PS-Future Mathematical and Computational Methods for Planning a Sustainable Future

Life on the Edge – Habitat Fragmentation A Module in Planning for Sustainability

STUDENT EDITION

Barbara Cozzens, Executive Director of Kasiisi Project Holly Gaff, Old Dominion University Funded by the National Science Foundation, Proposal No. 1503414

This material was prepared with the support of the National Science Foundation. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

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Life on the Edge – Habitat Fragmentation A Module in Planning for Sustainability

Front Cover Photographs: Zonsopkomst Weegje2.jpg (Sunset) By Dick Mudde [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons Tall Tree Corridor: Public Domain Picture by Chelsea Bock chelseabock (https://unsplash.com/photos/S-U6ipzt4Lw) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons Solar Panels and sky by Smaack [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons Recharging Unit: By Jebulon [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons Pala eolica Mele 10.jpg (Windmill)by Alessio Sbarbaro User_talk:Yoggysot [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Contents LIFE Overview

Objectives on the Background Habitat and Species

EDGE Activity: The Ecological Value of Habitat Activity: Quantifying the Value of Habitat Habitat & Species Conservation Threatened & Endangered Species Student/Teacher Guide Activity: The Case of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Tying It All Together

Activity: Designing a Habitat & Species Enhancement Plan Barbara Cozzens, the Kasiisi Project Extensions and Supporting Materials Holly Gaff, Old Dominion University Glossary References

Life on the Edge

Overview

Threatened & Habitat & Species Conservation Pulling It All Together Endangered Species Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Activity 4 The Ecological Value of Quantifying the Value of The Case of the Designing a Habitat and Habitat Habitat Yellowstone Grizzly Species Enhancement Bear Plan Through mapping and Through spatial and Using real-world grizzly Through research and analysis, students graphical analysis, bear mortality data, analysis, students assess the suitability of students characterize students identify design a habitat and a site for specific and quantify habitat patterns and trends to species enhancement species patch characteristics improve habitat plan for their school suitability • Define key elements • Utilize area and edge • Classify data • Define stakeholders of habitat metrics to understand • Calculate ratios and design a public • Analyze and map how spatial aspects of • Analyze and predict engagement strategy habitat elements on a habitat influence trends • Define goals and specific site biodiversity • Devise strategies objectives • Assess a site’s • Measure mean patch based on these trends • Select priority species potential as suitable size and calculate • Design and evaluate habitat for specific perimeter:area ratio habitat-enhancing species • Define habitat island, strategies • Contribute data to edge effects, patch, • Prioritize actions scientists habitat specialists, and habitat generalist

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Life on the Edge – Habitat Fragmentation A Module in Planning for Sustainability What is sustainability? The most frequently quoted definition related to sustainability is from the World Commission on Environment and Development’s 1987 report Our Common Future. It says, “…sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” At the heart of sustainability is the need to ensure the long-term persistence and vitality of both humans and the natural environment. Sustainability focuses on interactions between nature and society. These interactions are complex and do not abide disciplinary boundaries. They require understanding of physical and biological processes that are overlaid by human social, political, and economic concerns. A popular view is that sustainability balances on three pillars—environmental, social, and economic— and that failure or weakness of any one compromises future sustainability. To be sustainable, a practice must be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Sustainable behaviors and practices are those that can be continued (or sustained) indefinitely. To do this, they must balance limits imposed by human systems with those imposed by environmental ones. What is planning for sustainability? Sustainability is forward-looking, and natural resources are finite. Planning for sustainability therefore involves making decisions about how we use limited resources in light of the continuing future needs for those resources. Planning for sustainability seeks to identify practices that can continue indefinitely without critically damaging natural resources, people, or economies, especially those that are at risk. While it is tempting (and simpler) to base decisions purely on their immediate economic impacts, doing so can easily overlook the long-term environmental (and social) consequences that can undermine sustainability. In planning for sustainability, it is important to consider that human economic and social systems exist within and are dependent on the environment. Decision makers need to identify how their choices impact both human and environmental systems, as well as whether such choices could persist indefinitely into the future. Who is involved in planning for sustainability? Planning for sustainability involves everyone. It is reflected not only in decisions made by world leaders but also in choices made by individual consumers. It is important to note that planning for sustainability can be done at any level—global, national, municipal, or individual. The men and women who contribute to planning for sustainability as a part of their job have diverse positions in government and industry. These jobs may include various types of Environmental Scientists, various types of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, Planners, Lawyers, Communication Specialists, Construction Workers, and Government Officials. Their decisions impact our daily lives through choices about how we get our water, where bridges are built, when and where to harvest trees for timber, and what materials to use in designing energy-efficient buildings. These jobs often require mathematical and critical thinking skills to measure and model real-world systems and to simulate the impact of a wide range of future scenarios.

