Intro to Wildlife

Intro to Wildlife

Habitat RequirementsPredator Prey RelationshipsBiodiversityEcosystemsEndangered/ Threatened SpeciesWildlife Diseases People’s EffectThe Game Commission

Habitat *the “home” of a species &

has requirements for that species to live*

FOOD energy source

WATERSHELT

ER Provides

Protection

SPACEhome

range: the area were an animal normally travels to secure its

needsTerritory:

Area an animal defends

Habitat Loss & Destructiono Pollution: poisons waterways, soil,

wildlife, disturbs natural habitats, o Destruction of Habit through

Deforestation, Filling in wetlands, or overall altering of terrain

o Invasive plants & animals can overtake an area pushing out the existing life and destroying biodiversity.

Causes of Loss of Biodiversity Habitat loss and degradation: The

destruction of habitats causes huge losses for biodiversity

Overexploitation: Overfishing, Poaching, Harvesting, Logging

Pollution Climate Change The Spread of Non-native species and diseases

that wipe out native populations and are often hard to remove as they have no natural inhibitors in their new environment

EcosystemsThe interaction between different species and the non-living parts of the environment Ex. Pond, Field, Puddle, Log

•

Ecological Succession

The Process of natural aging

Forestso 62% of PA’s total Acreage o Supply fresh water, control erosion, &

remove carbon form the atmosphereo Young forests: made mostly of shrubs

and saplings, are rare thus species depending on them like the woodcock are declining.

o Second-growth forests (~100yrs old) This is the majority of forests in PA. Home to a variety of wildlife including the wild turkey, black bear, white-tailed deer, ovenbird, gray squirrel, chipmunk, wood thrush and scarlet tanager.

o Old growth forests (150yrs +) Very Rare in PA. These older forests provide preferred /critical habitat for a variety of species including the fisher, pine marten, flying squirrel, black burnian warbler, brown creeper, Swainson’ s thrush.

o Forests can be viewed as layers of vegetation with animals inhabiting the different levels.

o The mixed deciduous forest is a distinct ecosystem which thrives in a mild climate with ample water.

Grasslands& Herbaceous Openingso About 26% of PA’s land covero Natural Grasslands are rare,

only true prairies are found in western PA

o Many Pennsylvania wildlife species need open spaces to live.

o Most are the result of human disturbance (agriculture, surface mining, re-vegetated strip mines, landfills, old fields, and forest openings

o Provide habitat for: Woodchuck, cottontail rabbit, meadow vole, deer mouse and the Red-tailed Hawk, Upland Sandpiper & Short-Tail shrew, grasshopper sparrows, eastern meadowlarks and bobwhite quail.

Barrenso About 3% percent of

Pennsylvania’s land cover. o They are represented by sparsely

vegetated gravel/rock outcrops and slopes, grasslands, savannas, thickets, and scrub woodlands.

o Most barrens have nutrient-poor soils and are located on exposed ridges or slopes where wind conditions and temperatures can become extreme and fire is frequent.

o These harsh conditions mean barrens often contain highly adapted, rare species of plants and animals making them critical in terms of biodiversity.

o The serpentine barrens in southeastern Pennsylvania, contain the largest number of endangered plant and animal species in the state.

Subterranean Such as caves, are often overlooked as a habitat type. Caves, with their unique formations, temperatures, moisture conditions, and air dynamics provide an important, but fragile, habitat for many invertebrates and vertebrates. Some invertebrates in Pennsylvania caves are found nowhere else in the world. Pennsylvania’s caves also provide habitat for many bats, including the federally endangered Indiana bat and other small mammals such as the eastern woodrat, which is listed as threatened in the state.

Aquatic Communitieso Habitats that continually maintain

open water and include tidal, riverine and lake habitats.

o Pennsylvania has abundant riverine habitats. With more than 83,000 miles of streams – second only to Alaska in the # of stream miles –However, more than 6,216 miles have been impaired by abandoned mine drainage and agriculture.

o Most of Pennsylvania's natural lakes are found in the northwestern and northeastern parts of the state. Although often overlooked, small seasonal pools of less than one-half acre play an important role as breeding grounds for many amphibians, insects and other aquatic invertebrates in the state.

o Riparian Zones (areas along waterways) and support trees and shrubs that prefer moist areas.

