Population Dynamics and Monitoring Flashcards
Which 4 factors control population size?
- Birth rate
- Death rate
- Immigration
- Emigration
What are the main factors affecting birth rate?
- Sexual maturity
- Period of gestation
- Ratio of M:F
- Number of offspring (r- or k- selected)
What are the main factors affecting death rate?
- Presence of predators
- Food availability
- Water availability
- Presence of disease
How can a stable population size be represented?
B + I = D + E
How can a decreasing population size be represented?
B + I < D + E
How can an increasing population size be represented?
B + I > D + E
How is death rate calculated?
Number of deaths / number of organisms within the population
How is birth rate calculated?
Number of births / number of organisms within the population
What is a drone?
An aircraft without a human pilot which can be remotely controlled (UAV)
How are drones used in wildlife monitoring?
- Remote tracking of animals
- Land surveying through thermal imagery
- Can access remote/dangerous areas
What are the advantages of using drones?
- Provides quick results
- Less invasive than traditional techniques
- Provides a large data set
What are the disadvantages of using drones?
- Limited battery life
- May disturb many individuals
- Limited range
How have drones successfully been used in rhino conservation?
Drones have been sent to poaching ‘hot-spots’ to track down poachers and allows rangers to be deployed (also may have night vision capabilities)
What is an artificial satellite?
A device sent into space to orbit Earth which allows for surveying, information collection and communication
How are satellites used in wildlife monitoring?
- Animal tracking over large areas
- Monitors ice and forest cover
- Allows for remote tracking through GPS tagging
- Can estimate size of penguin colonies
What are the advantages of using satellites?
- Provides a large data set
- Gathers more accurate population estimates
- Low cost per piece of data
What are the disadvantages of using satellites?
- High initial cost
- Large data storage space required
- Cloud cover hinders imagery
How are satellites used in GPS monitoring?
GPS collars/tags transmit information to a satellite at a fixed frequency (e.g. every 30 minutes)
How have satellites successfully been used in Caribou conservation?
GPS collars have been fitted to Caribou in Norway to alert train operators as to when they are near the tracks to prevent killing them if they wander onto the railway line
What are the 3 new techniques used in ecological monitoring?
- Environmental DNA (eDNA)
- Image recognition
- Acoustic monitoring
What is eDNA?
An environment is swabbed and the eDNA is used to determine the presence or absence of a species (extracted from substrates such as water or soil)
How has eDNA been used to monitor Bluegill Sunfish populations?
Bluegill Sunfish is an introduced species in Japan which shows predatory behaviour and eDNA revealed individuals in ponds where the fish had not been recorded by initial observation
What is image recognition?
Involves camera trapping through the use of movement and thermal sensors before images are reviewed by scientists or AI
How has image recognition been used to monitor Scottish Wildcat populations?
Camera trapping has been used to collect images for capture, re-capture analysis to monitor Scottish Wildcat populations
What is acoustic monitoring?
Monitoring sounds made by species which use echolocation to provide information about species range and population size
How has acoustic monitoring been used to monitor Hazel Dormouse populations?
The Hazel Dormouse is a small terrestrial mammal which is difficult to observe in nature and acoustic monitoring has allowed individuals to be identified by scientists through their vocalisations
