Wildlife and Water

1
11
2
Wildlife and Water

• Chapter 11

3
Properties of Water

• Heat capacity
• water absorbs heat w/o corresponding temperature
  increase
• High percentage body weight
• homeotherms (warm-blooded) utilize this
• Universal solvent
• dissolves nutrients for transport
• carries harmful materials in soil
• closed watersheds and salt concentrations

4
Ecological Influences of Water

• Light penetration into water influences
  productivity
• Water erosion impacts landscape and topography
• River channels, oxbows, wetlands, and habitat
• Patterns in rain distribution
• tall vs. short-grass prairie
• Glaciers shaping landscape
• Permafrost
• rain, snow cant seep into frozen soil
• water remains at root zone
• Sedimentation

5
Table 11-1
6
Figure 11-2
7
1996 Grand Canyon Experimental Flood

• 1963 completion of Glen Canyon Dam on Colorado
  River
• formed Lake Powell
• Changed depth, temperature, clarity of water
  flowing through Grand Canyon
• Native fish reproduction and recruitment impaired
  by cold
• habitat increased for trout
• increased predation of trout on humpback chub
• reduced sandbar developed/ backwater habitat
• Eliminated repeated scouring of riparian
  communities
• before had washed away plant invasions
• salt cedar flourished, out competed natives
• Experimental flood sent large volume water
  downstream
• increased sandbars/ backwater habitat

8
Water, Distribution, Isolation

• Distribution impacts geographical distribution
  organisms
• Wallaces Line
• zoo-geographical boundary
• trench in seabed
• effective barrier to faunal dispersal
• Cascade Mountain barrier except gorge Columbia
  River
• Width/velocity of rivers vs. swimming ability
• Wolves reaching Isle Royale on 29 km ice
• Water barriers serving as isolation mechanism
• development of new forms by adaptive radiation
• Darwins finches
• Land barriers to fish

9
Water Wildlife Populations

• Successful breeding limited to water conditions
• precipitation
• wetlands
• nesting habitat
• Drought reduces habitat, carrying capacity of
  waterfowl
• Spring rain and pheasant chick mortality
• Bobwhites reduced with limited rainfall
• pairing, covey breakup, nesting delayed or
  limited
• smaller clutches, high nest abandonment
• females emaciated, die incubating, desiccation
  traps chicks/shells
• larger percentage adults lack broods
• normal 2nd hatching peak in August does not occur

10
Figure 11-4
11
Figure 11-5
12
Physiological Behavioral Responses

• Quails trigger mechanism for breeding dependent
  on rainfall
• reduced vitamin A in dry years limit breeding
• carotene in green foliage (dependent on
  vegetation) A
• CA quail need phytoestrogen-free diet from green
  plants to breed
• Australia fish respond to warm water temperatures
  during flooding to induce breeding
• Australian waterfowl develops directly in
  response to rising water levels, due to gonadal
  development
• perhaps due to massive production of
  invertebrates

13
Figure 11-8
14

• Physiological compatibility (or incompatibility)
  with local rainfall suggests wildlife management
  strategies
• wild turkeys races dependent on rainfall regime
  of some sites
• restore the right race for the rain conditions
• migration of moose with snow depth
• ice is important in breeding of polar species

15
Figure 11-9
16
Water, Disasters, Hard Times

• Aftermaths of flooding, blizzards, storm tides,
  droughts
• tighten harvest regulations following short-term
  calamity
• heavy snow limiting deer
• Snow depths affect interactionso f predators and
  prey
• Coyote predation on pronghorns
• Isle Royale
• moose seek cover on shorelines, wolves run on
  adjacent ice to get them
• Dall sheep young higher mortality in years of
  heavy snowfall
• El Nino
• surges of warm water
• the interruption of upwelling of nutrient rich
  water, plankton, etc.

17
Table 11-3
18
Table 11-4
19
Figure 11-10
20
Figure 11-11
21
Reservoir Effect Management

• Reservoir effect
• impounded water enriched rapidly
• production at all trophic levels increased
  substantially
• system eventually stablizes at lower nutrient
  level
• Reservoir Environments
• ephemeral wetlands, prairie potholes
• river-bottom forests
• Utilization of Reservoir Effect
• drawdown
• deliberate seasonal drying of wetlands
• moist soil vegetation benefit for songbirds,
  shorebirds, waterfowl, mammals

22
Beaver, Water, Wildlife

• Beavers manipulate water
• dams alter water movement
• produce significant changes in local ecosystem
• trees flooded die
• dead trees over habitat for cavity nesters
• light penetrating canopy increased
• impounded water is warmed
• siltation behind dam increased
• nitrogen accumulates
• less diversity of biotic organisms on bottom
• numbers and biomass of organisms overall greater

23

• Beavers impact on waterways
• larger, increased numbers of trout
• dams sometimes prevent obstacles to trout/fish
  movement upstream
• problem if denied spawning habitat
• nesting habitat for waterfowl
• interspersion of cover with water
• composition of cover types
• water depth
• amount and types of food resources
• freedom from human disturbances
• proximity of nesting cover to brood habitat

