Green is the color of wild: Why wildlife biologists need to know their plants
"Plants are boring!" "I could care less about plants." These are words I hear spoken all too frequently by wildlife biologists and wildlife managers. I can understand where they're coming from. Wild animals are mysterious, exciting, showy, cute, ferocious, or just plain cool. Wildlife biologists are field biologists who are often responsible for wildlife management, or the manipulation of wildlife populations and their habitat. Wildlife management is important for a number of different reasons, including predator control, habitat maintenance/protection, protecting endangered species, and resolving people-wildlife conflicts. A large array of wildlife specialists such as herpetologists (reptiles and amphibians), mammalogists, ornithologists (birds) and others frequently venture into the great outdoors hoping to learn more about the biology and ecology of wild animals in an effort to protect them. Yet if you were to ask many of these same people what kind