Wildlife Ecology, Conservation, and Management

489 Pages·2005·2.7 MB·English

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Wildlife Ecology, Conservation, and Management
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To our colleagues Graeme Caughley, Peter Yodzis, and James N.M.
Smith who have influenced both our approach to wildlife biology
and the writing of this book.
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Wildlife Ecology, Conservation,
and Management
Second Edition
Anthony R.E. Sinclair PhD, FRS
Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, Canada
John M. Fryxell PhD
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph,
Canada
Graeme Caughley PhD
CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
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© 2006 by Anthony R.E. Sinclair and John M. Fryxell
© 1994 by Blackwell Science
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
The right of Anthony R.E. Sinclair and John M. Fryxell to be identified as the Authors of this
Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
First edition published 1994
Second edition published 2006 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
1 2006
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sinclair, A.R.E. (Anthony Ronald Entrican)
Wildlife ecology, conservation, and management / Anthony R.E.
Sinclair, John M. Fryxell, Graeme Caughley. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Wildlife ecology and management / Graeme Caughley,
Anthony R.E. Sinclair.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-0737-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-4051-0737-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Wildlife management. 2. Wildlife conservation. 3. Animal ecology.
I. Fryxell, John M., 1954– II. Caughley, Graeme. III. Caughley, Graeme.
Wildlife ecology and management. IV. Title.=20
SK355.C38 2005
639.9–dc22
2005007229
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Set in 9.5/12pt Berkeley
by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed and bound in India
by Replika Press
The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry
policy, and which hasbeen manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary
chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board
used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.
For further information on
Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
www.blackwellpublishing.com
WECA01 08/17/2005 04:34PM Page v
Contents
Preface xi
1 Introduction: goals and decisions 1
1.1 How to use this book 1
1.2 What is wildlife conservation and management? 2
1.3 Goals of management 3
1.4 Hierarchies of decision 5
1.5 Policy goals 7
1.6 Feasible options 8
1.7 Summary 8
Part 1 Wildlife ecology 9
2 Biomes 11
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Forest biomes 12
2.3 Woodland biomes 14
2.4 Shrublands 14
2.5 Grassland biomes 15
2.6 Semi-desert scrub 17
2.7 Deserts 17
2.8 Marine biomes 17
2.9 Summary 18
3 Animals as individuals 19
3.1 Introduction 19
3.2 Adaptation 19
3.3 The theory of natural selection 19
3.4 Examples of adaptation 21
3.5 The effects of history 23
3.6 The abiotic environment 27
3.7 Genetic characteristics of individuals 27
3.8 Applied aspects 33
3.9 Summary 35
v
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vi CONTENTS
4 Food and nutrition 36
4.1 Introduction 36
4.2 Constituents of food 36
4.3 Variation in food supply 40
4.4 Measurement of food supply 42
4.5 Basal metabolic rate and food requirement 46
4.6 Morphology of herbivore digestion 49
4.7 Food passage rate and food requirement 51
4.8 Body size and diet selection 52
4.9 Indices of body condition 53
4.10 Summary 59
5 The ecology of behavior 60
5.1 Introduction 60
5.2 Diet selection 60
5.3 Optimal patch or habitat use 66
5.4 Risk-sensitive habitat use 69
5.5 Quantifying habitat preference using resource
selection functions 70
5.6 Social behavior and foraging 72
5.7 Summary 77
6 Population growth 78
6.1 Introduction 78
6.2 Rate of increase 78
6.3 Fecundity rate 82
6.4 Mortality rate 82
6.5 Direct estimation of life-table parameters 84
6.6 Indirect estimation of life-table parameters 85
6.7 Relationship between parameters 87
6.8 Geometric or exponential population growth 88
6.9 Summary 89
7 Dispersal, dispersion, and distribution 90
7.1 Introduction 90
7.2 Dispersal 90
7.3 Dispersion 92
7.4 Distribution 93
7.5 Distribution, abundance, and range collapse 98
7.6 Species reintroductions or invasions 99
7.7 Dispersal and the sustainability of metapopulations 104
7.8 Summary 108
8 Population regulation, fluctuation, and competition within
species 109
8.1 Introduction 109
8.2 Stability of populations 109
8.3 The theory of population limitation and regulation 111
