NR 1020 Final Exam 2026

Winter Fauna Survival Strategies (4)

Migration

Hibernation

Dormancy

Remain Active

Subnivean Zone (Define)

The subnivean zone is the area between the surface of the ground and the bottom of the snowpack

Social Ecologial Systems (Define)

"Social-ecological systems are linked systems of people and nature, emphasizing that humans must be seen as a part of, not apart from, nature"

Three "enemies" of winter survival"

Cold

Time

Scarcity

Torpor (define) + example

"An adaptive lowering of body temperature to conserve energy" + Black-Capped Chickadee

Brumation (define) + example

"Reptile dormancy; like hibernation but without the active rewarming ability exhibited by warm-blooded counterparts"

Body temp drops to just-above freezing

Metabolism drops to roughly zero

Northern Map Turtle!

Focal Mammal Species (list)

• Black Bear

• Eastern Bobcat

• Moose

• Porcupine

• White-tailed Deer

• Fisher

Beavers (list key attributes)

• Stays active under ice all winter

• Lives off fat reserves +underwater food cache of branches stored in fall

• Family groups (4-8individuals) huddle in lodge, can lose 25% bodyweight by spring

• Young stay with parents for2 years before dispersing

Mink (list key attributes)

•Solitary, highly territorial hunter active year-round

•Hunts under ice and snow for fish, frogs, muskrats, and crayfish

•Thick winter coat makes them 50% larger in appearance than summer

•Can dive up to 18 feet deep and swim 100 feet underwater

Otter (list key attributes)

- Family groups of 3-8

- Cover 15+ miles

-Dense fur

-Dawn and dusk hunters

Fisher [cat] (list key attributes + sci. name)

Martes pennati

- Habitat = coniferous/mixed woodland tracts

- huge territories: 5-15 sq miles f. / up to 30 sq miles m.

- these fine folks are rad

Bobcat (L.K.A)

- Dense winter coat

- Adept hunters

- Paws = Snowshoes (of sorts)

- Solitary

Moose (L.K.A)

- Require large forest tracts

- Long legs for snow travel

- Diet of twigs and bark in winter

"Track Traps" (examples)

sandy areas, muddy areas, snowy areas

Three Key Tracking Guidelines

Print

Pattern

Place

Eight items of consideration when tracking

Shape (length vs Width)

Number, Shape, Arrangement of toes

Symmetry

Relative size of pads

Pads fused or distinct

Negative space

Claws

Evidence of Fur

Easy ways to determine dog adjacent vs cat adjacent?

X vs V (V is upside down)

Dog adjacent = X

Cat adjacent = V

Gaits

Walkers/Trotters = generally dog adjacent ( fox wolf dog)

Pacers/Waddlers = opossum, porcupine, racoon

Bounders/Lopers = weasels, fisher, bobcat, skunk

Hoppers/Bounders = Squirrels, Rabbits, Mice

Frederick Jackson Turner (what did he do?)

Frontier Thesis - argued that westward expansion was crucial to the formation of American identity as well as democracy

What did the "Turn to the Frontier" entail

- Decline in wildlife populations

- Urbanization/Industrialization

- Fear of white decline

- views of sportsmen conservationists

New York Zoological Society (NYZS) - List founding members

- William T Hornaday

- Henry Fairfield Osborn

- Madison Grant

Boone and Crocket Club (two key members)

- Henry Fairfield Osborn

- Madison Grant

also assc. w/ NYZS

NYZS (why was it no bueno)

- good for the promotion of unique species and preservationism, but key figures were proponents of eugenics and frankly racist (pseudoscience)

- Leaders believed that market hunters (native peoples) overly depleted populations and endangered white racial stock

- believed I.P did not follow "sportsmens code"

Madison Grant (oh brother)

- Wrote "The passing of the great race" (white people)

- Saw a connection between white racial decline and wildlife decline

Dr. Alice Hamilton (fast facts)

- Pioneer of occupational health research

- Pushed for cleaner cities

- Investigated lead as a "race poison"

Eugenics (yikes)

- Selective breeding of specific populations for the benefit of the species

- H.F Perkins organized the Euegenics Survey at UVM

- Led to VT 1931 Sterilization Law (allowed for sterilizations)

Buck V Bell

- SCOTUS Case

- Allowed for forced sterilizations of women in VA (broader application across U.S)

Factors that inspired the Preservationist Movement (list em)

