Bald Eagle Research Paper

Effects of harvest on the population of Haliaeetus leucocephalus. By Matthew Tarr NRES 250: Introduction to Fisheries, Forestry, and Wildlife Resources Instructor: Section March 15, 2024 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Introduction

The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), recognized for its amazing appearance as well as its significance in conservation efforts, is a powerful symbol of America's natural heritage. One of the most identifiable birds of prey in North America, with its dark brown body and white head and tail sticking out. It was previously in danger of going extinct because of habitat loss, poaching, and exposure to DDT. Nevertheless, concerted conservation efforts have made an amazing comeback possible. The Bald Eagle is now a showcase species for environmental care and wildlife preservation and a conservation success story. Our research looks at how marking and capture impact population dynamics and individual behavior, which is a …show more content…
First, we found that the tagging and capturing process caused Bald Eagles to have temporary stress responses. Individuals exhibited signals of increased awareness, reduced activity, and aversion to previously visited areas in the minutes after capture and marking events. But with time, these stress reactions diminished, and a few days to weeks following the manipulation, individuals went back to their everyday lives. Secondly, the population dynamics were evaluated both before and after the implementation of the modification. Prior to the change, population estimates for the research region indicated a stable Bald Eagle population of around 17 mating couples with a 74% nest success rate. While after manipulation there was a decline in nesting success to 67%. Through the Lincoln-Petersen estimate, we can reveal no significant differences in population size before and after manipulation, additionally a Z-score of.96 was also

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