5.7 Biological Resource Use
early successional habitat. Animals and other plants that rely on the removed plant spe- cies or original habitat type may be negatively impacted, while other plants and animals may take advantage of the open niche or changed conditions. For example, removal of only oak trees from a forest can be expected to afect species that rely on hard mast, such as White-tailed Deer and Wild Turkey. However, most selective vegetation harvest in North Carolina is not done at a scale to cause shifts in community composition. Shifts in habitat type from large-scale non-selective harvest will be benefcial to some species, but may ofer opportunities for invasive species to become established or spread. Conversion to early successional habitat will proft certain birds and butterfies, but may also allow Kudzu to take over. Removal of fsh and wildlife may not only afect the population size and structure of the species harvested, but also can impact other species, both plants and animals, in the com- munity by altering the food web and other species interactions. Again, certain species may beneft while others are harmed. Removal of wild animals from terrestrial systems is generally limited to hunting, trap- ping, and collecting. Selective harvest of most game and furbearing species is typically not an issue. However, negative impacts can occur to nongame species, such as terrestrial, aquatic, and sea turtles, from intentional harvest of eggs or adults. Snakes are often killed for no reason other than that people are afraid of them. Bats, mice, and some birds are con- sidered by some to be pests, and removed from human structures. Te killing or removal of voles and moles is widespread. Some of these activities may be illegal because the species is protected or the harvest does not follow seasons and bag limits. In aquatic systems, particularly freshwater ones, the overharvest of most species is not an issue, but localized poaching of species such as trout does occur. Overharvest is fairly common in marine fsheries due to the multiple gear types used, the combination of com- mercial and recreational fshing efort, and the multiple jurisdictions managing the fsh or shellfsh. Bycatch is common in marine fsheries because some harvest gear is nonselec- tive. Te bycatch may include undersized target fsh, nontarget fsh, and other organisms (e.g., sea turtles). Te impacts of bycatch and overharvest can include reduced population size and altered population size or age structure. Catch and release of game fsh or nontarget fsh can cause injury or death of individual animals, but this typically does not rise to the point of afecting the population. Holding a caught fsh in a live well and releasing it a long distance from the capture location, for instance at a weigh-in site, can cause local imbalances in fsh densities and increase com- petition for food and habitat.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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