NAM terms and concepts

wildlife ecology/fisheries ecology

Study of inter-relationships of organisms thought to be “wildlife” with other organisms and the environment

• Fisheries ecology is the same concept.

Science

Knowledge or a system of

knowledge covering general truths as

obtained and tested through the scientific

method

scientific method

Systematic pursuit of

knowledge involving the recognition and

formulation of a problem, the collection of

data through observation and experiment,

and the formulation and testing of hypotheses

wildlife and fisheries science

Process of

obtaining knowledge about and studying fish

and wildlife resources

managment

The physical manipulation

of parts of the landscape including the

physical template, vegetation, other

animals, or human users

conservation biology

Applied science of maintaining and

restoring the earth’s biological diversity

wildlife/fisheries conservation

Effective management and use of fish and

wildlife resources

brief timeline of wildlife conservation

1600-1849: Era of abundance

1850-1899: Era of overexploitation

1900-1929: Era of protection

1930-1965: Era of GAME management

1965-present: Era of environmental management

Wildlife as a profession

1933 – UW-Madison has first wildlife

curriculum

• 1934 – Duck Stamp

• 1935 – Cooperative Research Units provide

network of university, state, and federal

agency cooperation

• 1937 – The Wildlife Society formed (AFS

formed in 1870!!!)

• 1937 – Pittman-Robertson Act provide funding

NAM seven pillars

1. Wildlife as a Public Trust Resource

2. Elimination of Markets for Game

3. Allocation of Wildlife by Law

4. Kill Only for Legitimate Purpose

5. Wildlife as an International Resource

6. Science-based Wildlife Policy

7. Democracy of Hunting

1. Public trust Doctrine

European Model – Wildlife private property

of the elite • NAM - Wildlife and fish belong to ALL the people (current and future) and stewardship is entrusted to individual states – Basis for regulations/laws today

Challenges: Evidence that the public has a more difficult time finding places to hunt or trap, view wildlife on private land and gaining easy access to public lands • Associated fees and expenses

2. Elimination of Markets for Game

Laws restrict sale of meat and parts of free-ranging animals

• Challenge: Commercial trade still exists for reptiles, amphibians, and fish

Recent recommendations include limited

markets for meat harvested by licensed

sport hunters to manage overabundant

wildlife

• Benefits - Increase public appreciation for

wildlife values and foster the image of

hunting as a management tool with a civic

purpose

3. Allocation of Wildlife by Law

Government manages wildlife for citizens

(current and future) so laws dictate use of

the resource

• Challenge: Application and enforcement of

laws to all taxa are inconsistent

4. Kill Only for Legitimate Purpose

Code of the Sportsman, bills against useless

slaughter

• Legitimate purpose - Food, fur, self-defense,

and property protection

• Wanton waste - intentional waste of hunter-

killed wildlife

• Inconsistent practices and differing state

laws

5. Wildlife as an International

Resource

Migratory Bird Treaty in 1916

• Convention on International Trade of

Endangered Species (CITES) in 1975

– 182 countries and the European Union

implement CITES, protects ~35,000 species

of animals and plants

6. Science-based Wildlife Policy

State game agencies – research and regulations

• Adaptive management

• Cooperative Research Units

7. Democracy of Hunting

The belief that all people should have

access to hunting opportunities

• Unique to NAM

• Challenges: Reduction in, and access to,

huntable lands compromise the principle

of egalitarianism in hunting opportunity

Criticisms of the NAM

Focused on game species production

• Lack of adequate funding source

• Imbalanced funding

• Justifies killing wild animals

1. Explain the conservation history of the American alligator

Listed on ESA in 1967 due to unregulated harvests

controlled wild harvest carried out since 1972

Alligator egg collection program started in 1986

Removed from ESA in 1987

1. Summarize the threats and conservation efforts related to frogs, salamanders, and snakes

Threats:

Habitat loss and diseases.

Chytrid fungus (Bd): effects frog population

Bsal: major disease to salamanders

Snake roundups

overexploitation

Conservation efforts: disease monitoring, federal regulations for hunting under ESA and CITES.

1. Describe the common traits of amphibians (frogs and salamanders combined and separately), turtles, and snakes

frog and salamanders combined: semi-permeable skin, eggs without shells, aquatic and terrestrial life cycle

frogs/toads: Dorolateral fold, tympanic fold, tympanum, and paratoid gland, external fertilization

salamanders: regenerate lost limbs, very long and slender bodies, internal fertilization

turtle: cold-blooded, delayed sexual maturity and extended adult longevity carapace (top of shell) plastron (bottom of shell)

snakes: no limbs with extended bodies, tongue to sense environment, very felxible jaws.