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Habitat and Species Conservation Activity: The Ecological Value of Habitat

Activity Summary Through mapping and analysis, students assess the suitability of a site for specific species.

Learning Outcomes You will be able to: • Define key elements of habitat • Analyze and map habitat elements on a specific site • Assess a site’s potential as suitable habitat for specific species • Contribute data to scientists

Materials Tip

• Computers with internet access Bolded and colored terms • Google Earth account (free) are defined in the • Clipboard and printout of schoolyard from google earth Glossary at the end of • Notebook this module. • Camera (optional)

Procedure/Steps Engage 1. As a class, brainstorm a list of habitat types that occur on or surrounding your school’s grounds.

2. Now, rank the list from simple to complex. To assist you in this task, ask yourselves the following questions: How many types of plants would you expect to occur? Are there a variety of structural components (such as heights of foliage, and tree height or spacing)? Which habitat would you predict to be most biodiverse? Least biodiverse?

Habitat destruction is one of the primary causes of biodiversity loss. Often this destruction is some form of habitat simplification, or loss of habitat complexity. Manicured lawns, for example, only consist of one or two species of grass, thus limiting the diversity of foods for birds and other wildlife. The grasses’ short, even foliage height, coupled with the uniformity and small size of spaces between the plant structures, supports fewer species than habitats with higher foliage height and a variety of large and small spaces, which would provide cover to animals with a wider variety of body sizes.

Explore Using a tool called Google Earth and a grid, you will create a detailed map of the habitat characteristics of your school grounds. As an example, the Hanover High School habitat map is shown in Figure 1. 4 Life on the Edge

Figure 1. Habitat map of Hanover High School

3. Go to earth.google.com/web on your computer. Click on the “spyglass” icon on the left-hand side to navigate to the “my home” layer. Find your school here in Google Earth and print a copy of the aerial view (one per student). Use the draw boundary tool to draw the boundary of the school.

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Figure 2. Boundaries of the school property.

4. Break into groups of 3 to 4 to go outside and collect data about

the outlined space. Each group should map and document a

separate section of the total site. Using the aerial view printout, sketch the boundaries of habitat land types and features (both d natural and man-made), including buildings, lawn, forest,

grasses, edibles, non-woody plants, bare ground, pavement, shrubbery, water, wetlands, and storm water management. vO

5. Annotate the map with objects that might provide food, water, cover or space for wildlife, both natural and man-made. Examples, include a rock or brush pile, a log, a snag, a single tree or small group of trees, a shrub or shrub row, a bird feeder, a

nesting box or a bat house. Also note any energy and recycling

structures such as a windmill, rain barrel, solar panels or composters. y

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6. Select one student from each group to map habitat areas within the site lines. Select a habitat type, and draw polygons corresponding to the areas documented outside (see Figure 3). The teams should fill the entire mapped area with habitats, leaving no space uncovered.

Figure 3. Forest, lawn and buildings drawn on the map.

7. Add objects to the map (see Figure 4).

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Figure 4. A tree and shrub row are added.

Explain 8. As a class, discuss what you found outside. Check off habitat types on the list created at the start of the activity.

