Population ecology is a significant part of conservation biology and the management of wildlife of any region. It is helpful in development of population viability analysis (PVA)which makes it possible to detect the long-term probability of a species that is persisting in a particular habitat patch. It also tells us about the factors affecting population and how and why a population changes over time. It helps in understanding, explaining and predicting species distribution and requirements, that is why a particular species inhabits a particular geographic range and why can’t they establish beyond their range limits.
Why the home range of some species is restricted to a smaller area while others occupy a large area. Understanding all this is very important for management of any wildlife population whether flora or fauna within any protected area or even establishing one. Precise population estimates are essential for making sound inferences about population trends over time and for effective management interventions (Noss et al. 2012).
So how exactly is population ecology useful?
Proper knowledge of the age structure of the population helps in determining whether the population is stable, rapidly increasing or declining which is further implied into our management aspects and models. Variation in spatial and temporal age structure is a very important aspect for population dynamics and conservation, one such work has been done in endangered snail kites by Reichert, Kendall, Robert J.F Etcher Jr., Witey M. Kitchens. Reduced proportion of younger individuals can alter population growth rate, potentially increasing risks of short-term local extinctions.
The significance of demographic studies can be drawn from “IMPORTANCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEYS AND PUBLIC LANDS FOR CONSERVATION OF EASTERN Helbenders cryptobranchus in S.E. USA BY MICHAEL J. FREAKE AND CHRISTOPHER S.DE PERNO.” Here comparisons of recent and historic population demography have identified significant population declines and extirpations associated with habitat destruction, poor water quality and disease.
Population Ecology helps with species managment
Evaluation of the near threatened species population status and their habitat attributes at the local level is crucial for planning a conservation strategy to maintain viable populations. Understanding this heterogeneity provides the more precise estimates needed to monitor populations and changes in abundance which is a criteria for species management in an area. James D. Nichols in his journal article Science, Population and Management of American Black Duck has quite clearly cited the importance of population ecology studies in relation to effect of hunting pressure on population of Black duck.
For proper management the number of individuals of that species which can be supported by a habitat, while sustaining a specified but not progressively increasing level of impact on habitat resources; i.e.; the carrying capacity has to be estimated for that area. The use of survivorship curves to visualize how the number of individuals in a population drops off with time, study of migration patterns and dispersal types in birds and mammals respectively, is also required for managing and assessing wildlife. Wildlife management aims to halt the loss in earth’s biodiversity by taking into consideration principles such as ecological distribution, succession, prey-predator relationships.
The Predator-Prey Relationship
The prey-predator balance is an importance factor and directly influences the management of any ecosystem. For example, in the absence of wolves, the number of deer can rapidly increase exceeding the carrying capacity of that habitat. This leads to a sudden decline in herbivore population and even local extinctions. It is for this reason, the UK is planning to reintroduce wolves. This is particularly after the success of wolf reintroductions in Yellowstone National Park.
Studying species distribution pattern on a large scale, like bird wildlife corridors and migration types and small-scale patterns, like –clumped distribution(tiger), regular or uniform distribution (burrows of great gerbils), and random distribution pattern (dandelion seeds). Species presence/absence models, dispersal/migration models, distribution models and abundance models and density estimation is to be done for an elusive management.
As suggested by S COOKE Population ecology studies the ethological structure of populations. The structure reflects the nature of population’s organization and is expressed by various association of individuals such as families, flocks, herds and colonies among animals, colonies among microbe, lower plants and clumps of grasses and trees. These associations ensure propagation, systematic use of territory and its resources, mutual help and protection against enemies and unfavorable conditions.
Life Tables
Differences in life history strategies, which include an organism’s allocation of its time and resources to reproduction and care of offspring, greatly affect population dynamics. populations in which individuals reproduce at an early age have the potential to grow much faster than populations in which individuals reproduce later. The effect of the age of first reproduction on population growth can be seen in the life tables for a particular species. Life tables were originally developed by insurance companies to provide a means of determining how long a person of a particular age could be expected to live.). Life tables are designed to evaluate how these rates influence the overall growth rate of a population.
These are clear aspects why one has to deal with population ecology for management of wildlife in any given conditions. Successful monitoring of population over long time periods ensures effective wildlife management (Gibbs, Snell, Causton, Journal of wildlife,1999).For successful monitoring all the dimensions of population ecology of the species concerned and phenomenon of changes have to understood prior.
What should effective conservation measures include?
- framed by well articulated objectives that are closely linked to management goals.
- measuring a subset of informative indicators with sampling methods that permit unbiased and statistically powerful results while minimizing costs and logistical problems.
- Ensuring program continuity despite vagaries of change in personnel technology, and program objectives.
- Quickly making appropriate analyzed accessible information to the wide audience particularly policymakers.
Conclusion
For this all, the parameters of the species concerned has to be studied and recorded and then only a proper management can be done. Wildlife population management refers to any strategy that seeks to maintain a target population at a level that can be supported by the ecosystem. This can involve protecting a threatened population from declining further in numbers, or even re-stocking a population. Conversely, when the numbers of a target population have become too great to be sustained by the food or territory available, then predators can be introduced, or a human-mediated cull can be done. Culls have also been done when an infectious disease is present in a population; the deliberate killing of the infected animals can help protect other members of the population as well as other species in the same habitat, the management strategies focus on the habitats of the species of concern.
Written by: Shreya Pandey
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