Wildlife Management and Species Interactions Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on biological harvesting strategies, species interaction types, and competitive mechanisms.

Constant Quota

A harvesting strategy where a set number of individuals is removed from a population regardless of its size, preventing the population from equilibrating at its carrying capacity ($K$).

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

The maximum harvest level that can theoretically be taken indefinitely, occurring when a population is at half its carrying capacity ($K/2$).

Resilience

The capacity of a population to persist despite overexploitation or environmental stressors.

Threshold

A critical point or abundance level above which a population is likely to persist and below which it is likely to go extinct.

Population Viability Analysis (PVA)

The use of quantitative methods and models to predict the future status and extinction risk of a population.

Senescent

Old individuals in a population that are no longer breeding or contributing to reproduction.

Lambda ($\lambda$)

The finite rate of population increase; a value above $1$ indicates the population is growing.

Polygynous System

A reproductive system where one male mates with many females, which often allows for heavy selective harvesting of males with minimal impact on population growth.

Harem forming species

A species where a single male controls and mates with a group of females, creating a social structure that can impact reproductive success if male proportions drop too low.

Compensatory Mortality

Harvest-related deaths that replace individuals who would have died anyway from natural causes like starvation or disease during that period.

Additive Mortality

Deaths caused by harvesting that are added to the existing natural mortality rate of the population.

Mutualism

A species interaction in which both parties benefit from the relationship ($+, +$).

Symbiosis

An extreme form of mutualism where two species are totally dependent on each other for survival.

Commensalism

A relationship where one species benefits while the other species is neither helped nor harmed ($+, 0$).

Foundation Species

A species that physically creates or maintains habitat for other species, such as a muscle bed that provides nooks and crannies for small organisms.

Amensalism

A relationship where one species is harmed while the other is unaffected ($-, 0$).

Intraspecific Competition

Competition for limited resources occurring between individuals of the same species, often driving density-dependent growth.

Interspecific Competition

Competition for shared, limited resources between individuals of different species.

Exploitation Competition

A form of competition where one species consumes or uses up a resource before another species can access it.

Interference Competition

A form of competition where one species physically prevents another from using or accessing a resource.

Resource Partitioning

The process by which species adjust their resource use in ecological time to reduce competition.

Character Displacement

Morphological or physiological changes in species that occur over evolutionary time in response to competition.