Elaborate 9. Return to groups. Familiarize yourselves with species native to the area using one or more of the links provided in the Resources at the end of this unit (namely: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS), U.S. Geologic Survey National Gap Analysis Species Viewer, eBird, Pollinator, or your state’s list of endangered, threatened, or special concern species). Your group should select an animal native to the area (*county or town) that could be or is found within the school grounds. Together, write a brief description of the animal and describe its preferred habitat types.

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Exercise Each member of your group should select and research one of the habitat requirements of the animal: either food, water, or cover. Does the school site provide for this habitat need? On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being poor and 5 excellent, rate the school site in terms of meeting this species’ habitat need.

Resources Species lists by area: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Generate species lists by state and/or region. https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/

U.S. Geologic Survey National Gap Analysis Program | Species Viewer Select state and county in the “By Location” dropdown(s) on the left. The “Select a Species” dropdown (beneath, in blue) will populate with a list of species that live either all or part of the year in the county. https://gis1.usgs.gov/csas/gap/viewer/species/Map.aspx

(Massachusetts) Rare Species by Town Viewer Locate similar website or the natural heritage program site for rare species in your own state/county/town. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/rare-species-by-town-viewer

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Habitat and Species Conservation Activity: Quantifying the Value of Habitat

Background As our population continues to grow, both the quantity and quality of available habitat decline. Where we once had large, connected tracts of habitat, only small, disconnected fragments – known as habitat islands – remain. Compared to their larger counterparts, these small islands experience greater fluctuations in light intensity, wind, temperature, and moisture, as well as a host of other biological stresses, including greater nest predation rates. Collectively, these negative impacts are called edge effects. Did You Know? This increase in habitat fragmentation – in turn an increase in edge – Brown-headed cowbirds are has led to a decline in interior specialists. Interior specialists are brood parasites, meaning adaptable only to a narrow range of environmental conditions, they don’t build nests or particularly in relation to food and breeding cover, and thus tend to raise young on their own, avoid the edges. In contrast, generalists such as white-tailed deer, but lay their eggs in the opossums, raccoons, and house sparrows can tolerate a wide variety of nests of other “host” birds. environmental conditions and utilize a large variety of resources. Such Cowbird nestlings tend to species like “living on the edge.” develop faster and be more aggressive than the host’s Activity Summary nestlings, and as a result, are often the only chick to Through spatial and graphical analysis, students characterize and survive. quantify habitat patch characteristics. Cowbirds prefer edges but Learning Outcomes will penetrate the forest interior in search of host You will be able to: nests. With increasing • Utilize area and edge metrics to understand how spatial aspects fragmentation, they’ve been of habitat influence biodiversity able to significantly expand • Measure mean patch size and calculate perimeter:area ratio their historic range and, • Define habitat island, edge effects, patch, habitat specialists, along the way, encounter and habitat generalists new and unsuspecting hosts that fail to reject their eggs. Many avian biologists Materials believe that cowbird • Computers with internet access parasitism has led to the • Google Earth account (free) declining number of songbirds in North America. • Tracing paper or vellum with 8 x 8 or smaller grid • Calculator

Procedure/Steps Engage As you learned in Activity 1, not all habitat is created equal. Simple habitat like a manicured lawn is less valuable than complex habitats in terms of its ability to support biodiversity. Even two areas of equally complex habitat can be quite different in terms of their ability to support 10 Life on the Edge a given population or species. Both the size and shape of the habitat area – or patch – affects the richness and abundance of species. In general, biodiversity decreases as patch area decreases.

Ecologists utilize a number of landscape metrics to evaluate habitat quality and fragmentation; these include patch size, the amount of edge created by these patches, and the geometric complexity of the patch shape. In this activity, we’ll use mean patch area and perimeter:area ratio.

Explore Returning to the habitat map, your group will now measure fragmentation characteristics and patch complexity of one of the more complex habitat types that you identified in Activity 1 (refer to Step 2).

