What are
Wildlife
and
Fisheries
?
What are Wildlife and Fisheries ?
Traditionally:
Nature Study and
Ecotourism
Traditional interpretation was somewhat limited to
species that are exploited for sport and commercial
purposes
Now there are far more diverse interests and wider
spectrum of “stakeholders”, so definitions are more
inclusive
Ecosystem Approach
What is Wildlife?
Standard Definitions:
“the practical ecology of vertebrates and their plant and
animal associations”
“free-roaming vertebrate animals”
“terrestrial or partially terrestrial vertebrates”
Nowadays the following type of definition is
more common :
“all free living animals”
For this class, restricting it to vertebrates is
the preferred meaning
fish = single species
fishes = more than one species
fishery = often means a system that includes the fish
(or fishes) , habitat, and human users
Both the terms “wildlife” and “fish(es)” include
species or systems that involve consumptive and
non-consumptive use by humans.
Management?
Ecology ?
Biology ?
Management:
The manipulation of populations or habitats to
achieve specific goals
Goals:
1) Make population size greater
2)Make population size smaller
3)Harvest population for continuing yield
4)Leave it alone/protect it, but monitor status
There are two general types of wildlife management:
Manipulative management acts on a population, either changing its
numbers by direct means or influencing numbers by the indirect means of
altering food supply, habitat, density of predators, or prevalence of
disease. This is appropriate when a population is to be harvested, or when
it slides to an unacceptably low density or increases to an unacceptably
high level. Such densities are inevitably the subjective view of the land
owner.
Custodial management is preventive or protective. The aim is to minimize
external influences on the population and its habitat. It is appropriate in a
national park where one of the stated goals is to protect ecological
processes. It is also appropriate for conservation of a threatened species
where the threat is of external origin rather than being intrinsic to the
system.
BOTH??
Ecology:
The study of interrelationships between organisms
and their environment
Biology:
The study of life
Biology > Ecology > Management
What are the primary activities in the fields
of Wildlife and Fisheries?
Management
Research
Legal or Public Forum
Law Enforcement
These activities are all devoted to the
conservation and preservation and wildlife
and fisheries resources
Conservation: the wise management and
use of natural resources
Preservation: leaving natural systems or
resources as they are
These are not necessarily mutually
exclusive
What are some principles of Fish and
Wildlife Ecology?
•Wildlife and Fish(es) are resources that
have positive and negative benefits that
vary over time, among species, and among
societies
What are some principles of Fish and
Wildlife Ecology?
•Wildlife and Fish(es) are resources that
have positive and negative benefits that
vary over time, among species, and among
societies.
•Conservation of fish and wildlife are
influenced by society’s needs, ideals, and
morals and by its definition of “quality of
life.”
Management practices can vary a lot by context and societal
values
What are some principles of Fish and
Wildlife Ecology?
The basic unit of management is the
population, not the individual
Management of a population is based on a
species’ life history and its habitat
associations
Life History
Traits that describe the life cycle of an
organism; e.g., birth, maturation, reproduction,
death
Examples: Size and number of offspring, number
of reproductive events, life span, senescence…..
What are some principles of Wildlife and
Fisheries Ecology?
Management decisions are a complex
function of biological and non-biological
issues
Dynamic
Another Version:
Another Version:
What are some principles of Fish and
Wildlife Ecology?
Wildlife or fisheries management is the art
of making land or aquatic habitat produce a
sustained harvest of wildlife or fish; often
in conjunction with other forms of land use
and other resources that are valued by
society.
ART???
What are the Challenges and Issues?
Note: Domestic versus International is a
critical contrast
•Habitat fragmentation and loss
•Overexploitation
•Introduced species and diseases
•Changing attitudes towards the environment,
hunting, and fishing
•Extinctions
What are the Challenges and Issues?
•Integrating wildlife and fisheries management
with related fields such as restoration ecology,
urban ecology, and conservation biology
•Managing wildlife and fisheries locally when
some of the challenges are at a global scale…
Moving toward management on larger temporal
and spatial scales
What is the issue that underlies just about
all environmental problems?
Total Human Population (Illinois)
9000000
8000000
7000000
6000000
5000000
1900
1950
4000000
2000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
South
Central
North
Human Population (w/o largest county)
3000000
7x
2500000
2000000
1900
1500000
1950
2000
1000000
500000
0
South
Central
North
Resources
• Money
• Laws
• Old School mentality
• Disseminate ideas
• Develop technologies
Friday
• How did we get to this point
• History