Midterm Flashcards
Who was appointed as the 1st chair of the “Commission for the Conservation of Natural Resources”?
Teddy Roosevelt
What is the current estimates rate of extinction for birds and mammals?
0.50 species per year
Electrofishing
Technique used to collect fish or immobilize them for measurement
Banding
Technique used to capture migrating birds for banding, recording species, sex and size measurements
The beaver, Castor canadenis
Fur trade; used in the making of hats
- Harvested by First Nations and traded for beads
What animal is most associated with market hunting?
Waterfowl
Factors contributing to the extermination of the great bison heard
- Human settlement in bison territory
- Harvest of natural resources
- Absence of protective measures by the government
- Bison indifference to man
- Hunting
Why did the passenger pigeon go extinct?
Killed for food
Who is the Grandfather of the Conservation Movement?
Teddy Roosevelt
- Established the first federal bird sanctuary (Pelican Island 6 Ha); home to egrets
Who coined the term “Conservation”?
Gifford Pinchot
What are the three components of wildlife and fisheries?
- Biota
- Habitat
- Human users
Factors affecting population levels
- Unregulated harvest
- Introduced predators/competitors
- Habitat modification and loss
- Increase of human population
- Pollution
- Natural disasters
- Climate change
Examples of abiotic components
Rocks
Water
Wind
Examples of biotic components
Trees
Animals
What are the 4 habitat components needed to sustain a wildlife species?
- Food
- Water
- Cover
- Space
Direct users of the environment
Humans who contribute to or use a wildlife system
Indirect users of the environment
Use or manage the habitat for other purposes
Nuisance wildlife
- Utilize food sources or structures that are not intended for wildlife
Extirpated
No longer existing in the wild in Canada
Native species
Inhabited a given area; naturally occurring at the time of early explorers
Endemic species
Ecologically unique to an area; not found anywhere else (referring to a given zone or habitat)
Non-native species
Not naturally occurring in a given place or zone
Naturalized species
Non-native or introduced species that now occurs commonly (e.g. dandelion)
Invasive species
Native or non-native; widespread exotic species that colonize an area with adverse effects on environment (e.g. crab)
Ecosystem
Basic unit consisting of biotic and abiotic components interacting in a particular area
Community
The living component of the ecosystem
Biosphere
Region surrounding the earth which supports life
Biome
Large regions classified by the dominant vegetation type (deserts, tundras)
Population
A group of organisms of the same species occupying a defined area during a specific interval of time
Meta-population
Natural and artificial units of an isolated portion of a larger population
Example: wetland split by a highway
Species richness
The number of species in a particular community
Species evenness
The relative abundance of individuals among species present in a specific area
Species diversity
A measure combining richness and evenness
Diversity increases when #species increases and #individuals of each species are more evenly distributed
Herbivores
Plant eaters
Carnivores
Meat eaters
Omnivores
Plant and meat eaters
Piscivores
Carnivore; fish eaters
Detrivores
Species that eat dead material
Microbivores
Species that eat microbes
How much energy is converted between most links in the food chain?
10%
Top down control
Occurs when higher trophic levels effect the size of lower levels
Example: high wolf and bear numbers impact caribou populations
Bottom up control
When lower trophic levels effect higher ones
Succession
Change in community structure over time
Primary: begins in lifeless areas (e.g. sand dunes)
Secondary: occurs in an area where a previous community was removed
Sere
Stages of succession from early to late
Example: Acadian forest
Oligotrophic
Aquatic succession; low in nutrient and productivity
Mesotrophic
Aquatic succession; mid range
Eutrophic
Aquatic succession; High in nutrients and productivity
What type of communities exhibit unstable characteristics?
Simple communities with low diversity
What type of communities remain stable under normal conditions?