1. To calculate mean patch area, first count the number patches of your selected habitat type.

2. Next, measure the area of each of these patches. It’s more than likely these habitat patches are not regular shapes (circle, square, etc.), but rather irregular-shaped polygons. You have a couple of options to estimate the area of these polygons:

Option 1: a. Overlay a grid on top of your polygon:

b. Divide the shape into smaller units of squares, triangles, and/or trapezoids. You can then use the formulas for these common geometric shapes to calculate their respective areas:

Rectangle area = H x L

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Triangle area = ½ x H x L

H H H

L L L

Trapezoid area = (L1+L2)/2 x H

Cover the entire polygon in geometric shapes as seen in Figure 5.

c. Sum the individual shape areas to calculate the area of the polygon. Repeat for each polygon of the selected habitat type to derive total (habitat type) area.

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Figure 5. Habitat polygon covered in geometric shapes with easily calculated areas

Option 2: a. Overlay a grid on top of your polygons. Count all of the grid squares that are more than half filled by the polygon’s shape. If the square is less than half filled, ignore it. Each grid unit will represent a standard measurement of area.

3. To calculate mean patch area, divide the total area of the patches of the selected habitat type, by the number of patches counted in Step 1.

4. To calculate perimeter:area ratio, adapt Step 2/Option 1 to calculate the total perimeter of the patches of the selected habitat type.

5. Divide total perimeter by total area to derive perimeter:area ratio.

Explain 6. As a class, discuss what you found in terms of area and edge metrics. How do these values reflect fragmentation?

Elaborate 7. Return to groups. Based on the calculated mean patch size and perimeter area ratio, what species would you expect to utilize this habitat? Are these species habitat specialists or generalists?

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Exercises 1. Revisit the species you selected in Activity 1/Step 9. Would you characterize this species as a habitat specialist or generalist? Explain.

2. Would you anticipate that most threatened and endangered species are habitat specialists or generalists? Explain.

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Threatened & Endangered Species Activity: The Case of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear

Background Species extinctions have occurred throughout our planet’s history. But in comparing background rates – past extinction rates determined from the fossil record – with current global extinction rates, it seems we may be experiencing one of the fastest extinction rates of all time. Conservation biologists estimate that 100 species are becoming extinct every day. The primary cause of this rate increase is habitat loss. And the species we’re most likely to lose are habitat specialists, as described in the previous unit, and those species at the top of their respective food chains, primarily large carnivores.

In 1973 Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguably the country’s strongest law to prevent extinctions by protecting species and the ecosystems on which they depend. At the time, 109 species of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, and fish were protected under the Act. As of May 2016, 1,430 animal and plant species are listed as threatened or endangered. In its 40-year history, the ESA has prevented more than 99% of the species listed from going extinct. However, since 1978, only 34 species have been recovered and delisted.

The Yellowstone Grizzly Bear On June 22, 2017, the Interior Department announced it would delist the Yellowstone grizzly bear, which has benefited from protections of the Endangered Species Act for 42 years. When explorers Lewis and Clark first encountered a grizzly in 1805, more than 50,000 of these bears ranged from Alaska to Mexico. By the 1920s, grizzlies had been eliminated from 95% of their former range, largely a result of government-sanctioned predator control programs. When grizzlies were listed in 1975, less than 140 bears remained in the Yellowstone region, one of four isolated populations in the lower 48 states. Today their numbers have grown to more than 700 bears – by all accounts a conservation success story. But some conservationists worry about removing protections, particularly given the growing number of grizzly deaths because of conflicts with humans. All photos were purchased from Shutterstock.com.

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Grizzly bears, like other large carnivores, require vast home ranges to supply them with the energy needed to survive, but much of their habitat is being occupied, lost, and fragmented by our growing human population. And when they’re around humans, grizzlies have higher mortality rates. Thus, in addition to food, water, and cover, grizzlies require habitat security – habitat that is protected from human use.

Activity Summary Analyzing real-life grizzly mortality data, students identify patterns and trends in grizzly bear habitat security and quality.

