FW 404 Final Exam Review

  • Reasons for black bear declines in 1800s/1900s

  • Black bears are generalists

  • Habitat management for wild turkey

    • primary mortality period for wild turkey: poults, first few weeks because they can’t fly or roost

  • Value of SMZ and how to implement

    • timber harvest CAN occur here

  • Plant succession by Dr Harper vs timber harvest vs crop field abandonment

  • Review Clues to Improve Stewardship plan, esp those that review class concepts like dormant season

  • How to manage urban landscapes, what animals to focus on

  • Invertebrate availability in moist soil vs flooded corn

  • strategies to limit invasive plants

    • educate public? yes, best strategy

  • changes following clearcut timber harvest, food and cover for various animals

  • habitat management for mourning doves, where they nest and feed and use snags and watering holes, legality of planting a hunting field

    • must use normal agriculture practice, don’t lay sunflower seeds the week before dove hunt

  • benefits of herbicides when managing for wildlife

  • reasons to use commercial thinning and how might it be used specifically for specific species like bobwhite or deer or nuthatches

  • habitat management for American woodcock

    • do they use no till ag, where do they forage, nest, etc

  • factors influencing vegetation response to moist soil management

  • what do deer eat in spring and summer

    • not tall fescue

  • turkey life history, what do poults eat, land cover requirements

  • crop tree release benefits to turkeys

    • more sunlight, more acorns from crowns

    • understory response from sun, provides nesting cover

  • why would amphibians decline after timber harvest

  • difference between conservation subdivision and conventional style

    • does conserv. reduce sprawl? no because lots just get smaller. reducing sprawl by putting high density housing

  • conditions common in urbanizing landscape providing habitat for wildlife

  • effects of prescribed fire on wildlife

  • managing moist soil impoundment

  • how to manipulate plant community

  • amphibian natural history

  • American woodcock habitat use, where they nest/forage

    • do they feed in dense ground cover? no because they walk around and not fly, so need to move around

    • eat worms

  • components of black bear habitat

  • larger scale strategies to manage for waterfowl on wintering grounds

  • landscape scale practices for black bear habitat, silviculture

  • common characteristics of invasive plants

  • definitions of woodland, savannah, prairie, forest

  • reptile natural history

  • fire in longleaf pine in the sandhills of NC

  • safe harbor program, role it plays on land

    • it is voluntary

  • practice to restore northern bobwhite on farmland

    • borders

  • ultimate, proximate, etc definitions

  • landscape scale conservation related for bobwhite

  • invasive plant ecology and management

  • managing wildlife in urban landscapes

  • moist soil management for ducks

  • which is desirable food for waterfowl and what not

  • natural history of bobwhite

    • chicks eat invertebrates

  • managing habitat for songbirds

  • wild turkeys

    • greatest threat is urbanization taking away habitat

  • soft mast

    • woody plants provide

    • only a few herbaceous plants

  • wildlife conservation related to birds

  • telecommunication strikes

  • urban vs hydrological cycle

  • basic silvicultural terms

    • crop tree management or release

    • group selection

    • ways to regenerate even-aged stand

  • black bear dens

    • best?

  • How black bears were restored

  • ruffed grouse habitat management

    • ideal contains woody stem density

  • mourning dove management, where they nest and feed

  • songbird habitat selection

  • area sensitivity

  • treefall gap specialists

  • challenges of implementing even aged silvicultural system

  • landscape scale songbird habitat management

  • managing longleaf pine forest for multiple benefits

  • true or false: viable strategy for longleaf pine, cut to basal area below RCW but appropriate for northern bobwhite quail?