Complex (high diversity)
Niche
The functional role of an organism considered in the environment in which it lives
- it’s occupation
Fundamental niche
The total range of environmental conditions under which a species can survive when there is no competition from other species
Realized niche
Involves some competition from other species
Interspecific competition
Between or among different species
Intraspecific competition
Within a species
Barn Owls (Tyto alba)
Interference competition (fighting for scarce resources) - initiate incubation as soon as first egg is laid
Elk (Cervus canadenis)
Overcrowding; tend to have lower survival and birth rates
- may be a delay in entry into the breeding population
Coyote (Canis latrans)
Reproductive rates are indirectly related to population density
-implications for population management techniques
Gause’s principle
Competitive exclusion; no two species can simultaneously and completely occupy the same niche for an indefinite period of time
Specialists
Species with very specific requirements and little room for dealing with changes or colonizing different habitat
Generalists
Species that deal with a broad range of environmental conditions
Population characteristics
- Size/density: number of individuals per unit area
- Age: the distribution of numbers of individuals of various ages
- Sex ratios
What are the 3 dynamic rate functions that affect populations?
- Natality or recruitment
- Growth
- Mortality
Natality
Birth rate
Recruitment
Number of surviving offspring that reach reproductive age
Fecundity
Number of eggs produced per female
Fertility
Percentage of eggs that are fertile
Production
Number of offspring produced by a population during a specific time period
Natality characteristics
- age of sexual maturity
- length of gestation period
- sex ratios
- monogamous or polygamous
Density-dependent factors
Factor affects the population depending on the density
Examples: competition, disease, crowding
Density-independent factors
Factor affects the population independent of density
Examples: climate, toxins, condition of environment
Inversity
The inverse relationship of Natality in a population to adult population density
Stock
A group of organisms with common ancestry or parentage that is adapted to a particular environment (fisheries)
Determinate growth
Most birds and mammals
Indeterminate growth
Fish
- often density dependent
Natural mortality
Mortality caused by predation, starvation, disease, accidents
Harvest mortality
Mortality resulting from human activities directed at taking organisms
Compensatory mortality
An increase in one form of mortality that compensates for an increase or decrease in another form of mortality
Example: increased mortality from predation results in decrease mortality from disease
Additive mortality
Mortality that exceeds the total mortality rate that would have been expected
Formula for calculating crude animal mortality from hunting and fishing
a= m + n - mn
- a= crude mortality rate
- m= mortality rate from fishing/hunting
- n= natural mortality rate
Formula for determining population growth rates
r= b-d
- r= actual growth rate
- b= birth rate
- d= death rate
When immigration and emigration are present:
r= (b-d)+(i-e)
- i= immigration rate
- b= emigration rate
Primary sex ratio
Sex ratio at fertilization, normally 50:50
Secondary sex ratio
Sex ratio at birth; usually 50:50 but sex specific mortality
E.g. nutritional stress in white tailed deer, favours male
Tertiary sex ratio
Sex ratio of juveniles; indicates the proportion of each sex entering the breeding population
Quaternary sex ratio
Adult sex ratio; skewed in favour of one sex
Monogamy
- Seasonal-pair bonds only for the current season (E.g. Pintails)
- Lifetime-pair bonds established for life (E.g. coyotes)
Polygamy
Polyandry: Several males per female; rare in vertebrates but occurs in few birds
Polygyny: Several females per male (e.g. ring necked pheasant)
Promiscuity
Indiscriminate mating
E.g. bobcats
Implications of monogamy
Species require a balanced ratio to maintain maximum production of offspring
Mooney’s Pond
Developed as a semi-natural rearing pond
Smolt
Young salmon ready to go to sea
Grisle
Salmon that have spent one winter in sea and have returned to freshwater to spawn
What type of colonial nesting birds are found at Cape Tryon?
Crested cormorants
MSY
Maximum sustainable yield
- Removal of the maximum amount of biomass without negatively impacting future harvests
- Common in fisheries
OSY
Optimum sustainable yield
- Takes into account the ecological and socio-economic impacts of harvest
- More commonly practiced today
Lentic system
Ponds and lakes
Meander
Curves of river caused by water erosion
Example: Ox Bow Lake
MSW
Multi-sea water salmon; salmon that return after 2 or 3 years at sea
What do waterfowl use DeRoche Pond for?
Resting point
What is the transformation called that salmon undergo to enable them to move into salt water
Smolts
Why was Banff national park created?
Created by the government to make the best economic use of it
- Conservation efforts
Wild boar
Invasive species in Saskatchewan
- High reproductive rates make them hard to eradicate
