Examples Of Determining Animal Behavior And Abundance In The Wild

For example, their concept indicates that prey species will alter their foraging habits to the features of the terrain in order to avoid areas with a high risk of predation. Predation risk in a changing environment is also focused on by the authors. There are many environmental variables that may influence the degree of predation risk such as weather, wildfires, and other conditions that influence ungulates’ access to vegetation. Finally, the authors focus on ecosystem responses to trophic cascades—primarily on riparian functions and on beaver and bird populations. They also inform us that wolves may represent an indirect control on beaver populations as well as cause ungulates to avoid some riparian areas—therefore reducing herbivory on wooden browse species.

Both the passage and the lecture discuss the decline of some sea otters’ population in Alaska coast. On the one hand, the passage argues that this decline is due to environmental pollution. On the other hand, the lecture opposes by stating that predation is most likely the reason for the phenomena.

One hypothesis proposes that the reason Steller sea lions have been declining is because of low prey abundance. Animals should use their energy efficiently when they forage to maximize the net amount of energy gained in relation to the amount time and energy that is spent, but it is believed that the reason Steller sea lions are disappearing in such big numbers is because when prey abundance is lower, that Stellar sea lions are less efficient predators (Charnov, 1976). In a recent study conducted on the effect of prey abundance on foraging efficiency, it was found that the less prey that Stellar sea lions had available, the less efficient they were in foraging (Goundie et al., 2015). In the experiment, the researchers took 4 adult Stellar sea lions and had them dive up and down a tube while recording their oxygen consumption, and dive duration. The sea lions dove between the surface of the water and depths of 10 m, and 40 m, and the reason for this was to simulate diving depths of Steller sea lions in the wild (Merrick and Loughlin, 1997). While the sea lions were diving, researchers fed them pieces of fish through two different tubes that were placed away from each other in order to simulate real foraging movements and prey densities. The researchers fed the seals 12 pieces of fish in the

Eating and foraging were similar events, but categorized differently. Eating was any time the monkey stayed in one location to eat. He could be sitting or standing. This was most notably seen when the monkey would grab a leaf or stick, climb up to a branch, and sit there while eating. Foraging was when the monkey would walk or climb around to look for food, occasionally eating what he found. The monkey we observed was seen foraging arboreally by picking at leaves through the fence and terrestrially, where he would sift through the grass or debris on the ground to find things to eat.

In a time where the environment is experiencing significant change, it is important that certain communities and individuals be informed of what is occurring. This said environmental change can be observed in the way the seasons affect organisms and their habitat, which leads to an impact on their predator-prey relationships. This relationship between the California mountain lion, mule deer, and coyote that live at Wind Wolves preserve is being studied, along with their seasons. These animals can live in separate regions, but do have overlapping territories. Three of which being Twin Fawn, Site 1, and Site 2. Their environment can change how a predator hunts or how a often or long a prey appears at a certain location.

Mendoza, J. E., Peery, M. Z., Gutiérrez, G. A., Herrera, G., & Pauli, J. N. (2014). Resource use by the two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and the three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) differs in a shade-grown agro-ecosystem. Journal of Tropical Ecology,31(01), 49-55.

When determining the sloths’ selectivity for each habitat, only the available habitats were included in the calculation. An unavailabe habitat is one where it is uninhabitable due to a physical barrier. For example, in Figure 1 in the lower left hand corner is a lowland secondary forest. Although the sloths are able to live in such a environment, it is not included in the selection calculation since the mountainous environment is physically preventing the sloths from inhabiting the area. Using the Manly’s alpha formula it was determined that the two toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni, was selecting for the agriculture and old growth habitats, while selecting against the clear cut and secondary forest habitat. The the three toed sloth, Bradypus

First, the scientists determined a study area that would serve as their representative sample of the population. The south slope of the Qinling Mountains was chosen because it contained a rich population of Qinling giant pandas, and the environmental conditions were optimal for bamboo growth. Secondly,