- Industrialization

- Loss of wildlife diversity

- Decreased access to "pristine" wilderness

- Racial anxieties w/ new waves of immigration

- ideals of wilderness as a source of rugged pioneer spirit

- Transcendentalist and romantic art & writing

Frederick Law Olmstead

- architect behind central park

- crucial to national parks establishment

Mary Austin

- "Land of Little Rain"

- One of the first to write about indigenous peoples in a favorable way

Florence Merriam Bailey

- Audubon Society Activist

- Argued against women wearing bird feathers

- Spearhead of ornithology

Rachel Carson

- Silent Spring

- Incredibly influential book that brought awareness to enviro. injustice

- Biologist and Writer for USF&WS

- Examined consequences of synthetic pesticides, especially DDT

John Muir v Guilford Pinchot

Muir - Preservationist

Pinchot - Utilitarian

- Debate over damming Hetch Hetchy to provide H20 to San Fran, Pinchot won this one

Guilford Pinchot

- Utilitarian

- 1st Head of USFS

- Promoted Wise-Use policy (sustainable mgmt of forests)

John Muir

- Preservationist

- Argued for preservation b/c of natrl. beauty and cultural I.D

- Intrinsic values of natures (spiritual and transcendental)

- Not opposed to land mgmt, just differing perspective

National Parks Service

- Est. 1916

- Dual System

- Came from Muir and Pinchot perspectives

- Multiple (Wise) use

Land Grant Institutions

- Est. 1862 Under Morill Act

- UVM is one of many

- Passed to promote public ed. in the U.S

Morill Act

- "Land Grab" institutions

- U.S Gov. paid little to nothing for these lands

- Redistributed 11 m acres of land

- Some land taken through violence

Scientific Forestry

- Roots in the 1600's in Europe to manage forests in a sustainable fashion

- Short rotation, Coppice systems

- Born of necessity

First Forestry School?

Cornell

Research Branch of Forest service Est.?

1915

McSweeny - McNary Act (1928)

leads to growth of federal and university forest research

Ecosystem Management Paradigm

Maintaining ecosystem integrity while allowing for resource extraction

Two paradigm of Sci. Forestry

Multiple - use/Sustained Yield

Ecosystem Management

Wildlife Responses to backcountry skiing

- increased vigilance

- Reduced foraging time

- Retreat to safe habitats

- Flight

Inter-war conservation

- emergence of ecology

- setup for modern enviro. movement

- persistence of 19th & early 20th century legacies

Aldo Leopold

- Graduate of Yale Forestry

- Worked for USFS in A.Z and N.M

- "Sand specialist" - authors note

William Vogt

- Ecologist and Ornithologist

- Concerned with carrying cap. and pop. growth (Malthusianism)

- "Road to Survival"

Rosalie Edge

- Crucial to Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (1940)

Wilderness Act of 1964

- Defined "Wilderness"

- Set systems for its preservation

- "Wilderness is a societal construct"

- Separates humans from environment

- Helps shape modern environmentalism

Dawes Act of 1877 (this one's bad)

- Intended to assimilate I.P to Amer. Society

- Used to take more land from native peoples

- Offered "allotments" for native peoples who agreed to leave reservations

- Cultural Genocide as Indigenous culture-matter of fact all culture-is directly tied to the land on which they/we live(d).

Environmental Racism (define)

- disproportionate impact of environmental hazards in areas where people of color live

- "race is the most significant predictor of a person living near contaminated air, water, or soil"

Ecosystem Characteristics

-Linked thru nutrient cycles

- any size but usually encompass a specific (limited) space

- provide a variety of services on which people depend (ecosystem benefits)

What is Ecology?

- Process by which organisms interact with each other and the environment

- How those processes create patterns of distribution in abundance

What is fitness in ecological terms?

- Lifetime contribution of an individual or strategy to the breeding population

- Specific traits that allow animals to be successful and pass on to their kin

Populations?

All of the organisms of a species found w/i an specific region

Habitat

The place where an individual of a given species survives and reproduces

Niche

the specific traits which a species utilizes to survive and stay fit

Gause' Experiment

1930's Gause kept paramecium in glass tubes - thrived individually but when put together one species outcompeted the other

- showed that only one species can successfully occupy a given niche

Competitive Exclusion Principle

- Two species competing for the the same resources cannot stably coexist; if the ecological factors are constant

- either of the two competitors will always take over the other, leading to the extinction of one of the competitors OR its evolutionary or behavioral traits will shift towards a different ecological niche

Land Sharing vs Land Sparing

Sharing - Wildlife friendly farmland everywhere, think integration of social-ecological-systems

Sparing - Division of farmland and natural habitat (no bueno)

Natural Selection vs Evolution

N.S - Process which determine which individuals within a species will reproduce and pass their genes onto the next generation

Evolution - The changes in the genes and characteristics displayed by successive generations of a population over time

R-Strategists?