24

• Beavers a manageable resource
• trapping/pelt prices vary
• fur prices impact beaver population numbers
• dams impact other wildlife
• river otter
• ruffed grouse
• age of beaver ponds important influence on
  waterfowl production
• newer ones used more
• temporary drainage plus seeding can improve
  habitat/food
• beaver dams reduce erosion
• stabilize streamside communities

25

• Alligators Marsh Ecology
• Everglades
• Gator holes overlay natural depression
• gators clear vegetation then move debris to rim,
  forming pool surrounded by a levee
• willows invade
• bald cypress eventually grow on levees
• shade tolerant plants grow underneath
• offers diversity lacking in much of everglades
• many organisms depend on habitat
• breeding
• food
• cover
• gator holes refuges of fresh water during winter
  dry season

26
Figure 11-12
27
Oil, Water, Birds

• Water pollutants
• ag/urban chemicals
• heavy metals
• industrial wastes
• large-scale oil spills
• Torrey Canyon 1967
• Exxon Valdex 1989
• Impact on wildlife of Exxon Valdex
• contaminated shoreline, wildlife refuges, tidal
  estuaries
• seabirds and marine mammals killed
• not all died immediately
• occurred just prior to biologically active
  breeding season

28

• Critical factors of incidents associated with
  high mortality
• location of spill
• time of year
• Bird reactions species specific
• only small percentage survive rehabilitation
  process
• even less survive after release
• Effect of oil on birds in aquatic environments
• loss of insulation when plumage covered with oil
• small amounts render plumage useless
• rapid increases in their metabolic rates to
  overcome heat loss
• experience greatly accelerated starvation
• oil is ingested as birds preen their plumage
• toxic to birds
• combined with environmental stresses
• impacts reproduction

29

• Oiling and bird reproduction
• ceased laying eggs for two weeks
• eggs exposed to oil had 68 less hatching success
• prolonged incubation by birds with oil
• no hatching
• toxic action kills up to 94 embryos within 96
  hours
• Other types oil reaching birds
• oil pits/sumps near oil fields/factories
• waterfowl mistake oil for water
• songbirds killed in summer
• especially dangerous when water is frozen

30
Water Sewage

• Upstream water high in dissolved oxygen DO
• downstream from contamination low oxygen
  dissolved
• Upstream low biological oxygen demand BOD
• downstream high biological demand
• Zone of degradation
• nutrient bloom, then decomposition sucking up
  oxygen
• Zone of Active Decomposition
• higher life forms adapted to sludge and oxygen
  famine
• Recovery zone
• replenishment of DO and reduced BOD
• Recovery
• 8 days of flow, 154 km

31
Figure 11-15 Stream zones
32
Table 11-8
33
Acid Rain/Precipitation

• Combustion of fossil fuels releases particles
  into air
• sulfur dioxide
• nitrogen oxides
• Acids form with they combine with oxygen
• Environmental damage
• impact most apparent in lakes
• limestone bedrock buffers impact in IA
• lime lakes in East
• erodes surface of buildings
• IA pH slightly acidic
• East/West coast much more so

34

• Acid rain components
• lead, cadmium, mercury
• other heavy metals
• slowly eliminated in wildlife (birds and mammals)
• but readily absorbed
• important concept in aquatic food chains
• biomagnification
• components increase in drinking water
• implicated in human disorders
• kidney disease
• Alzheimers
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs
  disease)

35
Figure 11-17
36

• Impact first noticed in fish populations
• reproduction impacted
• egg fertility, hatching, juvenile survival
  limited
• physical deformities
• cease spawning
• eventually lose all age classes of that species
• fewer species
• disrupts diversity of aquatic ecosystem
• stresses natives
• may allow non-natives to prosper
• relation of this to frog mutations in MN???
• May impact migratory behavior of salmon

37
Figure 11-18
38

• Other wildlife impacts
• Amphibian impact
• high mortality of amphibian embryos
• Fish-eating birds impacted
• declines in ospreys
• future breeding efforts/nesting may be fruitless
  if on impacted waters
• Acidity eliminates snails and clams
• source of calcium needed during egg laying
• Invertebrate sensitivity varies
• mayflies sensitive
• environmental indicators
• IoWater utilizes for measuring water quality

39
Water Developments Wildlife

• Uneven distribution of water impacted
  civilization
• wells
• dams and reservoirs
• Cadillac Desert
• irrigation
• wetland reclamation
• wetland mitigation
• channelization
• flooding
• removal of woody vegetation, riparian habitat
• watershed approach
• canals

40

• Water impacts
• prairie potholes
• agricultural conversion/drainage
• swamp buster
• stock ponds
• water developments specifically for wildlife
• guzzlers
• collection basin with cover

41
Summary

• Water distribution not uniform
• Ecological relationships direct/indirect based on
  water
• Precipitation impact on vegetation
• Waterfowl habitat
• Wildlife adaptations
• Reservoir effect
• Manipulating water levels
• Beaver impoundments impacts
• Alligators and Everglade ecology
• Pollution Impacts
• Acid Rain

42
Figure 11-19 pH impacts of Acid Rain
43
Figure 11-3 Wallaces Line