WILDLIFE SECTION   Wildlife section 

 

 

 

WILDLIFE SECTION   Wildlife section 

 

Wildlife Study Guide - Updated September 2008

 

This section of the contest will focus on wildlife species and their associated habitats.  Wildlife is defined as any wild, non-domestic animal including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and spiders that live year-round or migrate through Arkansas.  Only Arkansas wildlife species and habitats will be examined for the Envirothon.

 

New in 2006:  The study objectives and materials have been updated to closely align with the wildlife section of the national Canon Envirothon. http://www.envirothon.org/wildlifeCurriculum.pdf

 

Study Objectives

 

In preparation for the district and state contests, contestants should:

1) Identify wildlife species present in Arkansas by their common name using pictures, video, skulls, fur, tracks, vocalizations, or the live animal. (You do NOT need to know their Latin scientific names for genus and species.)            

2) Know and compare the characteristics, behaviors, and adaptations of wildlife species.

3) Know the habitat requirements each species needs for survival.

4) Define basic wildlife management concepts and terms (e.g., food web, food chain, featured species, plant succession, carrying capacity, limiting factors, predator-prey relationships).

5) Evaluate a given habitat and its suitability for specific species using aerial photos, maps, written descriptions of habitat, or other means.

6) Identify, describe, and apply wildlife management practices that (a) benefit wildlife or (b) prevent damage to crops, buildings, landscaping, etc.

7) Identify and describe major factors affecting threatened and endangered species and methods used to improve the populations of these species. 

8) Identify appropriate actions to take when encountering potentially dangerous wildlife.   

9) Describe the potential impact of the introduction of non-native wildlife and plant species.

 

Wildlife Contest Parameters

 

Test questions for the wildlife portion of the Envirothon will be developed from the Study Guide.  The objective number(s) should assist the student in relating the resource materials to the testable objective.  For example, the study materials for “Black Bear” should help the student identify the species (Objective #1), know the habitat (Objective #3), and identify appropriate actions when encountered (Objective #8).  

 

The Study Guide lists the basic information that students should know.  To help students, the contest will focus only on the resources and list of study species provided.  Note that these resources and species may change from year to year.  The contest will also have a few advanced questions in which students will need to apply the content to a particular situation, scenario, or site. 

 

Resources from other states may contain state-specific information that does not apply to Arkansas. Such information will NOT be tested.  For example, the exam will NOT ask how many white-tailed deer are in Alabama.

 

Study Guide

 

Objectives 1, 2, & 3:  Wildlife Species 

Wildlife identification & habitats: 

National Wildlife Federation, http://www.enature.com

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology’s Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html

 

Tracks:  Missouri Department of Conservation, http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/autogrph/

 

Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/)

Birds of Prey           Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Broad-Winged Hawk, Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Osprey. Mississippi Kite

                   Barn Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl

Backyard Birds        Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Dark-Eyed Junco, Purple Finch, House Finch, American Goldfinch, White-Crowned                                   Sparrow, Eastern Towhee

Herons & Egrets    Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron

Water Birds            Double-Crested Cormorant, Anhinga  

Miscellaneous Birds   Horned Lark, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

 

Mammals

Armadillo           Nine-banded Armadillo, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/dillo/  

Beaver  Beaver Damage Prevention and Control Methods, http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-9085.pdf
Black Bear        Arkansas Black Bears, http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/HTML/FSA-9086.asp
Coyote              Coyote (Missouri), http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/coyote/

Foxes               Red Fox, Grey Fox, http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/fox/

Opossum          Opossum, http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/opossum/

Rabbits             Eastern Cottontail, Swamp Rabbit http://www.clemson.edu/psapublishing/pages/4h/sw412.pdf

Raccoon           Raccoon, http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/wildlife/g09453.htm 

Skunks             Stripped Skunk, Eastern Spotted Skunk http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/skunk/

Tree Squirrels    Fox squirrel, Gray squirrel, Flying squirrel
                        Gray Squirrel Management, http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0768/
                        The Flying Squirrel, http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/flysquirrel_bro.pdf

Bats                  Little Brown Bat, Big Brown Bat, Gray Bat, Indiana Bat, Silver-Haired Bat, Eastern Pipistrelle, Rafinesque’s Big-Eared Bat   http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/bats_notes.pdf , http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?curGroupID=5&shapeID=1025

Rodents            White-Footed Mouse, House Mouse  http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/WhiteFootedDeerMouse.asp  Woodchuck  http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Woodchucks.asp    

Voles & Pocket Gophers     Woodland Vole, Plains Pocket Gopher http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?curGroupID=5&shapeID=1037

Shrews & Moles    Least Shrew, Eastern Mole   http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?curGroupID=5&shapeID=1025

Elk                    Rocky Mountain Elk http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-9099.pdf

Reptiles & Amphibians (Arkansas Herpetological Society, http://www.snakesofarkansas.com)

Salamanders    Ringed Salamander, Spotted Salamander, Mole Salamander, Eastern Tiger Salamander  http://www.snakesofarkansas.com/Main/Salamander

Snakes             Texas Coral Snake, Red Milk Snake, Southern Copperhead, Western Cottonmouth, Western Pigmy Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake  http://www.snakesofarkansas.com/Main/Snake

Frogs &Toads    Gray treefrog, Green treefrog, Fowler's toad, American Bullfrog, Southern Leopard Frog, Wood Frog  http://www.snakesofarkansas.com/Main/Snake

 

Spiders & Insects (Arkansas Arthropod Photo Gallery, http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/gallery.html)
Insects              Carpenter bee, True katydid, Camel cricket, Woods roach

Spiders Black widow spider, Brown recluse spider, Arkansas chocolate tarantula, Wolf Spider, Scorpion  http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-7018.pdf

 

Objective 4:  Wildlife Concepts

Wildlife Concepts, from “Developing a Wildlife Enterprise – Is It For You? (free site but must register) http://www.forestandrange.org/modules/wildlifeenterprise/Wildlife_Basics/Wildlife_Basics_Overview.html
Principles of Wildlife Management in Alabama, http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/Y/YANR-0197/

 

Objective 5 & 6:  Evaluate Habitat and Apply Practices

Wildlife Management for Missouri Landowners, http://www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/landmgmt/

 

Objective 7:  Threatened and Endangered Species

Only those species which have active links on this website will be eligible for testing: 

Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, http://www.naturalheritage.com/program/rare-species/federally-listed/animal-profiles/

 

Objective 8:  Encountering Wildlife
Encountering Black Bears in Arkansas, http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/HTML/FSA-9087.asp
Responsible Travel in the outdoors, http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/land/land.html

What Not To Do With Wildlife, http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/whatnot_wildlife_bro.pdf
Snake Precautions, http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/dfm/arkansas_snake_guide.pdf  (p. 43-49)
Brown Recluse & Black Widow Precautions, http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2154.pdf

 

Objective 9:  Non-native species

Feral Hogs  http://www.noble.org/Ag/Wildlife/FeralHogs/

Additional Resources

 

Click here for Practice Tests.

 

Canon Envirothon Core Curriculum – includes ideas for study activities - www.envirothon.org/resources/guidelines/wildlife.php

 

Please notify the webmaster (shirrel@uaex.edu) if links to resources are not working.

 

The Envirothon Steering Committee gratefully acknowledges Dr. Becky McPeake, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and Arkansas Forest Resources Center, and Shannon Caldwell, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, for overseeing the materials in the Wildlife Section.