Importance of Wildlife Conservation

Exercise No. 1
Introduction:
Wildlife conservation is the use and management of animals and plants by and for man. It is
important in maintaining ecological balance and or providing mans basic needs.
The term wildlife covers four scopes. Form its broadest narrowest sense, wildlife refers to the
living components, both plants and animals, which may be found in any type of ecosystem especially in
forest ecosystem. It could only comprise the animal components of ecosystem or include the vertebrates
or animals with backbones, and its narrowest meaning, it includes only the game animal such as birds and
mammals
This unit aims to develop awareness in the student of the meaning and importance of wildlife in
their lives in terms of recreational endeavor, aesthetic sense, ecological and economic benefits thereby
developing a sense of responsibility for its conservation.
Objectives:
1. Enumerate the usefulness of wildlife in supplying mans economic, social spiritual, and
environmental needs.
2. Identify and discuss factors that influence migration, especially that of birds. Give examples of
migratory birds.
Methodology:
Visit the library and search for influences of wildlife in supplying mans economic, social,
environmental and spiritual needs. Conduct interview to the nearby communities or forest occupants to
augment or support your answers.
Questions:
1. What is the economic, social, spiritual and environmental, importance of wildlife?
Answer:
Benefits to Social
*Wildlife and nature have largely been associated with humans for numerous emotional and social
reasons. A simple stroll around the park amidst some birds provides a fresh breath of life and charges our
batteries. Apart from a bird feeder in the backyard, we can also take up other active pastimes, such as
hiking, hunting, canoeing or wildlife photographing to relieve our parched nerves. Since prehistoric times,
animals have been highly useful to us in providing food, clothing and source of income.
Benefits To Spiritual and Environmental
*Wildlife plays an essential role in the ecological and biological processes that are yet again significant to
life. The normal functioning of the biosphere depends on endless interactions amongst animals, plants,
and microorganisms. This, in turn, maintains and enhances human life further. To add on, these ecological
processes are vital for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and other endeavors that support human life. Besides,
there are several biological processes wherein wildlife plays a key role, such as pollinization,
germination, seed dispersal, soil generation, nutrient cycling, predation, habitat maintenance, waste
breakdown, and pest control.

Benefits to Economics
*Studies indicate that woodpeckers are capable of destroying 90% of codling moth larvae residing under
the bark of trees. This shows the significance of wildlife and wildlife habitat for preserving genetic
diversity. Hence, places where agriculture, forests, and fisheries depend on crops or stocks can ensure that
such living resources are enough to withstand the ever-increasing list of threats. Further, in medicine,
development of new drugs and treatments are largely dependent on wildlife and wildlife habitat.
Interestingly, most pharmaceutical products are a result of discovering or developing wildlife species and
not discoveries through the traditional chemistry principles. Today, most medicinal remedies contain at
least one ingredient derived from a wild plant or animal.
*Forest has been of great importance to mankind since prehistoric days. 60% of the earth once covered
with forest. With the development of civilization, large areas have been cleared to make way for farms,
mines, towns and roads. Today about 30% of earth is still forested.
*The economic value of forests, supply many products like wood from trees as lumber, plywood and fuel
wood or charcoal. Timber is used in furniture making, building houses, ships and railway sleepers. Pulp
and paper are made from the cellulose of trees. Processed wood products include cellophane, plastics,
synthetic fibers like rayon and nylon. Latex from trees such as the rubber tree goes to make tyres, tunes
and a wide range of rubber goods.
2. What are the factors that influence migration, especially that of birds? Give examples of
migratory birds.
Answer:
1. Temperature increases
* Several studies have shown that birds are migrating to their breeding grounds earlier in recent
years, largely due to increases in average global temperatures.
2. Greenhouse Gas increases
*Greenhouse gases include water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide. Their release into the
atmosphere is an affront to migratory birds in several ways. The gases have multiple, complex,
intertwined effects on birds, largely due to the complexity of the ecosystems of which birds are a part.
3. Pesticides
*A 2006 study by Braser, Collier, and Pitsos documented that pigeons given
various pesticides before flying took significantly longer to complete a specific trained route than their
non-dosed counterparts. Slower flying time is not the only documented effect of pesticides on birds.
Additionally, occasional confusion, disorientation in flying route, or refusal to eat has been noted on birds
that have significant levels of a wide variety of pesticides in their systems. This is important data to
apply to migratory bird populations because orientation and flying time are two extremely important
elements of a bird's journey. First of all, a bird needs to remain with the flock for safety, and needs to
travel in the right direction in order to reach the proper breeding or wintering area. Secondly, a bird that
takes too long is vulnerable to decreased food supplies or becoming further disoriented, or not arriving in
time to breed or rest sufficiently.

