Wildlife Management Final Exam Questions
With Solved Solutions.
Differences in ethics between animal right activists and land ethicists - Answer Animal Rights:
o Animals have a will to live & feel pain
o Humans should not cause additional pain, suffering, or death
Land Ethicists:
o Integrity of ecosystems & populations takes priorities over individual animals
o Hunting an acceptable management technique
Differences in hunting ethics - Answer Sport Hunters:
o Animals viewed as opponents, only viewed as trophies
o Less knowledge about animals
o Guns & Rituals emphasized
Nature Hunters:
o High naturalistic values & more knowledge of animals
o More natural source of food, back to nature
Question of necessity of hunting as a management tool - Answer - Non-game species are not
managed with hunting
- Depends on ecosystem quality
o Makes little difference in healthy ecosystems
o Damaged ecosystems may require hunting
- Depends on nature of mortality = additive or compensatory
o Additive results in population decrease, populations are usually both
Maximum sustained yield vs optimum yield - Answer Maximum Sustained Yield:
o Largest average population that can be removed per year
o Population maintained at ½ carrying capacity
,o Quantity harvested that provides greatest benefit
o Based on maximum yield as modified by economic, social, or ecological factors
Traditional management vs adaptive harvest management - Answer Traditional Management:
o = "Chase" populations
o Many limitations/uncertainties
§ Environmental variation
§ Partial controllability (cannot completely control/predict # hunters & success rate)
§ Partial observability = only estimates for population variables
§ Structural uncertainty = incomplete understanding of biological systems
o Don't want to chase populations, don't want to be chased by them
Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM)
o Two or more competing models for wildlife management tested with yearly data
o Assesses how population actually responds to hunting
Traditional vs Adaptive Harvest Management of mallards & woodcocks - Answer AHM for
Mallards
o 1. Base regulation on current population size, wetland conditions, & model weight
o 2. Make predictions based on each model for following year
o 3. Update weight (support) for each model in following year
o Better management due to quantitative link between management strategy & regulations
(that you're actually using reflecting the biological species
Woodcocks Assessed using
o Censuses of courting males
o Determining age ratio
o % of successful hunters & HIP surveys
Perspectives on trapping: economic use, manager perspective and animal rights perspective
Sustainability of trapping - Answer Reasons for trapping:
o Fur - Beaver, Raccoon, Wolves, Minx, Lynx
, Some Wildlife Managers Perspective:
o Sustained harvest for some fur bearers
o Effective way to study/manage populations & control disease
o Trapping can be sustainable
Animal Rights Perspective:
o Trapping is cruel
o Fur is an unnecessary luxury
o Catches non-target species (especially)
Types of Traps:
o Quick Kill
§ Body- Gripping Conibear Traps = animals caught by neck killed instantly
o Live-Holding
§ Cage traps for mice/raccoons
§ Snares = wire loops to catch feet
§ Foothold Traps = 2 metal jaws (inexpensive, most common)
Saline lake - Answer - Landlocked lakes surrounded by wetlands
- Disappearing
- Critically important for migratory birds
- Lake levels decline 50-95%
o Increased salinity
o Altered food webs
o Reduction in inverts
Riparian Zones - Answer - Zones - <5% of surface area support >40% of birds
- Very important for wildlife
Ecological influences on water
Water & ducks (prairie potholes)
With Solved Solutions.
Differences in ethics between animal right activists and land ethicists - Answer Animal Rights:
o Animals have a will to live & feel pain
o Humans should not cause additional pain, suffering, or death
Land Ethicists:
o Integrity of ecosystems & populations takes priorities over individual animals
o Hunting an acceptable management technique
Differences in hunting ethics - Answer Sport Hunters:
o Animals viewed as opponents, only viewed as trophies
o Less knowledge about animals
o Guns & Rituals emphasized
Nature Hunters:
o High naturalistic values & more knowledge of animals
o More natural source of food, back to nature
Question of necessity of hunting as a management tool - Answer - Non-game species are not
managed with hunting
- Depends on ecosystem quality
o Makes little difference in healthy ecosystems
o Damaged ecosystems may require hunting
- Depends on nature of mortality = additive or compensatory
o Additive results in population decrease, populations are usually both
Maximum sustained yield vs optimum yield - Answer Maximum Sustained Yield:
o Largest average population that can be removed per year
o Population maintained at ½ carrying capacity
,o Quantity harvested that provides greatest benefit
o Based on maximum yield as modified by economic, social, or ecological factors
Traditional management vs adaptive harvest management - Answer Traditional Management:
o = "Chase" populations
o Many limitations/uncertainties
§ Environmental variation
§ Partial controllability (cannot completely control/predict # hunters & success rate)
§ Partial observability = only estimates for population variables
§ Structural uncertainty = incomplete understanding of biological systems
o Don't want to chase populations, don't want to be chased by them
Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM)
o Two or more competing models for wildlife management tested with yearly data
o Assesses how population actually responds to hunting
Traditional vs Adaptive Harvest Management of mallards & woodcocks - Answer AHM for
Mallards
o 1. Base regulation on current population size, wetland conditions, & model weight
o 2. Make predictions based on each model for following year
o 3. Update weight (support) for each model in following year
o Better management due to quantitative link between management strategy & regulations
(that you're actually using reflecting the biological species
Woodcocks Assessed using
o Censuses of courting males
o Determining age ratio
o % of successful hunters & HIP surveys
Perspectives on trapping: economic use, manager perspective and animal rights perspective
Sustainability of trapping - Answer Reasons for trapping:
o Fur - Beaver, Raccoon, Wolves, Minx, Lynx
, Some Wildlife Managers Perspective:
o Sustained harvest for some fur bearers
o Effective way to study/manage populations & control disease
o Trapping can be sustainable
Animal Rights Perspective:
o Trapping is cruel
o Fur is an unnecessary luxury
o Catches non-target species (especially)
Types of Traps:
o Quick Kill
§ Body- Gripping Conibear Traps = animals caught by neck killed instantly
o Live-Holding
§ Cage traps for mice/raccoons
§ Snares = wire loops to catch feet
§ Foothold Traps = 2 metal jaws (inexpensive, most common)
Saline lake - Answer - Landlocked lakes surrounded by wetlands
- Disappearing
- Critically important for migratory birds
- Lake levels decline 50-95%
o Increased salinity
o Altered food webs
o Reduction in inverts
Riparian Zones - Answer - Zones - <5% of surface area support >40% of birds
- Very important for wildlife
Ecological influences on water
Water & ducks (prairie potholes)
