Week 2 Discussion Ecological & Perceptual Traps: Insights into Management of Exotic Species?

Introduction

In this week’s discussion you will explore ideas on how habitat selection can lead to species’ restoration challenges such as ecological or perceptual traps. Habitat management is a primary tool for managing populations. Understanding the process of habitat selection and the implications for actions that modify habitat are important for successful management.

Last week you discussed the myriad of ecological concepts that might be applied to wildlife management, with a more detailed focus on the habitat concept. This week’s discussion starts to focus on habitat-based concepts and ideas that are directly relevant to the applied ecology that wildlife managers practice. As discussed in the Week 1 Video Lecture, wildlife managers typically view management as focused on increasing or decreasing populations or sustaining populations at their current level. Both of this week’s readings focus on the increasing restoration goals and the challenges that animal behavior, habitat selection, pose for managers. 

Initial Post

Due Date: 3 AM ET, Thursday

Utilize the Hale and Swearer (2017) and Stadtmann and Seddon (2020) readings as well as other materials to inform your responses to the prompts.

Placing yourself in the role of a wildlife manager, provide your thoughts on how the ideas in Stadtmann and Seddon (2020) and Hale and Swearer (2017) inform the establishment (intentional or unintentional) of exotic species and how you might manage an exotic species of wildlife (i.e., a species not historically found in the area). Your answer should draw from both papers as well as utilize examples from other literature (provide at least one additional citation to justify your stance).

Responses

Due Date: 3 AM ET, Monday

Respond to a minimum of three of your peers. In your response, you should rely on additional sources and address the response prompts. Be sure to follow up on any responses to your comments.

• Provide your perspective on your peer’s thoughts on application of the ecological/perceptual trap concepts to exotic species management. How is their understanding of the role of habitat selection in species establishment/re-establishment different or similar to your own?