- Produce many offspring

- Unstable environments (thrive)

- Small body size, short life expectancy

- think skeeters, mayflys, turtles

K-Strategists?

- Fewer, larger offspring, good chance at survival

- Invested parents

- Stay near carrying cap.

- Think elephants, humans, bears

Why are large, fierce, predators rare?

Due to food chain, the energy supply does not extend far enough to support a large population of these predators

Why is biodiversity important?

-Diverse ecosystems are more stable and resilient

- Ecosystems services!

- Human Value as well!

What is ecology?

Study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment.

Antagonistic relationships?

Interactions between individuals where one organism benefits at the expense of another

- think cabbage lopers and cabbage plants

Mutualistic Relationships?

interactions between individuals where both organisms benefit

- think bees and flowers

What is phenology?

Study of the timing of seasonal biological activities

What is integrated pest management?

- Ecosystem based strategy

-Utilizes a diversity of strategies, including cultural, natural, and chemical

Why are humans the top of the food chain? + How?

A. We learned to change our niche without speciation

A.

- Ability to pass info across the world

- Invention of Ag.

- New technologies, guns, germs, steel.

What amkes a species invasive?

A species that is not native to a specific location has a tendency to spread in ways that cause damage to the environment, human economy, or human health.

4 Hurdles to invasion?

Geography, Survival, Establishment, Dispersal

What makes invaders successful?

- Lack of predators

- High reproductive rate

- Seed viable for many years

- Aggressive root systems

- Thrive under varying conditions

Leaf out earlier

- can alter their environment

Why was post 1960 environmentalism different?

- growing awareness of environmental problems

- increased focus on pollution

- prevention of environmental degradation

Define DDT real quick

- Used as a pesticide in Ag. fields

- considered miracle discovery

- used as a de-lousing agent after WWII

When was Earth day established?

1970

Who and When for the EPA?

Nixon, 1970

EPA Statutes and Dates?

- National Environmental Policy Act (1969)

- Clean Air Act (1970)

- Clean Water Act (1972)

- Endangered Species Act (1973)

- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980)

Explain VT development Paradox

Growth threatened Vermont's sense of place, yet maintaining that sense of place threatened to make Vermont elitist, and an upscale getaway for the rich.

Law is comprised of...?

- Statutes

- Regulations

- Court decisions

- International Law

Envrio Law seeks to.....

- protect people and place

- Impose precaution

- Internalize externalities

- Balance protections with costs

- Push for cleaner tech

- Authorize, allocate, or prevent development

Specific clause w/i CWA that allows for regulation?

the phrase "navigable waters"

Define landscape ecology

Study of how spatial patterns interacts with ecological processes, across a landscape

Define patches in terms of landscape ecology

areas of similar forests; islands

Define corridors in terms of landscape ecology

long, extending strips of forest

Define matrices in terms of landscape ecology

Most extensive background of a forest

- think Northern hardwood forests

Define mosiac in terms of landscape ecology

the overarching pattern of a landscape

Define habitat fragmentation

breaking up of the landscape into various land-use practices

5 reasons for habitat fragmentation

Escalating property taxes

Increased land prices

increasing property values

conveyance from aging landowners

exurbanization

What does it mean for a species to be a forest interior specialist?

- Related to proximity to habitat edges

-species which breed in the interior of large forest tracts, away from edges

What does it mean for a species to be patch/area sensitive?

- related to total space needed

- species that are less common or have trouble reproducing in small habitat patches

Umbrella Species?

- Require large areas to forage and breed successfully

- protecting enough habitat to ensure a viable population of an umbrella species in turn preserves other species with more limited ranges

What is a land trust?

Non-profit land conservation organization

- board of trustees

- use conservation easements

Define Intervention Ecology

active intervention in ecosystem dynamics that are increasingly required in order to ensure the continuation of ecosystem service provision and biodiversity conservation

What are interventions? (WRT Intervention Ecology)

alteration of biological, physical, and chemical structures and process w/i ecosystems and human behavior

5 Principles of Ecological Design?

-Solutions from place

- ecological accounting informs design

- design w nature

- everyone is a designer

- make nature visible

What is environmental remediation?

locally focused cleanup with the goal of reducing the impacts of harmful pollutants.

What is a public trust doctrine?

A legal doctrine under which certain natural resources of the state are held in trust for all the people and the state acts as the trustee to protect those resources for present and future generations.