Wildlife Science Unit 1: Introduction to Wildlife Management

Wildlife Management
- Balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using science
Common practices include:
- Hunting/Fishing/Trapping
- Selective burns and tree cuttings
- Food plots
- Conservation areas

6 Principles of Wildlife Management

Carrying Capacity

Maximum population of a species that an environment can provide for, given the water, food, habitat, and other resources available
What resources are needed?
Important Components
- Water
- Food
- Shelter/Habitat
  - Cover, nesting, escape plan
When resources disappear, animals become:
- Aggressive
- Less reproductive
Why are there changes in CC?
- Increase in resources---animals/plants
- Natural Disaster
- Disease
- Environmental Stresses---use all resources
- Technology

Limiting Factors

Forces that holds back a population
- Slows the growth
  - Food, Water, Shelter, Space
- Lack of something essential
- Abundance of something bad
Improve by identifying the most prominent limiting factor and reducing it

Territorialism

A behavior in which animals establish and defend living and hunting areas against other competing members of their species

Harvestable Surplus

Number of animals that can be harvested from the population w/o long-term effects
Maintain stability of the population
Approximately 1/3 of the full population may be harvested
- How?
  - Hunting
  - “Natural” Mortality
    - Predator/Prey
    - Disease
    - Accidents
    - Starvation

Cycles

Annual Cycle for each species (short term)
- Lowest population right after winter and highest in the spring
Predator/Prey Relationships
Natural Disasters

InterDependence

Plants and animals live in a complex, interrelated community
Everything works together and taking one thing out will reduce one and allow another to flourish
- Decision-makers must understand the relationships to deal effectively