A Natural Resource Management Guide for the County of Morris A ...

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New arrivals or "Alien species" infiltrating habitats threaten native species’ viability, if not existence.
Newcomer birds such as house sparrows and starlings not only usurp native cavity dwellers of their nests, but
kill resident young and adults. Native bluebirds and the red-headed woodpecker have suffered devastating
population losses due to the domineering starling.
Biological impacts in the form of blight or pest removes food sources while decimating stands of vegetation
(e.g., American Chestnut). As animals struggle to adjust, alternate food sources are exploited.
Environmental stresses such as acid rain and drought impact wildlife. The impact of drought, such as
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we are experiencing in the summer of 1999, has cumulative effects on the animal kingdom, where some
species are favored and others are stressed. Insects adaptable to drought conditions, such as grasshoppers
and crickets, are available to sustain predators such as grouse and turkey. Conversely insects that are more
sensitive to drought such as aphids and caterpillars are removed from the diet of their predators.
Therefore, songbirds, such as robins, sparrows, catbirds, and warblers, as well as their young are deprived
of this food source. Fish are imperilled as droughts diminish water quantity and thus quality. Lack of
moisture drives animals such as black bear outside of their range in search of hydration and supplemental
food sources.
Human Derived Impacts
The Raptor Center, a nonprofit rehabilitation center located in Millington, provides us with a reflection of the
impact of human activities. Injuries sustained by the birds are the result of chain saw accidents, hunting
accidents, building or vehicle collisions, and poisonings from insects feeding on treated lawns. Additional
examples of human derived impacts include:
Farming operations supporting monoculture crops promote impoverished habitat in terms of
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opportunities for nesting/resting/feeding/breeding. Alternatively, where farmfields have been abandoned
and converted to forest or residential and industrial development, grassland-dependent species have
suffered significant declines, such as the Upland sandpiper.
Timbering practices involving the clear-cutting of large parcels, or even of swaths throughout woodlands,
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decimate food sources, dens and snags. The resulting shortfall in nesting places displaces cavity-dwelling
species like woodpeckers.
Traditional landscaping practices replacing indigenous vegetation with turf, ornamentals and exotic
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plantings seriously compromise wildlife habitat. Removing trees and understory strips an area of nesting
sites, cover, and food sources. Subsequent maintenance in the form of mowing and chemical application
continues the obliteration of insects necessary to many bird species such as flycatchers and swallows.
Accentuating this imbalance is our garden-tending. Many vegetable and flower crops provide "free
lunches" to omnivores, such as raccoon, crow, and gulls, giving them an advantage.
! Hydrological impacts (e.g., stream channelization, and draining and filling of wetlands) have taken a
drastic toll on habitats. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge provides an excellent illustration of
this. Higher water levels, favored by the aggressively invasive phragmites and arrow arum, result in the
overrunning of native wild millet, sedges, and smartweed. Not only is vegetative diversity compromised,
but so are important sources of food and cover for wildlife.
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Alan Burdick, It's Not the Only Alien Invader, The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 13, 1994, 49-88.
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Wildlife