Journal of Applied Ecology 1995 British Ecological Society Abstract 1.

. In this paper we examine the effects of alternative harvesting strategies on the wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) population in Serengeti National Park, Ta nzania, within a Bayesian decision setting. 2. A wildebeest population dynamics model is constructed where mortality and recruitment are driven by environmental conditions. The applicability of the model is explored by fitting it to histori cal abundance data. 3. The uncertainty about the true dynamics of the population is represented by different degrees of rainfall-dependence in the recruitment o f new individuals to the population. The likelihood of alternative recruitment s cenarios is estimated within a Bayesian statistical framework. 4. The implicatio ns of different harvesting strategies for conservation, harvest productivity and harvest variability are evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation of the populat ion dynamics and harvest process. 5. The risk of collapse of the unexploited pop ulation is found to be higher for more rainfall-dependent recruitment scenarios. A clear trade-off exists between maximizing average harvest and minimizing the risk of population collapse. Constant harvest rate exploitation regimes produce similar average harvests to constant quota regimes and at the same time signific antly reduce the risk of collapse. 6. The fastest way to determine the intensity of rainfall-dependence in the recruitment process is to eliminate all exploitat ion. Problem-solving in conservation biology and wildlife management: exercises for c lass, field and laboratory By James P. Gibbs, Malcolm L. Hunter, Eleanor J. Sterling Blackwell Science 1998. Science 14 May 2010: Vol. 328 no. 5980 pp. 903-906 DOI: 10.1126/science.1185802 Report Resource Management Cycles and the Sustainability of Harvested Wildlife Populati ons John M. Fryxell1,*, Craig Packer2, Kevin McCann1, Erling J. Solberg3 and Bernt-Erik Sther4 + Author Affiliations 1Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East , Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada. 2Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 19 87 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. 3Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, N-7485 Trondheim, N orway. 4Centre for Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Realfagbygget, NTNU , 7491 Trondheim, Norway. *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jfryxell@uoguelph.ca Management of stocks that may collapse Abstract Constant harvest policies for fish and wildlife populations can lead to populati on collapse in the face of stochastic variation in population growth rates. Here , we show that weak compensatory response by resource users or managers to chang ing levels of resource abundance can readily induce harvest cycles that accentua

te the risk of catastrophic population collapse. Dynamic system models incorpora ting this mix of feedback predict that cycles or quasi-cycles with decadal perio dicity should commonly occur in harvested wildlife populations, with effort and quotas lagging far behind resources, whereas harvests should exhibit lags of int ermediate length. Empirical data gathered from three hunted populations of white -tailed deer and moose were consistent with these predictions of both underlying behavioral causes and dynamical consequences. Oikos 1998 Nordic Society Oikos 83:397-402 Donald Ludwig Abstract Many natural resource stocks have collapsed under exploitation. There is a need for management methods that are less prone to failure. Here I compare various ma nagement strategies for stocks with complicated stochastic dynamics. The complic ations include "critical depensation" where the stock tends to collapse if broug ht below a critical size, catastrophes where the stock suddenly decreases in siz e, and heavy-tailed distribution of fluctuations in net reproduction. The result s indicate that these complications are all influential in determining the proba bility of early collapse and in determining the expected sum of discounted harve sts of the stock. A strategy involving abrupt changes in harvest size in respons e to fluctuations in the stock abundance produces a lower probability of early c ollapse and a higher expected sum of discounted harvests than other strategies. The American Naturalist 1979 The University of Chicago Press 1979 vol 114 pp 871-883 Robert E. Ulanowicz y W. Michael Kemp. Abstract Steady-state input-output analysis of energy flows in an ecosystem conveniently delineates the discrete steps of energy processing in a given ecosystem. The fra ction of a specific flow between species which results from a given input via an y integral number of transfers can be calculated. The portions of all flows whic h are the same number of steps from any external input may, therefore, be aggreg ated. Furthermore, the mapping which creates these groupings preserves the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The aggregated compartments are "trophic" in the sense that they are ordered according to the number of transfers from an ex ternal input. They do not, however, represent a sequential chain of energy flow in the strict sense. Transfers between compartments which are not nearest neighb ors in the chain are still present. A secondary transformation which decouples t he exchanges between non-neighboring compartments can be effected. In the result ant chain of flows more energy appears to be dissipated in the lower trophic lev els. There is no a priori reason why the second law of thermodynamics should be preserved under the second transformation. A trophic continuum derived from plant structure, animal size and a detritus cas cade S.H. Cousins Journal of Theoretical Biology Volume 82, Issue 4, 21 February 1980, Pages 607 618 Abstract A new model of trophic interactions in large many species ecosystems is presente d. This trophic continuum model is defined by organisms harvesting resources fro m an environment. Animal size classes, a classification of plant products and de tritus initiates the resource descriptions of ecosystems. Strategic trophic mode ls are reviewed. Trophic interactions are Markovian. The Lindeman trophic level concept is criticized for its dependence on the history of energy flow rather th an an assessment of the present resource state. Criteria for a strategic model o f ecosystem energetics are specified as the indivisibility of herbivore and detr itovore chains; the non-equivalence of different trophic transfers; and that the plant is not a single reference point to scale trophic space. Elton's pyramid o f number met these criteria. The trophic continuum model points to closer links

between theories of energy flow, species diversity and ecosystem heterogeneity.