    • no, not multiple benefits

  • waterfowl habitat use

  • green tree reservoirs

    • managing for early-successional plant communities

  • fire severity

  • fields managed for mourning doves

  • mast for black bears importance and management

  • why have gamebirds declined globally

  • reasons black bears recovered

    • bear sanctuaries

    • hunting limits

    • generalists

  • ruffed grouse habitat for drumming, habitat, etc

  • RCW habitat requirements

  • reptiles and amphibians response to prescribed fire and disturbance

  • even aged stand definition

  • songbird natural history

  • ideal despotic vs ideal free

  • welfare vs decimating

  • wood duck brood cover

  • waterfowl natural history

  • northern bobwhite declines in NC

    • herbicide

  • oak acorn production genetics

  • ways to counter arguments against field borders

  • hemi marsh

  • shelterwood vs clearcuts for black bears

  • can reserve trees be left during clearcut? yes

  • four orders of habitat selection

  • role of woody plants in early succession community

  • life history of wintering waterfowl in NC

Final Exam Study Guide:

Black Bears

  • Reasons for declines (1800s–1900s)

    • Unregulated hunting + market hunting

    • Massive habitat loss from forest clearing/logging

    • Human persecution (seen as pests)

  • Why they recovered

    • Bear sanctuaries + protected areas

    • Regulated hunting limits

    • Large-scale reforestation and improved land use

  • Generalists

    • Wide diet (soft mast, hard mast, insects, carrion) and flexible habitat needs.

  • Important habitat components

    • Fall mast availability critical for fattening

    • Cover for bedding, escape, and denning

    • Connected forested landscapes

  • Dens

    • Best are large tree cavities, rock outcrops, root masses

  • How they were restored

    • Establishing sanctuaries, reintroductions, harvest regulation

  • Landscape-scale management / silviculture

    • Maintain mast-producing hardwoods; use uneven or even-aged systems ensuring den trees left standing

    • Clearcuts can be OK if reserve trees are left (yes)

  • Mast importance & management

    • Hard mast (oaks) = critical fall food; promote big crowned oaks through crop tree management

    • Soft mast from shrubs regenerating after disturbance is key summer food

Wild Turkey

  • Primary mortality period

    • The first few weeks for poults (cannot fly/roost yet)

  • Poults eat

    • Mainly invertebrates (protein heavy)

  • Habitat needs

    • Brood habitat: low vegetation, high insect density

    • Nesting: herbaceous/woody cover

    • Mature forests for roosting

  • Management

    • Promote early successional cover for broods

    • Burn in dormant season to maintain herbaceous structure

  • Crop tree release benefits (for turkeys)

    • More sunlight to oak crowns → more acorns

    • More understory cover → nesting & brood habitat

Wild Turkey — Habitat Management Example

  • SMZs (Streamside Management Zones)

    • Provide cover, soft mast, water; protect soil and water quality

    • Timber harvest can occur here if buffers and best practices followed

Urban Wildlife Management

  • How to manage urban landscapes

    • Focus on adaptable generalist species

    • Create small habitat patches, native plantings, snags, brush piles, pollinator gardens

  • Which animals to focus on

    • Songbirds, small mammals, amphibians in stormwater areas, generalist predators

  • Common conditions in urbanizing landscapes providing habitat

    • Edge habitat, fragmented green spaces, ornamental fruiting plants

Invasive Plants

  • Common characteristics

    • Fast growth, high seed production, shade tolerance, no natural predators

  • Strategies to limit

    • Prevention (best strategy is educating the public)

    • Early detection & rapid response

    • Mechanical removal + herbicide

    • Prescribed fire (when compatible)

  • Invasive plant ecology & management

    • Promote competitive native vegetation

    • Long-term monitoring

Plant Succession

  • Dr. Harper’s succession vs timber harvest vs crop field abandonment

    • Harper: wildlife value tied to structure more than plant species

    • Timber harvest: resets succession; early seral stages desirable for many species

    • Cropland abandonment: predictable progression → weeds → shrubs → young forest

Clearcuts & Even-aged Systems

  • Changes after clearcut

    • High sunlight → abundant early successional vegetation (browse & cover)

    • Great for deer, rabbits, early-successional songbirds

  • Challenges implementing even-aged systems

    • Public perception, aesthetics, soil compaction, regen failure

  • Even-aged stand definition

    • Trees within ~10–20 years of same age

  • Shelterwood vs clearcut for black bears

    • Both workable; leave reserve trees for mast and den potential

Prescribed Fire

  • Effects on wildlife

    • Promotes early successional plants; increases soft mast; reduces midstory

  • Reptiles & amphibians

    • Most tolerate low–moderate intensity burns; need unburned refugia

  • Fire severity

    • Low severity maintains herb layer; high severity resets; patchiness benefits biodiversity

