Carrying Capacity - Is it 'Us' versus 'Them'?

[labelwench]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNKvrxVgfns&feature=fvst Eddie Vedder :::: Society

An excellent selection, which I repost with the lyrics.

Thank you, Racecar.

From Into The Wild

Society Lyrics

It's a mystery to me
we have a greed
with which we have agreed

You think you have to want
more than you need
until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
you think you need
and when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'cos when you have more than you think
you need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like it's starting from the top
you can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me

[labelwench]

From the following list of predators of the Snowshoe Hare, I have highlighted in blue, those that are resident throughout most of the Yukon.

As one can immediately observe, the list of 'dinner guests' is quite challenging to the Snowshoe Hare's ability to host this on-going banquet, as nature has decried.

Predators

The snowshoe hare is a major prey item for a number of predators. Major predators include Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), bobcats (L. rufus), fishers (Martes pennanti), American martens (M. americana), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), minks (M. vison), foxes (Vulpes and Urocyon spp.), coyote (Canis latrans), domestic dogs (C. familiaris), mountain lions (Felis concolor),[I] domestic cats, great horned owls [/I](Bubo virginianus), barred owls (Strix varia), spotted owls (S. occidentalis), other owls, red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), other hawks (Buteonidae), golden eagles (Aquila chryseatos), and crows and ravens.[4][12][6] Other predators include northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicaula) and black bears (Ursus americanus).[4] In Glacier National Park snowshoe hares are a prey item of Rocky Mountain wolves (Canis lupus irremotus).[34]

Therefore, it has been granted unto the the hare, the ability to mature quickly and to reproduce efficiently as per the particulars that follow.

Reproduction

Snowshoe hares are born fully furred, open-eyed, and capable of hopping about almost immediately. Such precociousness is characteristic of hares in general, and is in marked contrast to the behaviour of young rabbits, which are born naked and blind. Young snowshoes nurse only once a day, usually in the evening, and are self-supporting at three weeks of age. They weigh about 57 g at birth, gain 0.45 kg within a month, and reach an average adult weight of 1.4 to 1.8 kg at five months. Adult females tend to weigh slightly 57 to 114 g more than adult males.

Reproductive rates of the snowshoe hare vary geographically, being highest in the centre of its range (the three Prairie Provinces) and lower to the north (Alaska) and south (lake states, southern Ontario and Maritime Provinces). Snowshoes normally have four litters a year. However, because Alaskan hares have a maximum of only three litters annually, they produce fewer young, whereas in the southeastern part of the range, litter sizes are smaller.

Studies of snowshoe hare reproduction in Alberta over a 12-year period disclosed that litter size varied from one to nine; first litters of the year averaged only 2.8 young compared with 4.8 in later litters. There were major differences in yearly reproductive rates, with mean numbers of young per female ranging from 8 to 18. These annual differences mainly reflected variation in litter size and number of litters per year. The onset of breeding during any one year was closely synchronized within the hare population, but between one year and the next, breeding began as early as March 25 and as late as April 14. The gestation period for snowshoe hares in the wild was 35 days, with females remating within hours of giving birth. Thus successive litters tended to be born in groups at about 5-week intervals. In years when four litters were conceived, the last young were born from mid- to late August. There are, however, some authenticated records of births in September and even later.

Young snowshoe hares do not usually breed during their first summer, but occasionally a first-litter female will become sexually mature by mid-July and produce a litter in August.

More on the predator relationships to follow.

[labelwench]

The Pine Marten, also known as American Marten, makes it's home throughout much of the Yukon as it tends to favor the mountainous terrain and likes to travel the draws where Spruce intermingles with the Pine.

While their diet is largely the Red-backed Vole and Red Squirrel, during the years of the Snowshoe Hare increase, the hare may comprise up to 40% of it's diet. This species is less affected by the crash in the hare cycle as it is an omnivore and has several alternate prey species to fall back upon, and even consumes a significant amount of vegetable matter and fruit when it is in season.

One of the more interesting items about this species is their reproductive cycle.

