Aldo Leopold: The Father of Wildlife Ecology

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Aldo Leopold The Father of Wildlife Ecology
"We abuse land because we regard it as a
commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a
community to which we belong, we may begin to use
it with love and respect.
-Aldo Leopold
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Who in the is Aldo Leopold?

• Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa in 1887
• Earned his Masters degree from Yale School of
  Forestry
• Worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in
  New Mexico, Arizona, and Wisconsin
• Leopold was an renowned scientist, gifted writer,
  philosopher, and dedicated teacher

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Scientific Contributions

• Aldo Leopold is known as the Father of Wildlife
  Ecology and the 21st Century Land Ethic
• Internationally respected scientist and
  conservationist instrumental in formulating
  policy, promoting wilderness, and building
  ecological foundations for two 20th Century
  Professions -Forestry and Wildlife Ecology.
• Developed keystone theories Environmental Ethics
  and Ecosystem Management.
• Leopold wrote A Sand County Almanac

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A Sand County Almanac

• A Sand County Almanac is a volume of
  philosophical essays and nature sketches that
  emphasizes the importance of biodiversity in land
  ecosystems and confronts the philosophical and
  ethical relationship between people and land.

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Controversy

• While working for the U.S. Forest Service he
  fought to set aside roadless areas as wilderness.
  He didnt want to see areas subdivided for
  recreational "improvements" (home sites, public
  campgrounds, private and commercial leasing).
• He was the nations foremost spokesperson on
  wild country preservation and the conservation
  movement.
• His ideas and work sparked a national debate over
  the The Wilderness Ideal.

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Relevance to Earth Environmental Science
Content and Curriculum

• COMPETENCY GOAL 2 The learner will build an
  understanding of lithospheric materials,
  tectonic processes, and the human and
  environmental impacts of natural and
  human-induced changes in the lithosphere.
• Objectives
• 2.06 Investigate and analyze the importance and
  impact of the economic development of earth's
  finite rock, mineral, soil, fossil fuel and other
  natural resources to society and our daily
  lives
• Availability.
• Geographic distribution.
• Conservation/Stewardship.
• Recycling.
• Environmental impact.
• Challenge of rehabilitation of disturbed
  lands.
• 2.07 Analyze the sources and impacts of
  society's use of energy.
• Renewable and non-renewable sources.
• The impact of human choices on Earth and its
  systems.

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Relevance to Biological Science Content and
Curriculum

• Competency Goal 4 The learner will develop an
  understanding of ecological relationships
  among organisms.
• Objectives
• 4.01 Identify the interrelationships among
  organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems,
  and biomes.
• 4.02 Analyze the cycling of matter water,
  carbon, and nitrogen in systems.
• 4.03 Explain the flow of energy through
  ecosystems.
• 4.04 Assess and describe successional changes in
  ecosystems.
• 4.05 Assess and explain human activities that
  influence and modify the environment
• Global warming.
• Human population growth.
• Pesticide use.
  

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OH DEER!Classroom Application

• INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE
• TLW identify and describe food, water, and
  shelter as three essential components of
  habitat.
• TLW define limiting factors and give
  examples.
• TLW describe the importance of good habitat for
  animals.
• OH DEER INSTRUCTIONS
• OBJECTIVE
• Students will be able to
• 1) identify and describe food, water, and shelter
  as three components of habitat
• 2) Describe the importance of good habitat for
  animals
• 3) Define "limiting factors" and give
  examples
• 4) Recognize that some fluctuations in wildlife
  populations are natural as ecological systems
  undergo constant change

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• NEEDS
• Large playing area (indoors or outdoors)
• Food/shelter/water card pack for each
  student
• Pencil
• Paper
• PROCEDURE
• 1) Mark two parallel lines on the ground or floor
  ten to twenty yards apart.
• 2) Ask the students to count off in fours.
  
• 3) Assign all ones to one of the parallel lines.
  Assign two's-four's to the other parallel
  line.
• 4) The "ones" will be deer first. They must face
  away from the 2's, 3's, and 4's and sort through
  their card pack. Each deer should place one of
  the cards on top. This card will indicate to the
  others whether they are hungry (food), thirsty
  (water), or
• 5) The 2's, 3's, and 4's will face the opposite
  direction of the ones and place one of the cards
  from their packs on top. The card will indicate
  whether they are food, shelter, or water for this
  round of the game. They are the habitat for the
  deer.

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• PROCEDURE (cont.)
• 6) The number of deer and habitat should be
  documented here as the first year.
• 7) When the whistle is blown, the students on the
  habitat side will turn around and hold their
  chosen card up so the "deer" can read them. The
  habitat can not move. They must stand still
  until tagged or chosen by a deer.
• 8) The deer should turn around when the same
  whistle is blown and try to find a match to their
  chosen card. They must find the habitat food,
  water, or shelter, that satisfies their chosen
  need. They will quickly move to tag the student
  with the matching card.
• 9) The deer that found their chosen habitat
  survive and will take the "habitat" they matched
  up with back to the deer side. The deer and
  their habitat are now going to be deer for the
  next round.
• 10) The deer that did not find their chosen
  habitat die and decompose. They become part of
  the habitat and must remain on the habitat side
  for the next round.
• 11) Repeat steps 5-9 for fourteen more rounds
  which count for fourteen more years.
• 12) Return to the classroom to graph the
  collected data and answer questions related to
  the activity.

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• Conservation is a state of harmony between men
  and land. By land is meant all of the things on,
  over, or in the earth. Harmony with land is like
  harmony with a friend you cannot cherish his
  right hand and chop off his left. That is to say,
  you cannot love game and hate predators you
  cannot conserve the waters and waste the ranges
  you cannot build the forest and mine the farm.
• Leopold, Aldo Round River, Oxford University
  Press, New York, 1993, pp. 145-146.

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Resources

• Internet
• http//www.aldoleopold.net/Biography
• http//www.aldoleopold.net/
• Book
• Yannuzzi, Della A. Aldo Leopold Protector of
  the Wild. Brookfield, Conn. Milkbrook Press,
  c2002