CORE Wildlife Conservation 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, who owns wildlife in the United States?
- The landowner on whose property the animal is found
- The federal government exclusively
- The public, held in trust by state and federal governments (Correct answer)
- Wildlife belongs to no one and can be freely taken
Correct answer: The public, held in trust by state and federal governments
The Public Trust Doctrine, a pillar of the North American Model, establishes that wildlife is owned by the public and managed by state and federal governments on their behalf.
Question 2: What is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)?
- A federal program paying farmers to convert marginal cropland to wildlife habitat (Correct answer)
- A state hunting license fund that supports habitat restoration
- A program that relocates endangered species to private lands
- A certification for landowners who manage for trophy game animals
Correct answer: A federal program paying farmers to convert marginal cropland to wildlife habitat
The CRP is a federal voluntary program that compensates farmers for retiring environmentally sensitive cropland from production and establishing native vegetation for conservation benefits.
Question 3: Which condition indicates a deer population has exceeded its habitat's carrying capacity?
- High reproductive rates and healthy body weights
- Widespread overbrowsing of vegetation and declining average body weights (Correct answer)
- Increased predator populations in the same area
- Expanding geographic range into new territories
Correct answer: Widespread overbrowsing of vegetation and declining average body weights
When deer exceed carrying capacity, vegetation becomes overbrowsed, forage quality declines, and animals show reduced body condition and reproductive success.
Question 4: What is 'genetic drift' and why does it concern wildlife conservationists?
- The gradual range shift of species due to climate change
- Random changes in gene frequencies in small populations that can reduce genetic diversity (Correct answer)
- The spread of domesticated animal genes into wild populations
- The intentional selective breeding of captive wildlife
Correct answer: Random changes in gene frequencies in small populations that can reduce genetic diversity
Genetic drift causes random loss of genetic variation in small, isolated populations, reducing their ability to adapt to disease, environmental change, and other stressors.
Question 5: What is the primary goal of a species recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act?
- To remove the species from the endangered or threatened list by restoring self-sustaining populations (Correct answer)
- To prevent hunting of the species in all U.S. states
- To relocate the species to zoos for permanent protection
- To compensate landowners for habitat restrictions
Correct answer: To remove the species from the endangered or threatened list by restoring self-sustaining populations
Recovery plans under the ESA outline specific actions and measurable criteria needed to restore a species' population to the point where it no longer needs ESA protections.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of an ex-situ conservation strategy?
- Establishing a national wildlife refuge
- Breeding endangered species in a zoo for future reintroduction (Correct answer)
- Creating wildlife corridors between forest fragments
- Protecting a watershed from logging
Correct answer: Breeding endangered species in a zoo for future reintroduction
Ex-situ conservation involves protecting species outside their natural habitat, such as captive breeding programs in zoos that aim to reintroduce animals to the wild.
Question 7: How does chronic wasting disease (CWD) spread among deer and elk populations?
- Through insect vectors like mosquitoes and ticks
- Through direct contact and environmental contamination with infectious prions (Correct answer)
- Through contaminated water sources only
- Through predator-prey interactions
Correct answer: Through direct contact and environmental contamination with infectious prions
CWD spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact and through prions shed into the environment via saliva, urine, and feces, which can remain infectious in soil for years.
CORE Wildlife Conservation 4
Under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, who owns wildlife in the United States?