Martens are primarily solitary animals, the males, which are polygamous, are particularly pugnacious. The sexes come together only to mate in mid-summer. After the eggs are fertilized, development is arrested for seven to eight months until implantation occurs in late February or early March. Twenty-eight days after this occurs, the female gives birth to one to four blind, deaf, helpless young. This happens in a leaf-lined nests in a hollow tree, or in a cavity amongst rocks. The infants are almost naked, covered only with a thin yellow coat. They moult into a dark brown subadult coat at the end of their third week. Their ears open at 26 days and their eyes at 39 days. They start to crawl when about 46 days of age and are fully weaned at six weeks of age. They learn quickly, becoming fully independent when only three months old. When 15 to 17 months of age, they reach sexually maturity, but most females usually do not produce their first litter until near their third birthday.

Rather slow to mature, this species has been nearly decimated by trapping for it's luxurious pelt, which resembles that of the Sable (Martes zibellina), a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan.

In the Southern Yukon, there have been attempts to re-introduce the species, yet over the years I have only seen marten tracks on rare occasion, and then they were on the move, and did not establish a territory nearby, or I would have observed signs of their presence.

Two reasons come to mind.

Habitat destruction would be the first as there has been great demand for rural residential and agriculture land, and people move in, the wildlife, or most of it, moves out.

The second would pertain to our management of forest fires. By not allowing the Pine forests to follow their natural cycle, the stands are becoming over-mature. The undergrowth has declined in diversity, and with it the number of species that live in the forest, and their numbers have declined also. The martens that have traveled through have found no reason to stay.

May I restate that by not allowing nature to take her course, our well-intentioned management is actually causing a decline in habitat diversity.

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The coyote (Canis latrans) in another predator whose numbers follow the cycle of the Snowshoe Hare, yet because of it's adaptability, these versatile carnivores are not impacted in nearly the same way as the Lynx, for whom relocation or starvation are the primary options.

As with the lynx, the coyote is also a fur-bearer and there are still regions where this animal wears a price on his head, notably in areas where small livestock have become the preferred menu item, bringing this animal into conflict with man. In spite of these efforts, the coyote population remains fairly stable, a tribute to the resourcefulness of this animal.

In the Yukon, coyotes are not under a bounty though they may be trapped by licensed trappers or First Nations people, and they may be live-trapped or shot if they are posing a risk to livestock or people. Although generally non-aggressive toward humans, there have been a few documented cases of hungry coyotes nipping people. Coyotes very quickly become habituated to food sources and the fact that most people are somewhat apprehensive of dogs, and the coyote very much looks like a member of the diverse Alaskan Husky breed, save for his full and brushy tail.



In the early morning a few days ago, I watched an approaching canine saunter toward the public transit buses which were warming up in preparation of departure about seventy yards away. The animal passed within 10 feet of one of the drivers who was visually inspecting his vehicle, and as the distance between the animal and myself shortened, I noted it was a coyote, quite large, and by size and build, I'm thinking it was a male. Bold as you please, he passed three buses and then angled across the road and the empty lot adjacent, avoiding the traffic lights. He was no stranger to town, lol....

More about this interactive predator soon, but for now, here is a song by Ian Tyson, who much admired the persecuted species, and some wonderful images in the video of this talented creature, beloved by some and despised by others.

[labelwench]

Coyotes are quite numerous in the Yukon and have adapted very well to co-habitating with humans. Numerous pets are lost every year to their predations, not surprising as small mammals like cats and rabbits are easy prey for them. Those who raise domestic poultry must put up serious fencing with roofed over outdoor runs as poultry mesh is only a deterrent to poultry and is easily torn asunder by domestic dogs and coyotes.

Our old male cat will run foxes out of the yard but he stays close by the house when we hear coyotes yapping. Coyotes are no danger to the horses save when a foal is newly born and likely to be pannicked into running into a fence. Once the colt has a few weeks of age behind him, he has learned to stay close to his mother and the mare will stomp any coyote that comes too near. The foxes mind the horses also and on more than one occasion I have watched a horse with ears back, hastening a fox out of the enclosure.

Coyotes mate in the spring and their gestation is similar to that of the domestic dog, being 60-63 days. Pairs are observed to remain together for several years and packs tend to be family groups, primarily females, as the males are ousted as they approach sexual maturity. Many nights when driving in to work, I will see coyotes, a single or a pair, crossing the highway as they range in hunt of prey through the urban interface, and there frequently are coyotes on Robert Service Way, which follows the banks of the Yukon River on it's way into downtown Whitehorse.

The following short video shows nursing coyote pups, their emergence from the den, and that they are vocal from an early age.

