Download Class Examples Habitat Management Prescription

Habitat Management
• What is wildlife habitat management?
• What is succession?
• How do wildlife habitat requirements &
succession relate?
Habitat Management
• Habitat management & restoration, what’s
the difference?
• How do landscape factors affect habitat
management?
• What effects do exotic species & climate
change have on habitat management?
Habitat Management
• What is Wildlife Habitat Management?
The deliberate act of manipulating wildlife
habitat for the benefit of wildlife and people.
(Yarrow & Yarrow 1999)
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Habitat Management
• What is Wildlife Habitat Management?
The manipulation of the successional stage
and physical structure of vegetation to
benefit particular species, or assemblages of
species, considered to be of high
conservation priority, or other intrinsic value.
(Ausden 2007)
Habitat Management
• What is Wildlife Habitat Management?
– Habitat management also includes:
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Manipulations to increase prey
Provision of nest sites
Control of unwanted plants
Minimizing effects of damage by humans
Herbivore control
Other artificial improvements
Conditions & the physical environment
(Ausden 2007)
Credit: naturalsciences.org
Habitat Management
• Wildlife Habitat Management
– Succession
Process by which assemblages of plants and
animals change over time in the absence of
disturbance (Ausden 2007)
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Progressive development/change of a biotic
community
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Replacement of species
Modification of the physical environment
Advances through a series of seres
Terminates in a climax community
Predictions possible
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Types of succession
• Primary
• Secondary
Credit: discovermagazine.com
Credit: forestryimages.com
Habitat Management
• Succession
(City University of New York, 2008)
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Occurs in terrestrial & aquatic systems
• Xerarch - on land; towards a wetter state
• Hydrarch – in aquatic habitats; towards a drier state
– Oligotrophic & eutrophic
Credit: fed.fs.us
Credit: erie-county-ohio.net
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Retrogression
• Opposite of succession
• Replacement towards earlier conditions
– Acceleration
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Factors affecting succession & seral stages
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Current vegetation
Surrounding vegetation
Past vegetation
Resource levels
Conditions
Disturbance levels
Stochastic factors
Habitat Management
• Rate & Direction of Succession
– Vegetation & soil*
• Removal & disturbance
– Herbivores (and Omnivores)
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Habitat Management
• Rate & Direction of Succession
– Vegetation removal & disturbance
• Physical disturbance events
• Periodic large scale herbivory by insects
• Outbreaks of disease in plants
– Habitat management can mimic natural processes
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Mimicking natural processes
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Prescribed burning
Grazing
Application of chemicals
Mechanical treatments
Credit: forestryimages.org
Credit: eih.uh.edu
Credit: E. Willcox
Credit: E. Willcox
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Wildlife habitat requirements & succession
(Yarrow & Yarrow 1999)
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Classifying wildlife based on habitat requirements
& succession
Class
Examples
Habitat Management
Prescription
I: Climax-adapted species
Spruce grouse
Snowshoe hare
Pileated woodpecker
Protection
II: Species adapted to
developmental stages of
succession
Bobwhite quail
Cottontail rabbit
Grasshopper sparrow
Disturbance: logging, fire,
mechanical treatments etc.
III: Species requiring a
mixture of successional
stages
Ruffed grouse
White-tailed deer
Mule deer
Protect or disturb to
increase limiting habitat
type
(Adapted from Bailey 1984)
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Class I: Climax-adapted wildlife species
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More specialized in habitat requirements
Less adaptable to habitat change
Many rare and endangered
Hindered or extirpated by disturbance
Habitat management emphasizes protection
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Class II: Species of developmental stages
• Require temporary vegetation
• More generalized in habitat requirements
• Adaptable to habitat change
Credit: audubon.org
Credit: claycountyquail.com
Credit: uoguelph.ca
Habitat Management
• Succession
– Class III: Species using a mix of successional
stages
• Most species in this class
• Require habitat disturbance & protection
Credit: forestryimages.org
Credit: forestryimages.org
Habitat Management
• Wildlife Habitat Management
– Habitat Management v. Restoration
Habitat Management
• Other habitat management considerations
– Landscape factors (space & scale)
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Area of habitat
Fragmentation
Edge effects
Surrounding habitats
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Area of habitat
• Area sensitivity
• Minimum requirements
Species
Habitat Area Needed to Reach
50% Incidence (Ha)
Upland Sandpiper
200
Grasshopper Sparrow
100
Savannah Sparrow
10
(Vickery et al. 1994)
• Cost to manage
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Fragmentation
The disruption of extensive habitats into
isolated and small patches (Meffe et al. 1994)
Credit: uwrf.edu
Credit: fs.fed.us
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Fragmentation types
• Perforation - making holes in a habitat
• Dissection - sub-dividing with lines
• Fragmentation - breaking up into smaller parts
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Fragmentation type cont.