4. Problems at stopover sites

* An illustrative example of a problem associated with a stopover site is the Red Knot bird. The
Red Know makes an annual journey from the Canadian Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, covering two
continents. One of their most important stopover sites is the Delaware Bay (which, in addition to the Bay
of Fundy, is one of the most important stopover sites for all Nearctic-Neotropical birds). Flying is
obviously an exhausting process, and two of the main purposes of stopover sites are feeding and resting
(albeit briefly). birds will often double their weight in a day at a site, gaining up to 50% body fat to
prepare them for the next long leg of their journey. The Red Know feeds largely on horeshoe crabs.
Horeshoe crabs are used as bait for commercial fishing industries. their population has decreased
significantly in recent years. As a result, the Red Knot has less to eat, and an astonishing decrease in their
total population implies a link between the two: in 1989, there 100,000 Red Knots, and in 2006, there
were just 17,200
5. Deforestation/increased agriculture
*Destruction of forests habitats inhabited by birds is not just an issue in wintering sites, as might
be thought. Breeding grounds in Northern areas are also being affected. Kirby et al notes that "forest
fragmentation" in breeding areas has a significant effect on population size. This has to do with both
decrease in total forest area and the breaking up of forests in non-contiguous parts. Urban and suburban
areas in the middle of important forests can disrupt the life and patterns of birds. Additionally,
deforestation is widely documented in tropical areas that many migrants call home for the winter months.
The exact effect that this loss of forest area has on migratory birds has not been clearly documented,
possibly because of the necessary long-term nature of migratory bird studies and the fairly recent onset of
climate change. Regardless, most scientists seems to project that there will be a future negative impact on
birds. The map below shows the extent of deforestation around the world. Red areas represent forest
losses, light green areas represent current forest cover, and dark green areas represent forest gains.
Examples of migratory birds in Philippines
*Lowland White-eye, Zosterops meyeni
La Mesa Ecopark, Quezon City,Metro Manila, Luzon, Philippines

* Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus leucogenis

Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Luzon, Philippines
Coron, Busuanga Island, Palawan, Philippines

* Oriental Cuckoo

* Grey Streaked Flycatcher

3. What are the possible effects of unbalance predator-prey relationship like the rat
infestation to rice plantations in Central Luzon and Cotabato and locust infestations to agricultural
crops in Mindanao?
Answer:
* Rat damage in the rice crop is easily observed where a large number of the tillers are cut, but it
can go unnoticed when damage is low. In rice nurseries, rats simply chop down the young seedlings and
also feed on the endosperm. Rats will feed on the freshly sown seeds as well as on pre-germinated grains.
In severe cases, nurseries have had to be re-sown.
At the maximum to booting stages of the rice plant, the tillers are gnawed near the base, and the heart of
the developing buds and heads are eaten. In the late flowering and grain-filling stages, rats make oblique
cuts (usually 60 on the rice stalks carrying the inflorescence). After severe rat damage, only the border
plants are left and this is often referred to as the 'stadium' effect. Under very high rat infestation and
depredation all the rice plants are attacked and the crop is totally destroyed.
4. What are the activities of man that can deplete or destroy wildlife?
Answer:
*Deforestation
*Lack of information and knowledge of people
*Lack of support from the local government in preservation
*Poverty and desperation
*Habitat encroachment, destruction or deforestation, due to logging, draining wetlands for planting,
construction of roadways, housing, and industrialization.
*Lack of education concerning the value of endangered or threatened species for tourism and the
ecosystems futures as a whole.
*Pollution in many forms, raw sewage, and toxins dumped into rivers, including every day, and
dangerous debris disposal mishandled
*Introduction of exotic or foreign species into an enclosed environment.
*Destruction of their natural habitats
Group Members
Lester Pater
Sanchi Frendzil