Population Management: Activity 1 Managing Cattle Herds

Script

Slides / Speaker Notes
Slide #2 / This is a map of Africa. Notice where East Africa is located and some of the countries that are in East Africa. This portion of Africa is part of the grasslands biome.
Slide #3 / Life among rural East African people revolves around cattle.
Some of the roles that cattle serve in East Africa traditional culture are:
•Cow dung provides fertilizer.
•Cows serve as work animals.
•Cows provide meat and milk.
•Bridal dowries are paid in cattle.
Slide #4 / Wildlife populations are a valued resource in East Africa because of the ecotourism industry boosts the economy. (Tourism based on exotic and natural environments—especially when there are conservation efforts in place).
Slide #5 / Emphasize:

Cattle and wildlife in East Africa rely on grasslands for survival.

Proper management of cattle herds size and grazing rights both populations can thrive in the East African grassland habitat.

Slide #6 / Goal of this Lesson:

What issues do ranchers face when trying to maintain healthy herds?
How does knowing about population dynamics help ranchers and conservationists balance the needs of cattle and wildlife that live in the same space?

Slide #7 / Please create this 3-2-1 Chart in your science notebook. (Turn your notebook so it is hamburger style).
The purpose is to capture some key ideas as we go through them and make a personal connection with the information.
Top Box—Title: “3 Major Issues”
Middle Row – “Two ways to address the issue: “
Bottom Row – “Connection to what you knew before”
Slide #8 / What do you think the 3 major issues for ranchers and cattle are?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
Slide #9 / What kind of predators do you think there are?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
Slide #10 / Any ideas on what they could to prevent these predators from eating their cattle?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
Slide #11 / •
•Identify the possible predators on the land so that proper methods are used to keep the animals safe.
•Install kraals (Cattle let out in the day for grazing and returned to the kraal at night).
•Install wire fencing with electrical wires.
•Use guard animals such as dogs or donkeys to protect the herds.
•Practice good herd management –
•Balance the grass/food consumption between cattle and wildlife.
Slide #12 / Record the two ways in the 3-2-1 Chart
Slide #13 / This is a video of a innovative boy who decided to create something to help ranchers.
Slide #14 / What are some things that ranchers can do to make sure that the cattle stay healthy? What are some ideas that you can think of?
Slide #15 / As you watch the video answer this question:

What are the main concerns of local ranchers regarding cattle’s health?

Slide #16 / After watch the 2nd video with a partner discuss the answer to this question:
What are the main concerns of local ranchers regarding cattle’s health?
Give a few minutes to discuss with a partner.
Slide #17 / Cattle ranchers have 3 maintain concerns when trying to maintain a healthy cattle populations:
–Making sure the grass is healthy and abundant
–Access to water (frequently)
–Keeping cattle safe from predators
Slide #18 / If the ranchers maintain cattle populations that are the appropriate size for the amount of land and rotate the cattle to graze (allowing the plants recovery time) there is a better chance of having enough forage for the their cattle.
Slide #19 / How can a rancher insure that there is enough forage for the cattle?
Forage is food or provisions.
Discuss any ideas that the class may have.
Slide #20 / Cattle are grazers and eat grass.
Terms to know:
–Grazing rights is a legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to graze in a given area.
–Overgrazing happens when animals or cattle graze excessively to the point that it damages the vegetation/grass.
Slide #21 / When grazing is manged properly grazers help the grassland ecosystem thrive.
Even though cattle eat grass they actually play a key role in keeping grassland eccsystems healthy.
How do you think cattle help keep the grass/grasslands healthy?
Have the table teams use Round Robin strategy to list ways they think cattle might benefit the grass/grasslands.

Use the white boards or a piece of paper to list the information.
Discuss as a class after about 5 minutes.

Slide #22 / Compare your list to this one provide.
•Their hooves make seed to soil contact which helps dormant seeds to germinate and establish.
•They break soil crusts that keep seeds from growing.
•They trample standing vegetation into mulch to protect soil and keep it most.
•They turn vegetation into high-quality fertilizer.
•They prune stale growth keeping forage plants at peak production (also leaves more suitable parts of grasses for wildlife.
•They prune plants which causes roots to self-prune and become soil.
Slide #23 / On your 3-2-1 Chart write two ways that cattle help maintain the food supply in a grassland habitat.
Slide #24 / Why do you think ranchers are concerned about accessing water?
Discuss initial ideas with the class.
Slide #25 / This video discusses how ranchers cope with drought.
Reflect on the initial student responses and explain that April and November are the only rainy season in East Africa so drought is a big threat.
Show the video Population Management #2: Drought.
Slide #26 / Explain that some ranchers move around based on the weather to access water for the cattle and some utilize grass/banks/areas of grass that have been reserved for the dry season.
Show the video Populations Management #3: Seasonality
Slide #27 / On your 3-2-1 Chart record two methods ranchers use to try to provide their herds with access to water.
Slide #28 / On your 3-2-1 Chart reflect and write a sentence about how this information relates to something you already knew.
Slide #29 / To maintain healthy cattle and wildlife populations on their land, ranchers have to balance their desire for bigger herds with what the land can support. To balance the herd size with what the land can support, the ranchers must use information from conservationist’s research to evaluate population dynamics and figure out the right number or cattle for the amount of land, water and forage available.
Carry Capacity = the number of animals that a given area of land can support.
If the population is greater than the carrying capacity, the population will get smaller until it is at or below carrying capacity. (show next slide video).
Slide #30 / As you watch the video think of:
How can science help land managers work with cattle owners to balance the water needs of their cattle, wildlife, and irrigated agriculture?
Show Population Management #4: Science
Slide #31 / How can science help land managers work with cattle owners to balance the water needs of their cattle, wildlife, and irrigated agriculture?
Discuss the answers t this question as a class.
Slide #32 / Explain that conservationist have developed formulas based on relevant variables that ranchers can use to determine how many cattle their land can support.
To determine carry capacity of land and figure out appropriate herd size a rancher must consider:
•How much food each cow needs based on weight
•Total amount of grass on land
•How much grass is available for forage (based on the take-half, leave-half rule)
Slide #33 / Evaluation
•Open up your science notebook to the next available page.
•Draw 3 columns down the page.
•1st column -write why cattle populations are important to the people in East Africa.
•2nd column - describe the issues cattle ranchers face when trying to maintain healthy herds.
•3rd column - summarize what a rancher needs to consider when calculating appropriate herd size.