FOREST ANIMALS 



In the field of habitat research, 

 progress has also been made in im- 

 proving sampling methods. Low- 

 level, large-scale photography offers 

 excellent opportunities for improving 

 the analysis of wildlife habitat. 



Modeling — Mathematical model- 

 ing has already shown some value 

 and will undoubtedly be useful in 

 clarifying many animal-habitat rela- 

 tionships. Theoretical formulation of 

 data in forest animal ecology has been 

 relatively slow in developing, how- 

 ever. The lack of suitable quantita- 

 tive input has been one deterrent; 

 another has been the slow develop- 

 ment of modeling techniques. 



Needed Scientific Activity 



Habitat Research — The single 

 most essential need in forest wildlife 

 ecology is to relate or link the animal 

 to its habitat in detail. Although con- 

 siderable data are available, the link- 

 ages are still far from clear. For 

 example, what is the relationship 

 between food availability and con- 

 sumption, or between tree cover and 

 energetics. Specifics are needed on 

 the interaction of animals with abiotic 

 environmental factors as well. 



Answers to such questions will re- 

 quire both additional field studies and 

 the use of mathematical models that 

 can in turn be tested for accuracy by 

 field investigation. They will also re- 

 quire greater interest on the part of 

 researchers themselves. In the Lake 

 States, for example, despite the great 

 importance of forest wildlife to the 

 recreation industry as well as to the 



health of the forest ecosystem, very 

 few individuals are engaged in forest- 

 habitat research. 



With suitable additional input, con- 

 siderable advances could probably be 

 made within fifteen years in the link- 

 ing of animal to habitat components 

 - both food and shelter. Steady 

 progress toward this end is highly de- 

 sirable. Population stress and its un- 

 derlying causes is another area of 

 work that deserves attention. The 

 study of animals as disease vectors, 

 although not a major problem area, 

 should be continued. 



Public Understanding — Despite re- 

 maining gaps in scientific understand- 

 ing, present knowledge of the ecology 

 of the larger forest animals probably 

 exceeds the ability of the land man- 

 ager to use this information. Today's 

 land manager is restricted by lack of 

 popular acceptance of the basic prin- 

 ciples of population dynamics and 

 habitat. Like religion and politics, 

 questions having to do with length of 

 hunting season, bag limits, and status 

 of animal and bird populations are 

 not easily settled; nor are they always 

 discussed rationally. 



For example, it is difficult to con- 

 vince the public that changes in habi- 

 tat and weather are usually much 

 more effective in population control 

 than is the two-legged predator. 

 Thus, controversy always surrounds 

 the question of whether or not female 

 white-tail deer should be hunted. 

 And yet the known reproductive 

 cycle of the white-tail, its responses 

 to weather conditions, the effect of 

 severe winters on reproduction, and 

 the normally high replacement rate 



all indicate that it is virtual! 

 sible to exterminate deer save on a 

 very local basis. Other fallacies in- 

 clude (a) the idea that it is possible 

 to "stockpile" populations of ruffed 

 grouse by closing the season one year 

 and thus have more birds the next, 

 and (b) the concept of predator con- 

 trol by bounty. 



Perhaps for these reasons, the 

 Great Lakes Deer Group several years 

 ago listed public understanding as 

 among the most important of its 

 problems; the group recommended 

 motivational research to find out 

 what creates public attitudes toward 

 agency programs, a study that should 

 include the sociology and psychology 

 of deer-hunting and other factors re- 

 garding the deer herd. In general, 

 the most controversy results from a 

 lack of understanding by a major 

 segment of the public of the ecologi- 

 cal requirements for animal devel- 

 opment and of animal population 

 dynamics. 



One may say with reason that there 

 are no strictly scientific controversies 

 in forest animal ecology, although 

 there is some disagreement as to the 

 relative impact of habitat and preda- 

 tors on populations of certain game 

 animals (specifically, the moose at 

 Isle Royale) and on deer in the Middle 

 West and elsewhere. The scientific 

 base of understanding is far from 

 complete, however, and as gaps in 

 knowledge of the animal, of animal 

 use of the forest, and of forest growth 

 are filled and the information con- 

 veyed to the public, scientific manage- 

 ment of forest animals may become 

 feasible. 



Wilderness as a Dynamic Ecosystem, with Reference to 

 Isle Royale National Park 



The major problem of the status of 

 man on earth can be approached in 

 some degree through studies of other 

 living things to assess the influences 



of density factors, behavioral homol- 

 ogies, population dynamics, and other 

 phenomena common to many species. 

 Research in these plant-animal com- 



munities must produce a better under- 

 standing of natural dynamics and life 

 renewal in native types of forest, 

 range, wetland, and aquatic habitats. 



303 