  • Longleaf pine (Sandhills NC)

    • Fire essential for pine regeneration and open pine-grassland structure

Moist Soil Management

  • Invertebrate availability

    • Moist soil > flooded corn (corn = low protein; moist soil = rich in invertebrates & seeds)

  • Vegetation response factors

    • Drawdown timing, soil disturbance, water depth, seedbank

  • Managing impoundments

    • Annual drawdowns, disking, controlling invasives, reflooding at migration periods

  • Manipulating plant community

    • Water-level control, disking, burning, herbicide

  • Waterfowl desirable foods

    • Smartweed, wild millet, panicgrass, invertebrates

    • NOT desirable: cocklebur, coffeeweed

Waterfowl Ecology & Habitat

  • Wintering waterfowl (NC)

    • Need high-energy food (seeds, tubers), roosting water, nearby foraging fields

  • Green Tree Reservoirs

    • Flooded hardwoods; good acorns but risk tree mortality if flooded too long

  • Large-scale strategies

    • Protect wetlands, manage moist-soil units, coordinate flooding regimes

American Woodcock

  • Habitat use

    • Moist, young forests and shrubby edges; require soft soils

  • Where they forage

    • Worm-rich soils; probe with long bill

  • Nesting/cover

    • Ground nests in young forests with dense overhead cover

  • No-till ag?

    • Generally underuse; too dense or unsuitable ground structure

Mourning Dove

  • Where they nest

    • Trees, shrubs, sometimes on structures

  • Feeding

    • Bare ground or ag fields; seeds are primary diet

  • Use of snags & water

    • Snags for perching; watering holes essential in dry landscapes

  • Managing dove fields

    • Must follow normal agricultural practices

    • Illegal: top-sowing sunflowers right before the hunt

  • Fields managed for doves

    • Sunflowers, millet, ragweed; maintain bare ground patches

Ruffed Grouse

  • Ideal habitat

    • Dense woody stems 10–15 years old; early successional forest

  • Drumming habitat

    • Logs in dense young forest with good visibility

Northern Bobwhite

  • Natural history

    • Covey-forming ground bird; chicks eat invertebrates

  • Why declining (NC + globally)

    • Habitat loss, clean farming, urbanization, predation

  • Restoration on farmland

    • Field borders, hedgerows, native warm-season grasses

  • Landscape-scale conservation

    • Large contiguous patches of early successional habitat

  • Herbicide use

    • Controls fescue/other invasives; promotes native grasses

  • Counter arguments against borders

    • Increase pollinators, reduce erosion, improve soil, help multiple game species

Songbirds

  • Habitat selection

    • Based on structure, food, territory needs

  • Area sensitivity

    • Some species need large forest blocks (avoid edges)

  • Treefall gap specialists

    • Use light gaps for foraging and nesting

  • Landscape management

    • Maintain forest blocks + early successional patches; diverse structure

Reptile & Amphibian Natural History

  • Amphibian declines after timber harvest

    • Loss of moisture, canopy cover, and stable microclimates

  • Response to disturbance/fire

    • Amphibians often negatively affected by drying; reptiles often benefit from more sun/heat

Silviculture Terms (Basics)

  • Crop tree management/release

    • Freeing desired trees from competition (improves mast production)

  • Group selection

    • Small patches harvested to mimic natural gaps

  • Even-aged regeneration methods

    • Clearcut, seed-tree, shelterwood

Soft Mast

  • Provided mostly by woody plants

    • Blackberries, elderberry, dogwood fruits

Other Key Concepts

  • Hemi-marsh

    • 50:50 vegetation-to-open-water; ideal for many waterfowl/wading birds

  • Ultimate vs proximate factors

    • Ultimate = evolutionary/adaptive reasons

    • Proximate = immediate environmental cues

  • Welfare vs decimating factors

    • Welfare = affect fitness (food, cover); decimating = cause death (predation)

  • Conservation subdivision vs conventional

    • Conservation subdivisions cluster houses but do NOT reduce sprawl; just shrink lot size

    • True sprawl reduction = high-density housing + large shared greenspace

  • Urban vs natural hydrology

    • Urban: fast runoff, less infiltration