• Shrinkage - decrease of size of patches
• Attrition - loss of existing patches
(apc.tamu.edu 2008)
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Fragmentation
• Spatial effects
Increase
Decrease
Patch density
Connectivity
Inter-patch distance
Interior to edge ratios
Boundary length
Core size
Total interior area
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Fragmentation
• Species effects
Increase
Decrease
Isolation
Dispersal of interior specialists
No. of generalists
Large home range species
No. of multi-habitat species
Richness of interior species
Exotics
Nest predation
Habitat Management
• Landscape Features
– Fragmentation
• Importance of connectivity
• Ability of species to disperse
• Use of habitat corridors
Metapopulations
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Edge effects
• Occur at margins of habitat patches
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Invasion of exotics
Disease spread
Increased predation
Increased parasitism
Change in water levels & humidity (conditions)
Pesticide drift & fertilizer runoff
Habitat Management
• Landscape Factors
– Surrounding habitat
• Interchange of individuals
• Predation & parasitism
• Proximity of other suitable habitats
Credit: mo.gov
Credit: forestryimages.org
Credit: fws.org
Habitat Management
• Other considerations
– Exotic species
– Climate change
Habitat Management
• Exotic Species (plants & animals)
– Compete with native vegetation & wildlife
– Reduce habitat quality
• Benefits & costs of control
– Spread
– Replacement
– Re-colonization
Habitat Management
• Climate Change
– Effects on wildlife
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Changes in climatic conditions at sites
Alterations to habitat requirements
Changes in the timing of biological events
Effects of adverse weather during migration
Loss of coastal habitats due to sea-level rise
Habitat Management
• Climate Change
– Mitigation & compensation
Habitat Management
• Climate Change
– Mitigation & Compensation
• Facilitate wildlife spread to future climate envelopes
– Linking habitats
– Translocation
• Changes in management practices
Credit: ia.nrcs.usda.gov
Habitat Management
• Habitat Management
– Management of succession & other
• Meet wildlife habitat requirements
– Compared to restoration
– Effects of landscape factors
– Effects of exotic species & climate change
Philosophy
• For what degree of naturalness should we
manage habitat?
• Habitat management approaches
• To what extent should habitat management
be integrated with other interests and values?
• What consideration should be given to the
cost of habitat management?
Philosophy
• What Degree of Naturalness?
– What is possible?
Increasing
Human Influence
Original
Natural
State
Cultural
Habitats
Absolutely
Artificial
State
Philosophy
“We might, if we chose to spend the money,
release each year millions of artificially reared
birds, and thus “maintain” a supply of game in the
quantitative sense. But would we thus maintain
value? I think not.”
Aldo Leopold
Philosophy
“How shall we conserve wild life
without evicting ourselves”
Aldo Leopold
Philosophy
• What Degree of Naturalness?
– Depends on goals
• Effects on species present
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Increases
Decreases
Colonization's
Extirpations
Credit: briansmallphoto.com
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Featured (single) species management
– Multiple species management
– Biodiversity management
– Ecosystem management
• Intervention & naturalness
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Featured (single) species management
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Credit: ebird.com
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Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Multiple species management
Philosophy
• Featured & multiple species management
– Level of Intervention & naturalness
• E.g., Increasing food supply for wintering waterfowl
Greater level
of intervention
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Artificially manipulate water levels
Sow favored foods within wetlands
Plant food plots on adjacent arable lands
Feed with grain
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Biodiversity management
• Level of Intervention & naturalness
• Same as Ecosystem Management?
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
• Level of Intervention & naturalness
• Preservation
– E.g., Sandhill
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
Resource management systems designed to
produce essential commodities and other
values to meet human needs and desires, and
to maintain and enhance soil productivity, gene
conservation, biodiversity, landscape patterns,
and the array of ecological processes common
to healthy ecosystems (UF SFRC 2009)
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
Any land-management system that seeks to
protect viable populations of all native species,
perpetuate natural disturbance regimes on the
regional scale, adopt a planning timeline of
centuries, and allow human use at levels that
do not result in long-term ecological
degradation (MSU 2009)
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
Integrates scientific knowledge of ecological
relationships within a complex sociopolitical
and values framework toward the general
goal of protecting native ecosystem integrity
over the long term (Grumbine 1994)
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
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Maintain viable populations of native species
Represent all native ecosystem types
Maintain evolutionary & ecological processes*
Maintain evolutionary potential
Accommodate human use*
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
• Ecological integrity
– Restore or maintain key natural processes
» Encourage keystone species
- Human dimensions issues
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Credit: maxwaugh.com
Credit: fs.fed.us
Credit: animals.nationalgeographic.com
Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
• Ecological Integrity
Credit: travelblog.com
– Restore or maintain key natural processes
» Disturbances (e.g., fire, herbivory, disease, etc.)
- Natural vs. artificial (mimic)
- Human dimensions issues
» Level of control over grazing regimes
- Discrete periods
- Naturalistic
- Rewilded
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Philosophy
• Habitat Management Approaches
– Ecosystem management
• Ecological integrity
– Restore or maintain key natural processes
» Systems dissimilar to natural state – is it possbile?
- Land-use history & change
Credit: dnrc.mt.gov
Credit: tour.com.au
Philosophy
• Integrating Habitat Management with
Other Interests
– Recreation
– Education & research
– Landscape & aesthetic considerations
– Cultural history
– Resource use
– Wider environmental benefits
Philosophy
• Cost of Management
– Level of intervention & degree of naturalness
Philosophy
• Habitat Management
– Degree of naturalness
– Habitat management approaches
– Extent of integration
– Consideration of cost