Forest Faunal Systems

Appendix 1: The Subject Matter and Requisite Knowledge Base
of the Faunal Resource Manager

The following is believed to be the fundamental, minimum set of topics that need to be engaged in educational programs of the modern faunal resource system manager. Some topics needed to deal effectively with those listed are not included. This list may be considered as a basis for curriculum planning. All topics do not have to be mastered at the beginning university level (e.g., the bachelor of science degree). Graduate work as well as programs for continuing education, both for new subjects and enhancement, are essential parts of a national and international effort to manage the world faunal resource.

While many educational programs will attempt to reformulate the list as a series of "courses", the intent is to stress units of demonstrated minimum competence and that programs of teaching and learning can be designed to build competence over time by units of various sizes ranging from effective use of a computer program (such as on the CAPPER disks) to active year-long seminars and directed studies, some of which may produce review papers, reports, and expert systems. Many of these topics do not have to be taught; they have to be learned.

The Context

• General National and Regional History (e.g., status of game prior to settlement of the New World)
• Resource-Specific National and Regional History (e.g., efforts to change laws or practices)
• Concepts of Time
  • Geologic
  • Planning Periods and Relevant Horizons
  • Perceived Rates of Change
• The Biomes (i.e., names and comparisons)
• The Past and Present Faunal Resource, National and Regional (i.e., the list with some general concept of abundance of each species)
• The Present Wildlife Law
• Comparative Wildlife Law (e.g., country groups)
• The National and World Faunal Agencies and Organizations
• International Migration Laws and Agreements

  The Objectives

• Concepts of Resources (i.e., definitions)
• A Concept of the Faunal Resource
• Units of Measure of the Resources (e.g., pelts, sightings, user-days, pounds of meat)
• Measures of Demand (both quantity and quality)
• Measures of Value (i.e., relative importance)Concepts of User Sub-Populations (i.e., sex, age, and socio-economic groups within regions)
• Measures of Expectancy or Risk Aversion
• Measures of Variety
• Measures of Demand for Variety
• Measures of Substitutability
• Public Survey Methodology
• Concepts of Public Participation
• Individual and Public Expression of Objectives (all of the above dimensions)
• The Psychology of Adult Groups Relative to Expectancy, Concepts of Risk, Deserved vs. Desired Resources, and Satisfaction
• The Dynamics of Objectives
• Corrective and Stabilizing Methods (i.e., a feedback subsystem for objectives)
• Outputs Relations: Reports of All Types
• The Publication or Electronic Medium
• The Oral Report
• The Committee Report

  The General Inputs

• The Literature of Faunal Resource Management
• Optimum Library Searches and Use
• Bibliographies, Monographs, Reviews, and Directories
• Data Base Management and Geographic Information System Concepts
• Museums: Data and Material Preservation

  The Population Inputs

• Populations
• All categories:
  • Birds
  • Mammals
  • Marine mammals
  • Fish
  • Turtles
  • Snakes
  • Lizards
  • Frogs and Toads
  • Mollusks
  • Crustaceans
  • Insects and arachnids
  • Others
• Comprehensive Natural History of All Species
• Genetics
• Morphology
• Physiology
• Nutrition
• Behavior (especially feeding, hibernation, breeding, and migration)
• Pathology and Parasitology
• Effects of Chemicals (e.g., mutagenicity and carcinogenicity)
• Age Classes
• Sex Classes
• Trophic Classes (e.g., carnivores, herbivores)
• Nominal Classes (e.g., predator, prey, fur-bearer)
• Life Stage or Life Group Classes (e.g., the trophic differences related to age and parental care)
• Weight Phenomena
• Areas Used and Living Volumes (e.g., territory)

  The General Processes

• Logic
• Epistemology (including scientific thought and action)
• Analyses of Ethics and Morality
• Evolution
• Energy Flow (i.e., nutrient and matter helixes)
• Photosynthesis
• Extinction Theory
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Theory of the Firm
• Macroeconomic Theory
• Optimization and Management Science
• Computer Programming and Operation
• Surveying
• Global Positioning Technology
• Research Optimization
• Land-Use Type Change Rates
• Planning Theory
• Impact Analyses
• Landscape Processes and Interactions
• Organizational Theory and Public Administration
• Statistics and Statistical Ecology
• Systems Ecology Techniques
• Techniques (in general, one perspective on all of the following)
• Communications (i.e., speaking and writing)
• Television Presentations
• Mathematical Manipulation (through elementary levels of the calculus)

  The Population-Related Processes

• Genetics
• Discriminating Species (i.e., quantitative taxonomy)
• Innate Rates of Change
• Cycles and Patterned Changes
• Population Abundance Estimation
• Population Richness Estimation
• Diversity and Variety Estimates
• Natality and Fertility
• Survival
• Regulation Theory
• Mortality
  • Toxicants
  • Predation
  • Accidents
  • Poaching
  • Hunting
  • Trapping
  • Radiation
  • Pest Damage Control
• Animal Use Types and Rates
• Stocking and Transplanting
• Regulating Hunting in Time and Space

  The Faunal Space Processes

• Managing Areas
  • Policies
  • Laws
  • Boundaries
  • Access
  • Ownership
  • Recreational Use
  • Vandalism and Trespass
  • Hunting Rights and Areas Available
  • The Complex Urban System
• Managing Succession by Using
  • Fire
  • Explosives
  • Herbicides
  • Insecticides (secondary to control herbivores)
  • Farming (all cultural practices)
  • Forestry (all harvesting and regeneration practices)
  • Orchard Practice
  • Fencing
  • Fertilizing (to influence plant growth rates)
  • Flooding, Irrigation, or Drainage
  • Grazing Regulation
  • Creating Structure and Facilities (e.g., trails)
  • Feeding (especially in winter)
• Protecting Areas (e.g., from drainage, thermal pollution, or developments)
• Calculating Net Area by Habitat Type for Important Species
• Changing Toxicants Applied to or Released into the Habitats

  The Social-Related Processes

• Measuring Rates of Change in Sub-Populations of People
• Influencing Access
• Influencing Expectations and Perceptions
• Influencing Site Use (e.g., campsites)
• Influencing Use (e.g., hunting safety)
• Increasing Average Knowledge (i.e., of fauna)
• Increasing Specific Knowledge (e.g., about obeying a game law)
• Evaluating Trends in Use, Objectives, Vandalism, Poaching, Complaints
• Optimizing Effective Participation (e.g., inputs to public decision processes)
• Creating Sound Public Relations and Image Building
• Leading Committees and Managing Small Group Dynamics

  Feedback

• Enforcement Theory
• Theory of Deterrence
• Control Theory and Cybernetics
• Monitoring and Baseline Theory
• Analysis of Objectives
• Analyses of Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency in Input, Process, and Feedforward Systems
• Analyses of Corrective Methods to the Feedback Subsystem
• Improving Feedforward

  Feedforward

• Adaptive Management
• Future Studies
• Projection, Trend, and Time-Series Analyses
• Planning Theory
• Creativity Studies
• Large-Scale Modeling
• Agency and Corporate Leadership
• Enterprise-Based Systems

This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.