Wetlandso Wetlands are as areas that are regularly

wet or flooded and are delineated on the basis of vegetation, hydrology and soils. Pennsylvania has more than 400,000 acres of wetlands.

o Include marshes, swamps, and scrub-shrub wetlands. Bogs are a special category of scrub-shrub wetlands with highly acidic soils and dense mats of sphagnum moss.

o Home to some of the rarest species in the state, including bog turtles Sedge Wren, King Rail and Least Bittern which are now declining.

o More than 50% of PA's original wetlands have been lost or substantially degraded by filling, draining or conversion to ponds.

o Home to such species as the Red-winged Blackbird, mink and beaver.

o Wetlands filter toxins, clean the water, and control floods

Urban and Suburban o Disturbed areas strongly affected by

people and other developed land. o Account for up to 10-15% of PA’s land

cover and increasing.o Trees and shrubs that produce fruit

are often planted around homes and businesses provide food for birds and small mammals. The range of the northern mockingbird has expanded due, in part, to suburban landscaping. The interest in using native species in landscaping is increasing and native plants are becoming easier to find in local nurseries.

o While developed areas continue to have a high proportion of alien species.

o They do provide habitat for a variety of native species including woodchucks, deer mice, meadow voles, rabbits, robins, squirrels, and chipping sparrows.

o Some woodland animals such as the Great Horned Owl, Robins, House Sparrows, Raccoon, Deer, Skunk and Red-tailed Hawk have successfully adapted to the urban environment.

Population DynamicsThe Continuous Change& Renewal of Populations

Carrying capacity

• How much of a certain population a habitat can support

Limiting factors

• Parts of an environment that limit a population’s increase are called

Why Populations Change Reproduction Migration Ecological

Succession or disturbance

Death

Compensatory Mortality

•When one mortality factor decreases another will increase•The death of one individual improves the chances of survival for another

Population ChangeNatalityReproduction/ Production of young

1. Conditions of the environment& Habitat

2. Min. Breeding Age3. Max. Breeding Age4. # of young produced

per year5. Life expectancy after

breeding age6. Composition of

population7. Reproductive Habits

Mortality Weather, Predation,

Disease, Hunting ,Old Age, Starvation

Animals can also add or subtract from populations by moving into or out of

habitats or the Immigration and Emigration of animals into a habitat

The Flow Of Energy

SUN

Primary

Producers(Ex.

Plants)Primar

y Consumers

(Herbivores)

Secondary

Consumers

(Carnivores &

Omnivores)

Continues until top of

the food chain or mortality

Scavengers

Decomposers

Predator-Prey Relationships

o Predators: Foxes, coyotes, bears, hawks, skunks, and owls

o Prey: Rabbits, grouse, mice, pheasants, birds, deer, ducks

o Predation: The Energy flow from Predator to Prey

Adaptions Predator-Prey Adaptions

For Ex. An Owl’s Talons

Environmental Adaptions For ex. Hibernation

Biodiversity Biodiversity is

the variety of life on earth

Levels of Biodiversity Species Diversity: The multitudes of species

that can be found Genetic Diversity: The many variations in

genes within a species that leads to different traits and variations in the organisms themselves

Ecological Diversity- the diversity of ecosystems, natural communities, and habitats, essentially the variety of ways that species interact with each other and their respective environments

Why is Biodiversity Important? Food: Without biodiversity, the array of natural

foods we enjoy would not be in existence Materials: the vast array of materials we can

gather from living things are made possible by biodiversity

Ecosystem stability: Biodiversity allows for ecosystems to adjust to disturbances that disrupt the life within them.

Genetic diversity: helps prevent diseases & helps species adjust to changes in their environment

Biodiversity is part of the things that makes life possible on earth, with plants providing oxygen

The variations in life itself are beautiful, and should be preserved

Endangered & Threatened SpeciesEndangered Species: In danger of becoming extinctThreatened Species: on the verge of becoming endangeredHIPPO

5 Major threats facing biodiversity

o Habitat Losso Introduced species &

Increased Compititiono Pollutiono Population Growth (people

& domestic animals)o Over-Hunting (Poaching)

Species Most Prone to Becoming Extinct Specialists: Animals that

require specific habitats are more prone to becoming endangered

Species that Migrate and depend on several different habitats

Species with a low reproduction rates

Species that are “prized” by people or conversely interfere with people (The Bog Turtle and Great Egret were prized where as others were seen as a danger and nuisance)

Species that are naturally rare

o more than 650 are listed as threatened and Endangered

o more than 800 are considered to be of conservation concern.

o Over half of Pennsylvania's 65 native species of freshwater mussels are endangered or extirpated. Nearly 30% of Pennsylvania fish are of conservation concern.

o Currently, 130 species still living in Pennsylvania are ranked as globally endangered, threatened or rare.

Not So Fun Facts

Passenger Pigeon The last known living passenger pigeon

died at 1 p.m. September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden

Once an abundant nester in the PA, the Last reports of living passenger pigeons in Pennsylvania were in 1906.

Their North American population numbered as many as 5 billion birds when colonists arrived and comprised 25 to 40 percent of America’s total wild bird population.

