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FRST 395 (2000) - WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Instructor: Dr. John Richardson
FINAL EXAM
Write your name (surname first) and student number in block letters on each and every
exam booklet you use.
All writing must be handed in.
Read the questions carefully, there may be more than one part to a question!
Note: Exam is out of 100 marks
1. Contrast (10 marks - 2 each):
Radiative heat loss versus convective heat loss
radiation is a result of long-wave losses, whereas convection is a result of air passing over
the body
The gut of a predator versus the gut of a caecal fermenter
Predators have relatively short guts versus caecal fermenters with long intestines and
diverticula or caecae for microbial fermentation of plant material
The "many eyes" hypothesis versus the "selfish herd" hypothesis (for herds and flocks)
Many eyes can be vigilant so that each individual has to contribute less to overall vigilance,
whereas the selfish herd is based on reducing the chances that an individual will the
unluckly one to get caught
Reserves versus corridors
Reserves are areas set aside for protection of particular habitats for organisms, whereas a
corridor is a strip of habitat used to connect other areas, like reserves
Tree damage from snowshoe hares (or porcupine) versus elk (or other ungulates)
Snowshoe hare and porcupines strip bark (much of the time) and can girdle the tree,
whereas most ungulates are browsers, eating the tips off branches.
2. (5 marks) Marbled murrelets, unlike most other seabirds, nest in old growth trees.
What is it about old growth trees they need for their nest sites? Describe two features of
the trees they nest in.
The main features are that the trees tend to be bigger in terms of dbh (diameter) and have
more large branches. The murrelets need to have wide branches with lots of moss cover. It
also helps if those branches have another branch near overhead to provide cover.
3. (10 marks) Moose and wolf populations on some large islands go through population
cycles. However, the wolf numbers usually peak a year or two after the peak of the
moose populations. Why is there a time lag of one or two years? Does that tell us
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anything about the predator-prey dynamics and whether moose populations might be
regulated by wolf predation?
The time lag is because the primary response of the wolves is to increase reproduction
rates, but this takes time to build up. It is likely that the wolves merely respond to changes
in moose populations and that the wolves have only a minor role in setting the densities of
moose, i.e., limiting, but not regulating.
4. (5 marks) Mountain caribou is a challenging species to deal with. This is in contrast to
how relatively easy it was to modify forest management to protect mule deer. In
mountain caribou sites there are trials to do patch cuts of trees (harvest of small areas of
0.1 to 1.0 ha). Discuss why you think this will work or won't work to protect caribou, while
allowing some timber harvest.
The removal of any wood from winter range may reduce the lichen supply so critical for
these caribou. It is not yet clear if patch cuts will increase or decrease lichen growth and
abundance. The patches may allow more light in and increase lichen and other plant growth.
It probably won’t work.
5. (2 marks) Name two species of primary cavity excavators in BC.
Any two woodpeckers
6. (5 marks) The general form of the yield curve for wildlife populations is shown below.
From what you know about animal population dynamics explain why the curve has the
shape it does.
Yield - number of new individuals
produced per time period (e.g. year)
Theoretical Yield Curve
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Population Size (N)
At low densities there are very few individuals so that there are very few new members of
the population (low yield of new individuals at the left). At high densities they are nearing
carrying capacity and can’t produce many new individuals because there aren’t resources to
make many new individuals. At intermediate densities there are enough individuals and the
rate of new individuals hasn’t started to be reduced by competition for resources. This
intermediate density corresponds to the steepest part of the logistic curve – the highest
absolute population growth rate.
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7. (5 marks) As densities of bighorn sheep increase the rate of infection with diseases,
and hence death rate, also increases. This is therefore density dependent. Explain why
this happens. What is the significance of density dependence for understanding the
regulation of population dynamics?
In order for populations to be regulated there must be some mechanism of density
dependent feedback. Further, the lines for per capita birth and death rates must cross at
some equilibrium point for the density dependence to result in regulation around some
population size.
8. (2 marks) Global warming seems to be a reality. List two ways that global warming
might affect wildlife species in BC.
It might affect the depth of snow and reduce the insulation provided by snow.
Winters might be shorter and may cause problems for some hibernators adapting.
Alpine meadows may disappear from some mountains leaving some populations isolated.
It might cause extra costs in terms of getting rid of excess heat during summer.
Etc.
9. (5 marks) What are the main chemical components of antlers? Are these elements
easy for an animal to find? Why do they shed their antlers each year?
