Alpine Tundra
elevation and size
above 11,000 feet
patch size = 10,000 acres
Apline Tundra vegetation and unique characteristics
9 rare and Colorado-endemic plants
Alpine Tundra Key species
pika, marmot, finch, Ptarmigan, elk, big horn sheep, and mountain goat
Alpine Tundra Conservation Status
Excellent condition, and has highest protection scores. Biggest threat is climate change.
Spruce-fir
Elevation and size
9,500 to 11,500 feet
patch size = 20,000 acres
Spruce-fir vegetation
Englemann spruce and subalpine fir
Spruce-fir
Key species
pine marten, lynx, red squirrel, snowshoe hair, boreal owls, elk, gray jay, and nutcracker.
Spruce-fir
conservation status
Healthy, intact, and well protected
managed by US Forest service
biggest threat is climate change
Pinyon Juniper
Elevation and size
5,000 to 9,000 feet
patch size = 30,000 acres
Pinyon Juniper
Vegetation
Pinyon pine and/or one-seed juniper
Pinyon Juniper
Key species
bats, cottontails, woodrats, rock squirrels, deer mice, gray foxes, mule deer, and mountain line
Pinyon Juniper Conservation status
Public and private ownership. Declined in extent and quality. Threats are urban development, recreation, invasive species, and energy development
Shortgrass Prairie
Elevation and size
Below 6000 feet
patch size = 50,000 acres
Shortgrass Prairie
vegetation
shortgrass
Shortgrass prairie
Key species
Cow, pronghorn, prairie dogs, coyotes, burrowing owl, hawk, mountain popover, longspur, long-billed curlew, and black-footed ferret
Shortgrass Prairie
conservation status
Almost all is in private ownership
threats are renewable and non-renewable energy production, oil and gas, and expansion of urban and exurban communities.
What affects biome distribution?
climate, temperature, and precipitation
Ecosystems/ecological systems
combination of biotic community and abiotic components
Biodiversity status
size, condition, landscape context,
Threat status
future and historic trends for development, population growth, and highways
Protection status
conservation tenure, management intent, potential management effectiveness
Riparian
vegetation habitats, or ecosystems that are associated with bodies of water or are dependent on the existence of perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral surface or subsurface water drainage
What is in the Wildlife Manager’s toolbox
foundational knowledge scientific method techniques/populations ecosystem management systems thinking spread the word
Agencies
NPS, USFWS, USFS, TNC, CPW
NPS
Preserve biological resources and ecosystem processes, ecosystem management
USFWS
Develop partnerships to conserve ecosystems upon which listed species depend
USFS
Ecosystem management coordination staff
TNC
Conservation by protect lands and waters that plants and animals need to survive
CPW
habitat restoration/healthy ecosystems and biodiversity
Common components of ecosystem management
ecological, social/political, economic
Edward Grumbine’s ecosystem management
goals: viable populations, native ecosystem types, long time periods, enough to maintain and evolve, accommodate human use and occupancy
System
a group of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components that form a complex unified whole
Market Hunting Era
1850-1899
New settlers - right to tame wild lands
Myth of superabundance
Hunted Bison, passenger pigeon, cardinal parakeet
Preservation Era
Legal protections
National parks service - John Muir
First national wildlife refuge
Theodore Roosevelt established first forest preserve
Gifford Pinchot proposed sustainable use of forests
Era of Game Management
1930-1965 “Conservation Era”
Game management by Aldo Leopold
Great Depression, drought years, and dust bowl in the 1930s.
civilian conservation corps - planted 3 billion trees
Ding Darling
Soil conservation service (NRCS), Bureau of Land Management, the Wildlife Society
Ding Darling
appointed by FDR
reporter, cartoonist, duck stamp, biological survey (USFWS), and national wildlife federation
Environmental Era
1966-1984 Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Environmentalists, Endangered species act of 1973 National Environmental policy act (1970) Environmental Protection Agency
Present Era
1990s - Present
Conservation biology, biodiversity, animal rights, ecosystem management, human dimensions, ecosystem services, environmental justice
Wildlife Management
the application of scientific knowledge and technical skills to protect, conserve, limit
Components of wildlife management
biota
habitat
people
Biota
what is the target species or community
habitat
what are the necessary habitat requirements? management plan
People
what are the human/societal values or impacts that may come into play here?