Hunters and market hunters alike pursued them with reckless abandon. The birds were trapped, shot, netted and clubbed; even the young, called "squabs," were knocked from nests with poles, or the trees holding their nests were cut down, and they, too, were collected for market.

Wildlife DiseasesChronic Wasting Disease What? –A neurological

disease found in deer& elk that produces small lesions that result in death

How is it Spread?- It is believed that it is spread through bodily fluids of infected animals

Symptoms?-Loss of bodily functions, poor posture, and emaciation

Hunters should take precautions, but it is not dangerous to humans

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease

What?- A hemorrhagic disease that damages the walls of blood vessels and can cause large deaths in populations(Primarily mule& whit-tail deer)

Spread?- Biting Flies or midges

Symptoms?- Swollen tongue Ulcers inside the mouth, swelling in face/neck, bleeding from nose

One of the most common diseases of white-tailed deer in the Eastern U.S. Extra Info!! Not in Objectives as of 12/12/13

White Nose SyndromeWhat is it?

First Documented in the winter of 2006-07 in New York. First believed to have surfaced in PA in 2008.

Began killing cave bats in 2009. In some areas 90-100% of bats in hibernacula have died. More than 1 million killed in Northeastern US and Canada.

White fungus on the muzzles and membranes of affected bats.

Exact means by which mortality is caused is not yet fully understood

Caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans

What does it do?When?

Symptoms: Frequent arousal(awakening) during Hibernation, including flying during the day and clustering around the opening of the hibernacula , causing the bats to burn through their fat reserves at a rapid rate. All survivors get reinfected annually, causing more stress for the animals and potentially increasing mortality rates for juveniles and young females. In addition, the stress of fighting off the infection may inhibit the ability of females to reproduce.

When infection occurs: The fungus is a cold loving species, and so is only found to grow on the bats in the winter, and does not appear on them during warmer months, or temperatures the bats are active in.

White Nose Syndrome Cont.What Measures are being taken to discover Outbreaks? WNS National Plan US Fish and Wildlife

Service led a team on federal+state agencies and tribes in preparing a national WNS management plan to address the threat to hibernating bats called the National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

How?

In October 2010, Fish and Wildlife announced six grants totaling $1.6 million to investigate the cause of WNS and identify ways to manage it.

Planned actions are research into how WNS is spread, how the fungus causes mortality , better detection, and understanding how resilient the fungus is in the environment it causes the disease.

Pennsylvania Game Commission

What is the game commission?

The Pennsylvania Game commission is a state agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management in Pennsylvania. The commission was established in 1895.

The Pennsylvania game commission…• Manages, evaluates, and protects wildlife

populations and habitats• Informs and educates the public on wildlife and

safe hunting practices• Establishes wildlife management areas

Game Commission Methods to Evaluate Habitats and Populations

Step One: Determine the Abundance and Distribution of WildlifeTo help determine abundance of wildlife the game commission can use an animal’s…• Songs• Calls• Tracks• Droppings• SightingsThey can use…• Tags• Bands• Electronic devicesTo help determine distribution.

Game Commission Methods to Evaluate Habitats and Populations

Step Two: Evaluate the Quality of Animals and Habitat Species NeedsThe game commission can determine an animals food needs by…• Droppings• Food remains in stomachs• ObservationThey must be observed year round because some food preferences differ by season.Some factors that help determine an animal population’s status are…• Reproduction• Death• Age and gender ratios

Wildlife Managers Wildlife managers are people with information about quality and quantity of habitats, status of wildlife populations and potential limiting factors. Wildlife managers strive to maintain habitats and make sure all species are safe and benefitting from their environment.

Conservation MethodsWildlife managers help conserve wildlife by…• Working with landowners to maintain

areas that provide essential habitat ingredients for a variety of wildlife.

• Working to reduce pollution and environmental degradation.

• Promoting and enforcing laws that protect animals and habitats from careless destruction. This task can only be achieved with the help of everyone in a habitat.

Deer Management Practices and GoalsManagement Goals• Manage deer for a healthy and sustainable herd• Manage deer-human conflicts at levels

considered safe for Pennsylvanians• Manage deer impacts for a healthy and

sustainable habitat• Manage deer to provide recreational

opportunities• Improve public knowledge and understanding of

deer and the deer management program.

Deer Management Practices and Goals

Management Practices The deer in Pennsylvania reached a surplus around 1920. In 1923 antlerless deer harvest began. Since then there have been many varying hunting laws and practices. The deer population continues to fluctuate but is generally rising.

How can you protect and conserve wildlife?You can protect and conserve wildlife by…• Cleaning trash that can harm habitats• Removing invasive species that could

kill plants animals need to survive• Minimizing use of poisonous Herbicides

and Pesticides• Placing decals on windows to deter bird

collision• Slowing down when driving near areas

where animals may be crossing

THE END