Learning Outcomes You will be able to: • Classify data • Calculate ratios • Analyze and predict trends • Devise strategies based on these trends

Materials • Computers with internet access • Calculator

Procedure/Steps Engage 1. As a class, discuss the habitat needs of Yellowstone grizzly bears:

2. As described above, grizzly bears have higher mortality rates around humans. What objects and activities in the Yellowstone region might make their habitat more accessible to humans, and therefore reduce habitat security and quality?

Explore In 2004, Yellowstone National Park biologist Kerry Gunther and his coauthors published a study analyzing 8 years of grizzly bear–human conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (see Resources at the end of this unit). Your groups will be extending aspects of their study using data from the U.S. Geologic Survey’s grizzly mortality datasets, which track annual bear deaths to help identify patterns and trends that can direct management programs designed to reduce bear mortality, as shown in the following sample:

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3. Break into groups of three to four students and select a year from 2009 to 2016. Open the corresponding USGS dataset.

4. Upload the data into an Excel table. It’s not necessary to include the “count” or “unique ID” columns. a. Add a column for “state” and update with the value from the “location” column b. Add a column for “land ownership.” Using codes from the location data, categorize the data as Private, Tribal, U.S. Forest Service (USFS),* Bureau of Land Management (BLM),* National Park Service (NPS),* or State.

5. Calculate the following ratios: a. Gender: Female, Male b. Age: Adult, Sub Adult, Yearling, Cub c. State: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho d. Land ownership: USFS, BLM, etc.

6. Create a second table cross-tabulating month with loss type, as was done in Table 6 of Gunther’s study; however, you’ll want to further break down “management removal” into the reasons outlined in Table 2.

7. Finally, calculate the total percentage of human caused mortality for your year.

8. Many of these mortalities happened along the borders of protected areas – for example, a national park – or in nearby communities. Using the maps of Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park (see Resources at the end of this unit), estimate the perimeter-to-area ratio for each Park. Print these maps and use a grid overlay. 17 Life on the Edge

Explain

9. As a class, discuss what you found. Compare your data with that of other groups, as well as that published by Gunther. What are the trends? How many fatalities are associated with the objects and activities you identified in Step 2? How has human population in this region changed over these periods of time? What is a population sink, and why might grizzly bears be prone to them?

10. How could you use the ratio calculated in Step 8 to help identify the Park that is more likely to have the most conflicts?

Elaborate Did You Know? 11. How might federal and state agencies manage the predominant Conflicts with local people threats to grizzly survival? Based on your data, what types of along the borders of standards and regulations could be implemented to reduce conflicts protected areas is a major and prevent population sinks (see sidebar)? cause of mortality in large carnivores. So much so Exercise these reserve borders may become “population sinks” – Wildlife managers often enter the profession trained in biology, hoping areas where death rates to work with species and their habitats, but find they work more often exceed birth rates. Such with people. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires sinks will have the greatest federal agencies to incorporate public participation. This requirement is impact on population intended to provide “voice to those who must bear the economic, social, dynamics in reserves with and environmental consequences of governmental policy and land use high perimeter area ratios decisions.” and in species that range widely. (See References: 1. Who are the stakeholders that must bear the economic, social, Woodroffe, R. & Ginsberg, and environmental consequences of grizzly bear recovery? J., 1998.)

2. What are the costs and benefits of protecting bears?

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Resources Study of Grizzly Bear–Human Conflicts, 1992-2000: Gunther, K.A., Haroldson, M.A., et al. 2004. Grizzly bear–human conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, 1992–2000. Ursus 15(1):10–22. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Haroldson/publication/232669895_Grizzly_bear- human_conflicts_in_the_Greater_Yellowstone_ecosystem_1992- 2000/links/0c960528a3f06b6fac000000/Grizzly-bear-human-conflicts-in-the-Greater-Yellowstone- ecosystem-1992-2000.pdf

U.S. Geologic Survey’s Grizzly Mortality Datasets: U.S. Geologic Survey’s grizzly mortality datasets