Goals of wildlife management
increase
decrease
maintain
Direct management
increase, decrease, maintain
Indirect Management
habitat alteration, humans, prey manipulation
Categories of wildlife
Game - harvested
Non game - not harvested
Big Game
Deer account for most big game harvested
Furbearers
Beavers
Ecosystem Engineer
species that physically alter their habitat in such a way that other species and systems are altered
Migratory Game birds
waterfowl and non-webbed migratory game birds
Small Game and upland birds
birds and small mammals regularly hunted for sport but not classified as forbearers, waterfowl, or migratory game birds
Classifications of Game
Big Game, Furbeareres, Migratory Game Bird, Small Game and upland birds
Non Game classifications
Threatened and Endangered Species, watchable wildlife
3 types of management approaches
featured species
maximize species richness
Ecosystem management
Featured species
game or threatened/endangered species
Pros: Focuses on a few species
cons: needs of other species ignored
Maximize species richness
number of species
Pros: Managing for many species
Cons: sometimes non-natives are included
Ecosystem management errors
small scale, think of systems as closed, not understanding life history and ecology, over-simplification, failure to evaluate management impacts
IACUC
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees
exist for all entities doing vertebrate research
agree with need for data, approve methods as appropriate/ethical/legal
Non-invasive techniques
observation, hair snares (genetics and sex), track plates, scat, radar
What can you determine by monitoring sound
species, location, behavior, estimate numbers
Invasive techniques
Trapping, drift fence, insect sampling, netting
Trapping: small-medium mammals
snap traps (traditional mouse traps) Sherman live traps (mark and recapture animals) Havahart traps (like Sherman but larger)
Drift Fence for Herptiles
Funnel trap for arboreal snake
Insect sampling methods
Pitfall traps, sweep nets, beat sheet, aspirator, D-frame, Nets
Netting
Mist netting - birds and bats
Harp net - bats
Net guns - large birds and mammals
drop nets
Mist netting
Birds and bats
Harp Net
bats
Net guns
large birds and mammals
Marking methods
permanent, semi-permanent - tags, radio-telemetry, collars, tattoos, bands, toe clipping, PIT tags
Bird banding
international protocols Need license (master bander)
PIT
Passive integrated transponder tags
Tracking animal movement
What is a fishery
an exploited population of aquatic animals, not just fish
How many people rely on fish to obtain protein
2.6 billion people
Need 200 billion pounds per year
Ecosystem importance of fish
27,300 species described (half of all vertebrates)
Indicators of ecosystem health
what about non-charismatic species?
Goal of fishery management
gather information and apply knowledge so actions can be taken to achieve management objectives
Management objectives of fishery
Sustainable use
conservation of biodiversity
human health
types of sampling for fish
passive capture, active capture, non-capture
passive capture
set it and wait
active capture
actively search
non-capture
visual observation
Types of passive capture
Gill nets
Trap (fyke) nets
Long lines, pot or catfish traps
Trap (fyke) nets
Near the shore. Has to be anchored to the shoreline and a boat
Types of active capture
seining, cast net, trawl, electro-fishing
Seining
Purse seine
Lake and commercial
Black seine
Trawl
By-catch
habitat destruction
Electro-fishing
backpack, boat, bank, barge, raft
Noncapture methods
Hydroacoustics (SONAR)
creel survey
snorkel/scuba
counting towers
measurements and data we need to collect for fisheries
species, length, weight, movement, habitat use, age, sex, reproductive condition, health/disease, died
Body measurements for fish
scale aging
Otolith (ring structures)
Fish marking
Fin clipping, PIT tags, Floy tags, coded wire tags, tattoos
Diet observation for fish
gastric lavage
Fish movement
even small stream fish can move a mile a day
some fish migrate hundreds of miles to spawn
Fish movement, frequency, and distance is affected by
species, resource availability, age
Fish passage structures
pool and weir, vertical slot, fish elevators, rock ramp fishway, salmon cannon