PEI Envirothon - Wildlife and Habitats

Learning Expectations and Outcomes: Wildlife and Habitats:

Wildlife Management Concepts

Wildlife Management

The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources offers an excellent home study course on a number of forestry and wildlife topics in their Woodlot Management Program*. We recommend that Envirothon students with an interest in Wildlife refer to:

Module #4 - Woodlots & Wildlife
Module #7 - Woodlot Ecology

NOTE: * You must register (free-of-charge) to access these materials.

The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Program has develop some simple, user-friendly Wildlife Enhancement Information fact sheets pertinent to Island forests.

Island Species: Habitat and Survival Needs

Common Wildlife Species on Prince Edward Island includes information on various plant and animal species, aquatic species, nuisance species, and common wildlife diseases. Students should be able to identify basic needs for selected Island species and some of the reasons why a certain species' habitat requirements might change over time. Click here for a complete list of PEI Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles.

The Canadian Wildlife Service has detailed information for many of these species available at Hinterland. Follow the "Species" links at the top of the page for applicable Island species. Students should also be familiar with field guides and keys to help them identify wildlife species. Most school libraries have reference guides suited to PEI.

While you may not always see wildlife, often you can find tracks and other evidence that they are using the site. Visit Tracking Animals for basic tracking tips. You can also use Tracking Down Winter Wildlife to identify tracks in the snow.

Adaptation and Carrying Capacity

Adaptable (generalized) Species and Non-adaptable (specialized) Species describes some specific wildlife adaptations and their significance to the species and its ecosystem.

Carrying Capacity describes how it affects population size. Students should be able to employ the concept of "carrying capacity" with reference to two or more Island species.

Definitions and Concepts

Visit How Animals and Wildlife are Classified to learn more about taxonomy.

Ecological Succession includes descriptions of how succession occurs in a more or less orderly fashion and explores some of the implications of human impacts on ecological succession patterns. The site also explores how changes in climate, topography, or land use might modify the process of succession.

Visit this site for definitions of Common Wildlife Management Terms you may find in other resources listed on this page or on supplemental reading materials.

Predation and Parasitism describes how the population size of a predator can be linked to that of its prey, using specific Prince Edward Island examples.

Consumptive Uses: Hunting and Trapping

The Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division oversees hunter education and training programs, licensing, habitat and species management programs and other activities related to hunting and trapping on P.E.I. - see Buy a Hunting Licence Online and Trapping Information Centre.

Non-governmental groups such as Ducks Unlimited and the Atlantic Salmon Federation work with governments, industry and land owners to encourage habitat conservation and management.

Habitat Loss and Restoration

Threatened and Endangered Species defines the terms rare, threatened, and endangered with respect to wildlife, identifies some rare, threatened and endangered species, and the measures used to protect them.

Climate Change: Wildlands and Wildlife (14 minute video)

Ecological Impacts of Beavers and Their Ability to Modify Ecosystems

Farming and Wildlife

- What types of farms have wildlife habitat
- How do farmers benefit from wildlife?
- What farm practices benefit wildlife?