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Manitoba Envirothon – Wildlife Ecology – Regional Resource

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Manitoba Envirothon – Wildlife Ecology – Regional Resource MANITOBA ENVIROTHON WILDLIFE ECOLOGY REGIONAL RESOURCES !1 Introduction to wildlife ...................................................................................4 Ecology ....................................................................................................................4 Habitat ...................................................................................................................................5 Carrying capacity.................................................................................................................... 6 Population dynamics ................................................................................................................7 Basic groups of wildlife ..................................................................................8 Wildlife anatomy and identification .............................................................10 Basic anatomy ........................................................................................................10 Skulls and teeth .......................................................................................................12 Dental formula ......................................................................................................................13 Skull identification and measurements .......................................................................15 Mammal Skulls ......................................................................................................................15 Bird Skulls .............................................................................................................................16 Horns and Antlers ..................................................................................................................17 Animal acclimation and adaptation ..............................................................18 Basic needs and adaptation ....................................................................................18 Habitat and specialized adaptation ..........................................................................20 Thermoregulation ..................................................................................................................20 Camouflage ..........................................................................................................................21 Behaviour .............................................................................................................................21 Trophic Ecology ............................................................................................22 Ecology and wildlife management ...............................................................24 Wildlife Management Techniques............................................................................. 25 Problem wildlife ...........................................................................................28 Endangered species ......................................................................................30 Invasive species ............................................................................................32 Climate Change ............................................................................................35 Wildlife Research Methods ...........................................................................37 Field notes ..............................................................................................................37 Population monitoring .............................................................................................38 !2 Petersen Method (Closed population) .....................................................................................41 Diet reconstruction ..................................................................................................42 Animal Tracking in Manitoba ...................................................................................44 Mammals of Manitoba .................................................................................45 Order Rodentia ......................................................................................................45 Order Lagomorpha ................................................................................................46 Order Carnivora ....................................................................................................46 Order Cetacea ......................................................................................................49 Birds of Manitoba .........................................................................................49 How to Identify Birds ...............................................................................................50 Parts of a Passerine ................................................................................................................51 What size is it? ......................................................................................................................51 How does it fly?..................................................................................................................... 52 What shape are its wings? .....................................................................................................52 How long are its legs? ...........................................................................................................53 What shape is its tail or bill?................................................................................................... 53 Categorizing Birds .................................................................................................................54 Waterfowl ..............................................................................................................54 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) .......................................................................................................54 Birds of Prey ...........................................................................................................55 Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) ...........................................................................................56 Songbirds ...............................................................................................................56 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) .........................................................................56 References ....................................................................................................57 !3 INTRODUCTION TO WILDLIFE Wildlife is defined as animals that are undomesticated and most commonly free-living. They include more than just the mammals and birds living in a wilderness area. Every form of virus, soil organisms, insect, no matter where it lives, is a wild species. The basic habitat needs of food, water, cover, and space are essential to maintaining healthy populations of diverse species in their respective ecosystems. Maintaining a healthy, biodiverse environment is the key to species survival. Biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth. It is most commonly measured as the variety within a species (known as genetic diversity), the variety between species, and the variety of ecosystems. Education and good management practices are needed to ensure a future in maintaining healthy, biodiverse ecosystem. Canada and Manitoba in particular, has a vast abundance of wildlife resources. The diversity of habitat types has paved the way for diverse ecosystems. The commercial, game, aesthetic, ethical, scientific and ecological values of wildlife have captivated everyone’s interest in these organisms and their naturally associated environments. ECOLOGY Ecology is the study of the inter-relationships among and between organisms (including wildlife) and all the aspects (living and non-living) of the environment. Organisms compete with other individuals for food and other resources. They also prey upon others, parasitize them, provide them food, and change their physical and chemical environment. Interactions between species can take various forms. Neutral interactions will have no effect on individuals or populations. Positive interactions will benefit either individuals or populations. These interactions are known as mutualism (+/+). In some situations the relationships are one sided where one group or species or individual is benefited while the other is neither benefited nor harmed. This is known as commensalism (+/0). An example of a commensalism is between trees and epiphytes, small plants that grow on the branches of trees. Amensalism (-/0) refers to a relationship where one population or individual is negatively affected while the other remains unaffected. Predation and parasitism (+/-) are two other relationships in which one group is positively affected while the other is negatively affected. Predation involves the killing and consumption of the prey whereas parasitism is an interaction where on (usually small) organism lives on or in another (the host) from which it obtains nutrients. Relationships between populations or species can also have a !4 negative effect on both parties. Interspecific competition represents a negative interaction between two different species. Intraspecific competition represents a negative interaction between two individuals of the same species. Ecosystem – a community of living things interacting with each other and the physical environment. An ecosystem can be a planet, the boreal forest,
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