Lecture 24 Flashcards
What are some of the leading causes of bird death in Canada (9 total)?
- Cats
- Power lines, wind turbines
- Collisions w/buildings
- Collisions w/vehicles
- Hunting
- Agricultural Pesticides
- Agricultural Harvesting
- Commercial Forestry
- Communication Towers
These animals are negatively affected by habitat loss/fragmentation (4):
- Scarlet Tanager
- Wood Thrush
- Eastern Wolf
- Shrikes (low-flying; could get hit by cars)
These animals benefit from habitat fragmentation (i.e. less forest) (3):
- Coyote
- White-tailed Deer
- Brown-headed Cowbird
How do ravens benefit from paved roads?
- More roadkill to eat
Examples of habitat degradation (2):
- Plastics in the ocean/on land
- Eutrophication of waterways - excess algae growth due to increase in nutrients coming in
What is botulism?
Illness caused by a bacteria - can be fatal
Asian Carp in ON
- Introduced to control algae/catfish in the US, but spread via floodwaters
- Disrupt food chain and push out native fish
- population grows rapidly; difficult to control
Name 3 invasive species in ON:
- Asian Carp
- Japanese Beetle
- Crown Vetch
Although this caterpillar eats Crown Vetch, it’s not enough to decrease the plant’s population:
Wild Indigo Duskywing caterpillars
What is White Nose Syndrome?
Fungal disease that affects bats
T/F: European bats are better adapted to dealing w/White Nose Syndrome than bats in N. America
True
How does White Nose Syndrome affect bats?
- Fungus grows on skin tissues
- Repeatedly wakes them from hibernation, so thy consume winter fat stores
- Bats starve to death
Name two animals that are negatively impacted by climate change (and how)
- Canada Jays; winter food caches spoil
- Freeze-tolerant frogs; warm up while dormant and use up the glycogen needed to lay eggs - repeated warming can kill them
Name two animals that benefit from climate change (and how)
Red-bellied woodpecker + giant swallowtail; both have expanded northward
Name two factors that have led to increases in the populations of double-breasted cormorants + peregrine falcons:
- less DDT in environment
- reintroduction program
Name two other birds (not cormorant or peregrine) that have rebounded due to less DDT use:
- Merlin (a small falcon)
- Bald eagle
What (or rather, who) was one reason for the decline in the populations of birds of prey?
Jack Miner
What are some ways in which humans negatively affected some animal populations?
- Poisoning of eagles, ravens
- Wolves were shot/snared
- Deer carcasses were laced with strychnine and eaten by other animals