[labelwench]

The Raven is the territorial bird of the Yukon and figures strongly in the legends and myths of our First Nations people, both in the Yukon and also Coastal B.C., where it is seen on Totems and in traditional art. Raven is a fascinating bird to observe, one that is equally observant of the activities of our species and very adept at cohabitation, though it is a wary bird and not overly easy to photograph.

Late February through early March marks the breeding season of this species, and yesterday, I noted a pair of ravens hanging around the horse corrals. They will be seeking building materials for their nest, and the clever birds have come to know that the hay fed to the horses frequently yields building material in the form of small dry sticks that get baled along with the hay. The horses nose these aside and they are then easy for the Ravens to find and carry to their chosen site. Ravens will reuse nests from year to year but new pairs must first build their own unless an unoccupied nest comes available, and both birds share in the building.

The Ravens also seek the shed hair from the horses for lining for their nest and I have seen them scooping large clumps into their beaks, that have come from my brushing of the horses. They will be disappointed this year in that the cold weather is delaying the start of this process. The coats of the horses are not yet slipping in the least, and I find such indicators to be far more accurate predictors of weather than any yielded by the forecasting stations.

Ravens are primarily scavengers, preferring a diet of protein, but they are incredibly adaptable in times of scarcity and will pick through the horse droppings for whole grain undigested, search through compost piles, scatter the household trash of the unwary and raid the feed dishes of sled dogs. They frequently congregate in large social groups of 100 or more and it is quite a sight to see so many large, black birds hanging out on the snow piles created by the plowing of the parking lot at the local mall. The local landfill is also a location where one may witness large numbers of Ravens performing aerial display, socializing and scavenging, as electric fencing may deter bears and canines, but is no barrier for the birds.

It is likely that our relationship with the Raven goes back into antiquity, as there are artifacts depicting Raven in various mythologies across numerous continents.

[labelwench]

The image I have used is not one of my own horses, yet I have selected it as one that conveys a sense of similar terrain and lighting in the experiencing of extreme cold, which horses are quite able to tolerate, if they are in good health and receive a bit of assistance, at these latitudes.

Access to sufficient calories and hydration, plus a bit of natural shelter to prevent losing more heat energy than digestion can provide, will usually suffice.

The forecast this day is for our temperature to rise to near -5F and drop like a rock to -30F overnight. Such rebounds cause weather stress for plants, animals and humans and have been the hallmark of our last few winters, with this one being the most erratic in my memory.

The fox had been all over the yard in the early morning hours, looking for mice in the hay sheds and digging tidbits out of the compost pile. There were seven Ravens hanging about the horse corrals, seeking undigested grain in the droppings.

The horses had cleaned up all of their hay, though I had put out extra and the temperature had remained constant overnight. They would be thirsty, then, as well, needing extra moisture to properly digest the hay, so I made time to carry an additional run of warm water before flashing up the truck for work at the office.

By all indications of the activity of the animals, the weather forecast was accurate, as the creatures were taking advantage of this window of opportunity to stoke up for a week of coming cold in the forecast.

The longer hours of daylight might give one the visual impression of spring pending, yet the harsh reality of the air temperature told the truth of the matter.

[labelwench]

Carried forward from my original post.

In starting this thread, it is my desire to further explore the changes which human habitation has brought to the Yukon and I also invite others to participate with their experiences from their own regions of the globe.

My suggestion is that our expanding populations and proprietary interests are having effects on the carrying capacity of most habitats and that we may indeed be forcing an 'us or them' circumstance upon many populations of species that held tenure prior to our arrival and interventions.

The exploration is intended to be one of observation and not judgment.

That role, I suggest, is best left to Nature.

Our species has an inordinate need for recreation, and many people enjoy outdoor recreation. Technology has also enabled the proliferation of outdoor 'toys' for us to go farther into the back-country in pursuit of this recreation, by means of off-road motorcycles, ATV's, snowmachines in winter and by boat along the many waterways.

The effect of this increase in activity has been a disturbance of wildlife habitat and the natural activities of many animals. I observe that some adaptive species, such as squirrels, foxes, coyotes and bears are learning to adapt to human activity, and conflicts with critters abound as squirrels take up residence in attics, foxes and coyotes stalk pets, and bears start hanging around any potential source of food, including landfills, campgrounds and backyard BBQ's.

We had a grizzly strolling one of the streets in a downtown subdivision this summer. A resident called 911 and was advised to call the conservation officers.

Apparently, the 911 service was not designed to deal with bears.