Map of Yellowstone National Park: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/YELL_Tear- Off_Map2016.pdf

Map of Grand Teton National Park: https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/upload/GRTE-Summer-Map- access.pdf

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Pulling It All Together Activity: Designing a Habitat and Species Enhancement Plan

Background As you learned in the first unit, food, water, cover, and space are the basic elements of a healthy, natural habitat for wildlife and fish. To ensure that these essential habitats requirements are met, it takes planning. A habitat and species enhancement plan – sometimes called a biodiversity enhancement plan – is a site-specific conservation plan that addresses the improvement, restoration, enhancement, or expansion of habitats that support native species.

A habitat and species enhancement plan should include: • Goals and objectives • Existing conditions • An inventory, map, air photos of the area available • Opportunities to protect, maintain, or enhance biodiversity • Strategies to accomplish objectives

As well: • Estimated costs to implement • List sources of funding and technical assistance available to complete objectives

Activity Summary Through research and analysis, students will design a habitat and species enhancement plan for their school site.

Learning Outcomes You will be able to: • Define stakeholders and design a public engagement strategy • Define goals and objectives • Select priority species • Design and evaluate habitat-enhancing strategies • Prioritize actions

Materials • Computers with internet access • yardmap account (free)

Procedure/Steps Your client has asked you to create/design a habitat and species enhancement plan for the school site.

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Engage 1. What habitat factors limit species diversity or abundance at//within the site?

2. Who are the stakeholders for this plan?

3. Now, based on your answer to the questions above, what is the goal of your habitat and species enhancement project? What are your specific objectives?

Explore 4. Revisit your answers to Activity 1/Step 9. What species are endemic to the site? Include state- or federally-listed species and/or species of concern. In addition to the resources discussed in Activity 1, consult your State Wildlife Action Plan (see Resources).

5. As a class, select 10 to 12 priority species. Priority species are especially important for their ecosystems or for people. By focusing on priority species, we ensure that our efforts will enhance habitat components needed by these species as well as create habitat suitable for other wildlife species with similar habitat requirements.

6. Break into groups of three to four students. Each group should select two to three species. For each of your species, answer the following questions: • Is the species protected at the state or local level? • Is it considered a species of concern in the State Wildlife Action Plan? • Is the population increasing or decreasing? • What are its habitat requirements? Provide as much detail as possible as these habitat requirements will inform the restoration strategies and success criteria for the project.

Explain 7. As a class, share what you drafted for each of the priority species.

Elaborate 8. Brainstorm a list of strategies for improving the existing conditions and ecological function in the site area.

Exercises 1. Research the history of your school site. What types of habitats used to be there? When were buildings constructed? What species used to live there?

2. For the strategies identified in Step 8, estimate costs and develop a budget. a. Research grants and other funding available for the project b. Design a public engagement strategy to solicit comments and signoff from stakeholders.

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Resources USGS State Wildlife Action Plans – Species by State or U.S. Territory: https://www1.usgs.gov/csas/swap/

Landscope – by State: More about the State Wildlife Action Plans http://www.landscope.org/focus/understand/swap/

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Extension Design a Grassland Bird Reserve

Studies suggest that grassland birds are experiencing extensive population declines because of the loss of large grassland patches. In the midwestern United States, grassland species are declining faster than any other group of breeding species. You’ve been tasked with designing a protected reserve to enhance populations of grasshopper sparrow, Western meadowlark, bobolink, and upland sandpiper. Research these species’ habitat needs. Describe the ideal size and shape of a reserve to support these birds. How would you determine these mathematically and biologically? What actions would you take to increase species’ abundance and reduce mortality? What activities or actions would you recommend to increase collaboration, and reduce conflicts, with local communities?

Resources Helzer, Christopher J., and Jelinski, Dennis E. 1999. The relative importance of patch area and perimeter-area ratio to grassland breeding birds. Ecological Applications 9(40): 1448–1458. https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/documents/R2ES/LitCited/LPC_2012/Helzer_and_Jelinski_1999.pdf

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Supporting Materials Glossary

Background rates – The standard or ongoing rate of extinction of individual species over long periods of time (generally 1 to 10 million years). It’s the “normal” rate by which scientists gauge mass extinctions.

