What Is Wildlife Biology and Wildlife Management?

Wildlife biology is the scientific study of wild animal populations and the habitats they depend on. Wildlife management is the applied side: using that science to make decisions about populations, habitats and the people who share landscapes with wildlife. The two are usually taught and practiced together, and most people who work in the field are described as wildlife biologists whether their week is spent analyzing survey data, writing a harvest recommendation or checking a trail camera. This guide explains what the field covers, how it differs from zoology and conservation biology, the methods it relies on, how it is funded and published, and the permit and animal-care rules that apply to wildlife research.

What Is Wildlife Biology?

Wildlife biology asks questions about free-ranging animals at the level that matters for decisions: how many animals are there, where do they live and move, how many survive and reproduce each year, what limits them, and how do they respond to changes in food, cover, weather, disease, predators and people. The organizing unit is typically the population rather than the individual animal or the species as a whole, and the organizing context is a specific place, such as a refuge, a forest, a rangeland or a state.

The subject animals are most often vertebrates, especially game species, birds, large carnivores, ungulates, waterfowl, furbearers and species protected by law, though the same methods are used for reptiles, amphibians, bats and, increasingly, invertebrates such as pollinators. The field draws on ecology, population biology, genetics, statistics, physiology and disease science.

What Is Wildlife Management?

Wildlife management is the deliberate manipulation of wildlife populations, their habitats or human use of them to reach stated goals. The goals are set by people, not by biology alone, which is why management is as much about stakeholders and law as about animals. Typical goals include sustaining a harvestable population, recovering a depleted or protected species, limiting damage to crops or property, reducing disease risk, or maintaining a native community on a managed landscape.

A defining feature is that management is adaptive. Managers set an objective, apply an action such as a harvest regulation or a habitat treatment, monitor the response, and adjust. That loop is why monitoring is the backbone of the profession: a management action that is not measured cannot be improved.

Main Areas of Practice

Population monitoring and assessment

Estimating abundance, density, distribution, survival, reproduction and trend. Methods include aerial and ground surveys, point and transect counts, capture-mark-recapture, occupancy modeling from detection records, harvest-based indices and genetic sampling from hair, feces or tissue. A central statistical issue is imperfect detection: animals that are present are not always seen, so good designs estimate detection probability rather than assuming every animal was counted. See systematic sampling for a basic sampling design that carries over to field surveys.

Habitat management

Habitat is the combination of food, water, cover and space a species needs. Habitat management covers prescribed fire, grazing management, forest thinning and harvest timing, wetland restoration, invasive plant control, and connecting or protecting key areas. Habitat work is where the field overlaps with forestry and range management, and where wildlife outcomes depend on decisions made for other land uses.

Harvest and game management

In North America, regulated hunting, trapping and fishing are a central tool of wildlife management, and game management is a recognized specialty within it. Managers use population data to set seasons, bag limits, permit allocations and sex- or age-specific rules, then use harvest reports, check stations and surveys to evaluate the result. Harvest management is a quantitative discipline: it rests on estimates of how many animals a population can lose each year while still meeting its objective. Rules differ by state, province and species, so check the governing agency for any specific species.

Human-wildlife conflict

Conflict arises when wildlife damages crops, livestock, property or infrastructure, threatens safety, or spreads disease, and when people in turn threaten wildlife. Work in this area includes deterrents and exclusion, relocating or removing problem animals where law allows, compensation and incentive programs, airport wildlife hazard management, and outreach. It is as much social science as biology, because tolerance for wildlife varies by community and by species.

Wildlife disease

Wildlife health monitoring, disease surveillance and the interface among wildlife, livestock and people. This work often involves partnership with veterinary science and public health.

Human dimensions

Surveys and social research on hunters, landowners, anglers and the public, used to understand attitudes, participation and acceptance of management actions.