Calcium and phosphorus. Typically hard to find. This last part is difficult – it is too costly
to carry them around all year since they weigh a lot and interfere with foraging. It is only
during the mating season that there is any real value to having them.
10. (2 marks) Many species of snakes are at risk in BC. What is the way that we
protect "listed" snakes under the Managing Identified Wildlife Procedures and Measures
(Forest Practices Code)?
They overwinter in communal hibernacula. If a hibernaculum is discovered it is protected
with a 30 m diameter reserve as a Wildlife Habitat Area.
11. (10 marks) The Pacific giant salamander has recently been listed by COSEWIC as
threatened and BC has had it on their red list for more than a decade. You work for a
small forestry company near Chilliwack where the Pacific giant salamander occurs and
you know that there will be serious consequences if your company hurts the species.
No-one is certain what it will take to protect this species from logging operations.
Describe how you would develop a management plan, complete with an adaptive
management trial, to determine how to protect this species from your operations.
Needs all the steps to develop a management plan. You already have the objective laid out
by the company’s desire to be good corporate citizens, i.e., protect the salamander. Need to
consider options, determine if they’re feasible, then decide among the options based on a
series of decisions about the goal, cost, etc. Once options are on the table and decided
among, then we can take action. In the case of an adaptive management plan we need to
have a very clear model of how the population will respond to particular management actions.
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In this trial we predict that a 30 m reserve on either side of the stream will maintain
population levels at pre-logging levels (or any other formal statement with a measurable
endpoint).
12. (5 marks) Explain the responsibilities of the following agencies for wildlife in BC, i.e.,
what can they do for wildlife conservation? BC Ministry of Environment, BC Ministry of
Forests, and the Canadian Wildlife Service (Environment Canada).
BC Ministry of Environment through their wildlife Branch has the primary responsibility for
all wildlife in the province.
BC Ministry of Forests contributes to wildlife conservation and protection through
decisions about land management and forestry regulations, e.g. Forest Practices Code
CWS has joint responsibility for migratory (international or Interprovincial) species, and
contributes by buying land, having a major say in harvest levels of migratory species, and
through stewardship.
13. (10 marks) Weyerhaeuser Inc, BC's largest forestry company, has proposed doing
"variable retention" on its land. That means leaving 15-20% of the trees behind in a
block each time they harvest, mostly in clumps of trees. That means that there will
always be some old trees in a block and the stand will be uneven-aged. Discuss what
benefit or detriment this might be to wildlife in the short term and long term. [NOTE: You
can't deal with ALL wildlife in this question, so pick certain types of wildlife species to use
as examples of species that will be affected.]
14. (5 marks) The Northern goshawk, a bird of prey, is found in old growth forests. Can
you think of any cover functions that a predator like this would get from an old growth
forest? Are there any other reasons they might be using old growth?
Thermal cover from closed canopy. Other kinds of protective cover from the elements. Old
growth trees also provide nest sites for their young. They prefer to hunt in fairly open
forests with good views of the ground and not a lot of understory.
15. (10 marks) There are many species of wildlife that are associated with riparian
areas, and some that are riparian obligates (i.e., have to use riparian areas at some point
in their lives). Riparian areas are protected to some extent by the Forest Practices Code,
but primarily for fish. Propose three hypotheses for why wildlife might use riparian areas.
Explain each hypothesis and briefly describe the studies for how you would
experimentally test those three hypotheses (this probably means three simple
experiments, one for each hypothesis).
16. (2 marks) How does the Biodiversity Guidebook provide protection of species like
grizzly bears?
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The biodiversity guidebook provides for landscape planning for biodiversity emphasis such
that large pieces of land will be left in relatively low intensity management for species like
grizzly. A part of the coarse filter approach.
17. (5 marks) Many of the ways we estimate the population sizes of wildlife are based
on relative abundance, and that allows us to determine trends at a site. What are the
advantages of using mark-recapture techniques to estimate actual population sizes?
Mark-recapture can provide a better population estimate. It can also provide demographic
data such as survival rate, age class distribution, sex ratios, and movements (immigration
and emigration). It is much closer to the real population size than a relative abundance
measure.
18. (2 marks) Small mammals, like mice and voles, are often associated with large
fallen logs. What cover functions could these dead logs provide for small mice and
voles?
Security cover from predators
Thermal cover
Protection cover from rain, snow, wind, etc.