Wildlife Population Ecology

Population biology is central to the discipline of wildlife management and conservation. Effective management of wildlife populations requires a thorough understanding of ecological principles and detailed knowledge of the population under consideration. This book is designed to introduce the reader to the array of factors that may influence the size or composition of bird and mammal populations. The collection is organized into two parts. The first, "Characteristics of Wildlife Populations," examines the processes that produce numerical changes in populations—natality, mortality, and movements—and investigates their consequences—age and sex composition, growth and fluctuation. The second part, "Factors Affecting Population Characteristics," examines the biotic and abiotic factors that may affect the size and composition of wildlife populations through their influence on rates of reproduction, mortality, and movements. These factors include weather, predation, exploitation, interspecific and intraspecific competition for resources, behavior, and physiological stress.