Biodiverse – Containing a wide variety of plants and animals.

Carnivore – Organisms that obtain their energy from other animals.

Citizen science – Scientific research conducted by members of the public, typically in collaboration with professional scientists. The public may be involved in any or all aspects of the scientific process, including formulating research questions, conducting scientific experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, developing technologies and applications, and solving complex problems.

Community structure – The composition of a community, including the number of species in a community and their relative numbers. It’s often referred to as species richness.

Delisted – The process of removing federal protection from an endangered or threatened species.

Edge effects – Characteristics seen on the boundary between two habitat types. These characteristics include changes in air temperature, light intensity, and soil moisture. Edge effects are primarily harmful, though many species are found on habitat edges.

Endemic – A species whose range is restricted to a limited geographical area.

Generalists – Species that can live in many different types of environments and have a wide variety of diets.

Habitat – The area or natural environment where an organism or population naturally occurs. Habitat is made up of physical factors such as soil, moisture, temperature, and light intensity, as well as biotic factors such as the availability of food and the presence of predators.

Habitat islands – An area of natural habitat surrounded by a matrix of a contrasting land use type.

Habitat security – Habitat used for protection or hiding from predators.

Herbivore – An animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants.

Interior specialists – Species that require unique resources; either they have a unique diet and/or require a specific habitat condition to survive.

Mean patch area – The average size of patches of a particular habitat type. Considerable evidence suggests that species richness and the occurrence and abundance of some species are strongly correlated with patch size.

Omnivore – An animal that naturally eats both other animals and plants.

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Patch – A relatively uniform habitat area that differs from its surroundings, example: a patch of grass, a forest stand, etc.

Perimeter area ratio – The ratio of patch perimeter to area, reflecting both the size and shape of a patch: The higher the value, the more complex the shape. The shape of a patch in turn determines the amount of habitat exposed to edges.

Priority species – A species that is particularly threatened in terms of the species' long-term survival. Conservation focused on priority species is almost always focused on priority habitats as well.

State Wildlife Action Plan – State Wildlife Action Plans serve as the blueprint for conserving the nation’s fish and wildlife and preventing endangered species.

Understory – A layer of vegetation growing beneath the forest canopy and above the forest floor.

References

Gunther, K.A., Haroldson, M.A., et al. 2004. Grizzly bear–human conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, 1992–2000. Ursus 15(1):10–22. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Haroldson/publication/232669895_Grizzly_bear- human_conflicts_in_the_Greater_Yellowstone_ecosystem_1992- 2000/links/0c960528a3f06b6fac000000/Grizzly-bear-human-conflicts-in-the-Greater-Yellowstone- ecosystem-1992-2000.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Helzer, Christopher J.,& Jelinski, Dennis E. 1999.The relative importance of patch area and perimeter- area ratio to grassland breeding birds. Ecological Applications 9(40): 1448–1458. https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/documents/R2ES/LitCited/LPC_2012/Helzer_and_Jelinski_1999.pdf

Rutledge, Daniel. Landscape indices as measures of the effects of fragmentation: Can pattern reflect process? Doc Science Internal Series 98. Department of Conservation, New Zealand. 2003. https://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/DSIS98.pdf

St. Pierre, J. I., & Kovalenko, K. E. 2014. Effect of habitat complexity attributes on species richness. Ecosphere 5(2): 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00323.1

Woodroffe, R., & Ginsberg, J. 1998. Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science 280(5372): 2126–2128. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joshua_Ginsberg/publication/13642576_Edge_Effects_and_the_E xtinction_of_Populations_Inside_Protected_Areas/links/543d0ca30cf2c432f742391f/Edge-Effects-and- the-Extinction-of-Populations-Inside-Protected-Areas.pdf