Methods and Tools

• Telemetry and tracking. Radio, GPS and satellite transmitters, usually carried on collars, tags or backpack harnesses, record locations and, in some units, activity or temperature. They support studies of movement, home range, habitat selection, survival and migration. Deploying them requires capturing and handling animals, which brings permit and animal-care requirements.
• Camera traps. Remotely triggered cameras document presence, relative abundance and behavior with little disturbance. With individually identifiable animals or suitable models they can also support density and occupancy estimates, and they generate large image sets that increasingly use automated classification.
• Capture, marking and handling. Live trapping, netting, darting and banding allow measurement, sampling and marking. Capture methods and chemical immobilization are regulated and are the main reason wildlife work goes through institutional animal-care review.
• Genetic and molecular tools. Noninvasive sampling for individual identification, relatedness, diet and population structure, plus environmental DNA for detecting species in water or soil.
• Remote sensing and GIS. Mapping habitat, tracking vegetation change and linking animal locations to landscape features.
• Quantitative modeling. Population viability and matrix models, occupancy and abundance models, resource selection analysis and decision analysis. Statistical competence is now a core expectation of the profession.
• Data standards. Occurrence records are commonly shared through biodiversity infrastructure; see the guide on GBIF and Darwin Core occurrenceID and the term Darwin Core.

How Wildlife Biology Differs from Zoology and Conservation Biology

The three fields overlap heavily in people and journals but differ in what they treat as the main question.

• Zoology is the broad science of animals in general: anatomy, physiology, classification, behavior and evolution, in the lab and the field. Wildlife biology can be seen as an applied branch that focuses on wild populations and the decisions made about them. Zoology does not require a management purpose; wildlife biology usually has one.
• Conservation biology is a mission-driven science concerned with preventing loss of biodiversity, often at the scale of species, communities and ecosystems, and often with a focus on threatened taxa. Wildlife management is broader in one direction (it includes abundant, harvested and nuisance species) and narrower in another (it is anchored in agency practice and local management units).
• Ecology supplies the theory for both. See what is ecology.

The practical test: if the work aims to inform a regulation, a harvest decision, a habitat treatment or a conflict response for specific wild populations, it is wildlife management. If it aims to understand an animal group for its own sake, it is zoology. If it aims to prevent extinction or biodiversity loss, it is conservation biology. Many projects are all three. Related fields include fisheries science, which applies similar population-management logic to fish, and animal science, which concerns domestic animals.

Where Wildlife Management Happens: Agencies and Institutions

Most wildlife management in the United States is carried out by public agencies. State fish and wildlife agencies hold primary authority over most resident wildlife within their borders and run the monitoring, regulation and habitat programs described above. Federal agencies hold responsibility for particular groups and lands: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) administers programs for migratory birds, federally listed species and the National Wildlife Refuge System, and works with states through grant programs; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides research, and other land-management agencies manage wildlife habitat on public lands. Tribal governments, universities, non-governmental conservation organizations and private landowners are also major actors. Because roles differ by species and jurisdiction, confirm which agency has authority before starting a project.

The USGS Cooperative Research Units Program is a distinctive research-administration model for this field. USGS states that the program was established in 1935 and codified by Congress in 1960, and that it currently operates 43 units in 41 states at 44 host universities, with three aims: applied research for fish and wildlife decision-makers, graduate education in fisheries and wildlife sciences, and technical assistance to managers.

Professional Societies and Journals

The main professional body in North America is The Wildlife Society. According to its website, it was founded in 1936 and has over 10,000 members including scientists, managers, educators, technicians, consultants and students. It publishes the Journal of Wildlife Management (established 1937), Wildlife Monographs (1958), the Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973) and the magazine The Wildlife Professional (2007). It also runs professional certifications, including Certified Wildlife Biologist, Associate Wildlife Biologist and Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist.

Many studies also appear in general ecology and conservation journals and in taxon-specific journals for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. For how this discipline sits among the other sciences, see branches of science, and plan from the start of a project how data and specimens will be archived.

Who Funds Wildlife Research and Management

• State fish and wildlife agencies and the federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration programs. USFWS describes this program as supported by excise taxes and granting funds to state agencies for conservation work. It is based on the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 and the Dingell-Johnson Act, and funds activities such as wildlife management areas, hunter education, aquatic education, boating access and conservation of imperiled species. Much state-level wildlife monitoring is paid for through this mechanism.
• USGS. Both through its own science programs and the Cooperative Research Units described above.
• USFWS. A management agency that also funds applied work, including in support of listed-species recovery.
• The National Science Foundation. Basic ecology, evolution and organismal biology that underpins management. Confirm the current program and solicitation on nsf.gov, as these change.
• Land-management agencies, universities, foundations and conservation organizations. Often through cooperative agreements, graduate assistantships and targeted grants.