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CONTENTS vii
8.4 Evidence for regulation 116
8.5 Applications of regulation 120
8.6 Logistic model of population regulation 121
8.7 Stability, cycles, and chaos 125
8.8 Intraspecific competition 131
8.9 Interactions of food, predators, and disease 134
8.10 Summary 134
9 Competition and facilitation between species 135
9.1 Introduction 135
9.2 Theoretical aspects of interspecific competition 136
9.3 Experimental demonstrations of competition 138
9.4 The concept of the niche 143
9.5 The competitive exclusion principle 146
9.6 Resource partitioning and habitat selection 146
9.7 Competition in variable environments 153
9.8 Apparent competition 153
9.9 Facilitation 154
9.10 Applied aspects of competition 159
9.11 Summary 162
10 Predation 163
10.1 Introduction 163
10.2 Predation and management 163
10.3 Definitions 163
10.4 The effect of predators on prey density 164
10.5 The behavior of predators 165
10.6 Numerical response of predators to prey density 169
10.7 The total response 170
10.8 Behavior of the prey 176
10.9 Summary 178
11 Parasites and pathogens 179
11.1 Introduction and definitions 179
11.2 Effects of parasites 179
11.3 The basic parameters of epidemiology 180
11.4 Determinants of spread 183
11.5 Endemic pathogens 184
11.6 Endemic pathogens: synergistic interactions with food
and predators 184
11.7 Epizootic diseases 186
11.8 Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife 187
11.9 Parasites and the regulation of host populations 188
11.10 Parasites and host communities 190
11.11 Parasites and conservation 191
11.12 Parasites and control of pests 194
11.13 Summary 195
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viii CONTENTS
12 Consumer–resource dynamics 196
12.1 Introduction 196
12.2 Quality and quantity of a resource 196
12.3 Kinds of resources 196
12.4 Consumer–resource dynamics: general theory 197
12.5 Kangaroos and their food plants in semi-arid
Australian savannas 200
12.6 Wolf–moose–woody plant dynamics in the boreal forest 207
12.7 Other population cycles 212
12.8 Summary 215
Part 2 Wildlife conservation and management 217
13 Counting animals 219
13.1 Introduction 219
13.2 Estimates 219
13.3 Total counts 219
13.4 Sampled counts: the logic 221
13.5 Sampled counts: methods and arithmetic 226
13.6 Indirect estimates of population size 235
13.7 Indices 241
13.8 Summary 243
14 Age and stage structure 244
14.1 Age-specific population models 244
14.2 Stage-specific models 247
14.3 Sensitivity and elasticity of matrix models 248
14.4 Short-term changes in structured populations 251
14.5 Summary 252
15 Model evaluation and adaptive management 253
15.1 Introduction 253
15.2 Fitting models to data and estimation of parameters 254
15.3 Measuring the likelihood of models in light of
the observed data 256
15.4 Evaluating the likelihood of alternative models using AIC 258
15.5 Adaptive management 264
15.6 Summary 267
16 Experimental management 268
16.1 Introduction 268
16.2 Differentiating success from failure 268
16.3 Technical judgments can be tested 269
16.4 The nature of the evidence 272
16.5 Experimental and survey design 274
16.6 Some standard analyses 279
16.7 Summary 287
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CONTENTS ix
17 Conservation in theory 289
17.1 Introduction 289
17.2 Demographic problems contributing to risk of extinction 289
17.3 Genetic problems contributing to risk of extinction 291
17.4 Effective population size (genetic) 297
17.5 Effective population size (demographic) 298
17.6 How small is too small? 299
17.7 Population viability analysis 300
17.8 Extinction caused by environmental change 305
17.9 Summary 310
18 Conservation in practice 312
18.1 Introduction 312
18.2 How populations go extinct 312
18.3 How to prevent extinction 321
18.4 Rescue and recovery of near extinctions 323
18.5 Conservation in national parks and reserves 324
18.6 Community conservation outside national parks and reserves 332
18.7 International conservation 332
18.8 Summary 334
19 Wildlife harvesting 335
19.1 Introduction 335
19.2 Fixed quota harvesting strategy 335
19.3 Fixed proportion harvesting strategy 341
19.4 Fixed escapement harvesting strategy 344
19.5 Harvesting in practice: recreational 346
19.6 Harvesting in practice: commercial 346
19.7 Age- or sex-biased harvesting 347
19.8 Bioeconomics 347
19.9 Game cropping and the discount rate 352
19.10 Summary 353
20 Wildlife control 355
20.1 Introduction 355
20.2 Definitions 355
20.3 Effects of control 356
20.4 Objectives of control 356
20.5 Determining whether control is appropriate 357
20.6 Methods of control 358
20.7 Summary 364
21 Ecosystem management and conservation 365
21.1 Introduction 365
21.2 Definitions 365
21.3 Gradients of communities 366
21.4 Niches 366
21.5 Food webs and intertrophic interactions 366