatened population from declining further in numbers, or even re-stocking a population. Conversely, when the numbers of a target population have become too great to be sustained by the food or territor…
Historical Background and Scientific Foundations
- In the United States, there were few laws or regulations on the hunting of wild animals before 1900. Virtually all animal and bird species were hunted throughout the year. Although regulations were introduced to control the timing of hunting of species for commercial purposes and to assign quotas on species killed, and, subsequently, similar controls on recreational hunting, vari…
Impacts and Issues
- Wildlife population management is a human-mediated endeavor that involves the work of wildlife biologists, politicians, and volunteers. As well, natural and climatic factors operate. The efforts of non-profit organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Clubhave and continue to be tremendously helpful in preserving a va...
Words to Know
- CULL:The selection, often for destruction, of a part of an animal population. ECOSYSTEM:The community of individuals and the physical components of the environment in a certain area. POACHING:Illegal hunting. The near extinction of the bison and the extinction of the passenger pigeon attests to the destructive influence that humans can have in the absence of protective le…
Bibliography
- Books Adams, Clark, Kieran Lindsey, and Sarah Ash. Urban Wildlife Management.Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 2005. Bolen, Eric, and William Robinson. Wildlife Ecology and Management. New York: Benjamin Cummings, 2008. Sinclair, Anthony, John Fryxell, and Graeme Caughley. Wildlife Ecology, Conservation and Management. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.