Dugong, which is commonly called sea cow, is claimed to be the only marine herbivorous mammal on Earth. These days, most of the world’s population of dugongs are in the waters around Queensland, resulting in “one of the reasons for nominating the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Area in 1981” (Lawler, Marsh, McDonald, and Stokes 2). On The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species published in 2015, dugong was classified to be vulnerable because “the numbers of dugongs around the world had declined by at least 20% over the last 90 years” (Marsh and Sobtzick), which was approximately three dugong generations. The dugongs fishing in Australia started in 1850s, when people hunted dugongs for their meat and oil and then exported to Europe for medical purposes. Over the years, people kept searching for dugongs to attain ample amount of profits from dugong trading, so unsustainable hunting became a leading reason which was responsible for dugong’s decline in sea area around Queensland. As the report from World Conservation Union indicates, “the [Great Coral Reef] region supported an estimated 4,220 dugongs in the mid-1990s compared with 72,000 dugongs in the early 1960s” (Marsh and Sobtzick). Even though international law had banned the trade in dugong meat and other related products, dugong hunting remained legal in some Australian regions, since “aboriginal people regard dugongs as vital parts of their

Dingoes are now considered native to Australia under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and play a huge role as trophic regulators. Dingoes are also managed on Fraser Island through a conservation and risk management strategy. In other areas of Queensland, dingoes are declared as a pest via the Land Act 2002. Through a recent growing body of research it is said that dingoes have a positive impact on biodiversity (Ripple et al. 2014). As the apex predator for many habitats dingoes usually outcompete mesopredators such as the feral cat, eastern grey kangaroo and the red fox for resources and food (Vernes et al. 2001). Currently there is no large body of science literature that shows a relationship between wild dogs (dingoes) and feral cats. The

A similar study was also conducted in coastal South Carolina in Georgetown and Horry County. This study occurred due to the increase of bear sightings and bear-human conflicts in this region. In each of these areas, there was a difference in population density due to habitat quality. It was discovered Pocosin habits are the most productive habitat for bears because they provide cover, ample food supply, and have little human disturbance (Drewry, Van Manen, & Ruth 2013, Landers et Al. 1979). In correlation with the previous study, this analysis illustrated how large populations are a source population to smaller adjacent populations. In order to maintain the smaller populations, habitat connectivity between the source and sink populations is impetrative.

What if there was some other construction or development which caused the depletion in sea otter population. For instance there was a thermal power plant constructed in the East Carpenteria which contaminated the air with harmful fumes which the otter inhaled or the fumes resulted in the decline of vegetation and other wildlife which the otter eats and caused the decline in otter's population. If the author would have mentioned that construction in Eastern Carpenteria was also of road construction similar to West Lanburg than the argument would have been

The most limiting factor present throughout this investigation was the limited sample size of the Freddo Frogs. As stated several times throughout this investigation, a larger sample size produces more accurate and reliable results, however, only a sample size of 20 Freddo Frogs were used to minimize the economical costs involved. Therefore, the results obtained through this investigation may not have been very accurate or reliable due to the limited sample size. Therefore, a larger sample size should be used to obtain better results and allow the mathematical functions (Central Limit Theorem and Confidence Level Intervals) to be applied effectively and produce reliable

This paper summarizes the current research on the magnitude and effects of this aboriginal hunting of dugongs. MicNiven and Bedingfield compared historical abundances and hunting rates in the Torres Strait to today’s. By excavating an ancient ceremonial bone mound and extrapolating its measurements, they determined that there was an annual catch rate of 200 dugongs and a population size of over 70,000. Today, the annual catch rate is 500 and population size is 13-30,000. Thus, abundances were significantly higher, and hunting rates were significantly lower than they are today. The team hypothesizes that other factors are causing a decline in dugong numbers—but still concludes that hunting rates must be lowered if these animals are to avoid extinction (McNiven and Bedingfield 2008). Another study conducted in the Torres Straight used population models to assess if the current hunting rate of dugongs is sustainable. They concluded that dugongs are doomed to extinction under the current hunting rate, with a mean time to extinction of 43-123 years. They recommend an annual take of only 100 animals, region-wide management plans, and the involvement of

Have you ever wondered how most animals react to events that occur in their environment? In the past, people have thought that animals have a sixth sense helping them to predict changes in their environment as they occur. Different animals have different ways of reacting for this change, as well as different ways of sensing it. In 2005 before the waves of a tsunami hit Sri Lanka and India coastlines people reported that wild and domestic animals knew what was happening and quickly found their way to safety. People reported that elephants screamed and ran for higher ground, dogs refused to go outside and zoo animals rushed into their shelters and would not come back out. This research shows that there are definitive ways that different animals show on coming events. I will demonstrate all the different ways in this paper.