Planning_Document_First_Rough_Draft

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School

Southern New Hampshire University *

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Course

200

Subject

Biology

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ChiefKouprey2338

1 Planning Document First Rough Draft Corey L. Sprague Southern New Hampshire University SCI-200: Applied Natural Sciences Alexis Ford-Green August 4, 2022

2 Planning Document First Rough Draft My issue: When the first people crossed the Bering Sea bridge some 15,000 years ago, one of the species they encountered was the wolf. Wolves had made a similar migration in the middle of the Pleistocene, dispersing across what is now known as the United States of America. From that moment of first contact, people and wolves had a symbiotic relationship. This existed for thousands of years, but as Europeans arrived in North America with their livestock and farming tactics, conflicts ensued. By the late 1800’s the U.S. government established the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, which by 1906, turned into a government funded program dedicated to exterminating the gray wolf (Public Broadcasting Service, 2008). A species that once roamed the land in every state in the lower 48, now only resided in northeastern Michigan and Minnesota. At this time, the war was over, and people had won. However, as science progressed and with it our understanding of how ecosystems worked, the wolf was offered protection via the Endangered Species Act and efforts began to re-establish it in various pockets throughout the United States. As populations grew, conflicts between wolf and man occurred more frequently. This has resulted in a split public opinion of how to deal with wolves; some people believe they should be fully protected, while others believe populations should be managed through hunting and trapping. The two sides argue about what population numbers indicate a recovered species, how the Endangered Species Act works, and what conservation techniques should be used to manage populations. As an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing, I understand both sides of the issue. Wolves are a majestic and beautiful species who have lived on this land much longer than humans. However, if left unchecked, wolves could decimate the populations of prey species,

3 experience deadly disease outbreaks, and have more negative interactions with humans. Understanding what impact hunting and trapping has on populations and then determining whether it is an effective management technique is pivotal to the relationship between wolves and man. My question: How does the hunting of gray wolves affect gray wolf population numbers in the United States over 12 months? My science resources: 1. My first source is titled "Quantifying anthropogenic wolf mortality in relation to hunting regulations and landscape attributes across North America". The first source that I will use to answer my question quantifies the amount of wolves that are harvested, both legally and illegaly in North America. The 25 studies that the authors references were conducted between 1968-2019. I chose this source because it provides significant academic data about wolf populations. Since my research topic is the effect of hunting and trapping on gray wolf populations, it is important to understand how many wolves are being harvested yearly. 2. My second source is titled "Stable pack abundance and distribution in a harvested wolf population.". I chose this source because it describes the complexity of wolf packs and outlines the impacts that humans have on pack dynamics. Furthermore, the study that this source discusses analyzes what affects pack dispersion, genetics, and sustainability. The source is credible and relevant to my research question. 3. My third source is titled "U.S. moves to lift remaining grey wolf protections".

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