Because much of this funding flows through cooperative agreements and pass-through grants to or from state agencies, wildlife projects often involve subawards, matching requirements and agency data-sharing terms. Research administrators supporting these projects should read the agreement early and confirm who owns the data and specimens.

Permits and Oversight for Wildlife Research

Wildlife research typically sits at the intersection of several approvals. The full federal framework, including the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, is described in the zoology guide’s section on research compliance for wildlife and field work; the points that matter most here are below.

• Federal species protection. Handling, capturing or collecting animals protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act or migratory-bird law generally requires authorization from the responsible federal agency, and permit conditions commonly specify species, numbers, methods, dates and reporting.
• State scientific collecting permits. States separately regulate taking and possessing wildlife, and most require their own permit for research capture or collection. Requirements vary by state and species.
• Land access. Research on refuges, parks, forests and private land requires permission from the land manager or owner.
• Institutional animal care review. Where a university or institution receives federal support for work with live vertebrates, the project usually needs IACUC review, and field studies are covered. Capture, marking, collars and immobilization drugs are routine IACUC topics. See IACUC training, the terms Vertebrate Animals Section, 3Rs, OLAW and attending veterinarian, and the comparison AAALAC vs IACUC. Staff who handle wild animals may also need coverage under an occupational health program, since wildlife can carry zoonotic disease.
• International trade and samples. Moving specimens across borders can trigger CITES and related requirements; see CITES permits.

Permit timelines are often the critical path. Applications for protected species can take considerable time, so build that into the project schedule and budget before any funding start date.

Training and Careers

Entry-level work usually requires a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, wildlife science, ecology, natural resources or a closely related field, with coursework in ecology, statistics, habitat and population management, and often chemistry and genetics. Many agency biologist and research positions prefer or require a master’s degree, and university and senior research roles typically require a doctorate. Seasonal technician jobs, internships and thesis fieldwork are the usual way to gain capture, telemetry and survey experience. Employers include state and federal agencies, tribes, universities, consulting firms, conservation organizations, airports and utilities. Professional certification through The Wildlife Society is an option for those who meet its education and experience requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between wildlife biology and wildlife management?

Wildlife biology is the science of wild animals and their habitats; wildlife management is the applied practice of using that science, along with law and public input, to make decisions about populations, habitats and human use. In practice the terms are used together.

Is wildlife biology the same as zoology?

No. Zoology is the study of animals broadly. Wildlife biology is narrower and applied, focused on wild populations and how to manage them. See the zoology guide.

Is wildlife management the same as conservation biology?

They overlap but have different centers of gravity. Conservation biology is driven by preventing biodiversity loss; wildlife management covers all wildlife decisions, including managing abundant and harvested species. See the conservation biology guide.

What is game management?

Game management is the part of wildlife management concerned with species that are hunted or trapped, using monitoring data to set seasons, limits and habitat actions that keep harvest sustainable.

What do wildlife biologists do day to day?

It varies by job: field surveys and capture work, camera and telemetry data analysis, habitat planning, writing management plans and permit applications, responding to conflicts, and communicating with landowners and the public.

Do I need a permit to study wild animals?

Almost always some authorization is needed. Depending on species, location and methods, that can include federal permits, a state scientific collecting permit, landowner or land-manager permission and IACUC approval. See the permits section above.

Does wildlife fieldwork need IACUC approval?

Often yes when the institution is covered, especially if animals are captured, handled, marked or sampled. Purely observational work with no handling is treated differently, so confirm with your institution’s IACUC.

What is The Wildlife Society?

It is the main professional society for wildlife biologists and managers in North America, founded in 1936, publishing the Journal of Wildlife Management and other titles and offering professional certification.

Where can I learn about related fields?

Start with ecology, fisheries science, forestry and marine biology.