In the end, Yellowstone benefits from its large carnivores-even if a link from wolves to plants to songbirds to beavers cannot be traced. Besides, large carnivores clearly do cause trophic cascades in other places. Next to these benefits, the story can seem only a fib. It has stimulated a flagging American interest in wildlife and ecosystem conservation. Which brings up the question: Does it actually matter if it’s not true? After all, it has bolstered the case for conserving large carnivores in Yellowstone and elsewhere, which is important not just for ecological reasons, but for ethical ones, too. Amid this clutter of ecology, there is not a clear link from wolves to plants, songbirds and beavers. It even appears that the loss of cutthroat trout as a food source has driven grizzly bears to kill more elk calves. Human hunting, growing bear numbers, and severe drought have also reduced elk populations. “A few small patches of Yellowstone’s trees do appear to have benefited from elk declines, but wolves are not the only cause of those declines. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has stimulated waning American interest in ecosystem and wildlife conservation. Now it’s too late for even high levels of wolf predation to restore the willows.Ĭonserving large carnivores-such as wolves in Yellowstone National Park-is crucial not just for ecological reasons, but for ethical ones, too. The water table dropped below the reach of willow roots. Without beaver dams, fast-flowing streams cut deeper into the terrain. Without willows to eat, beavers declined. After humans exterminated wolves nearly a century ago, elk grew so abundant that they all but eliminated willow shrubs. This study, which focused on willows, showed that the decades without wolves changed Yellowstone too much to undo. ![]() “The strongest explanation for why the wolves have made less of a difference than we expected comes from a long-term, experimental study by a research group at Colorado State University. Writing in “The Opinion Pages” of The New York Times, Middleton states that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone is far more complicated and nuanced than can be explained by a trophic cascade. Recently, however, some, such as Arthur Middleton, a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, are challenging the way that we have thought about the wolves’ role in Yellowstone since the mid 1990s. In the video below, which was produced by Sustainable Man, a website dedicated to sustainable lifestyles, this quintessential illustration of a trophic cascade is discussed. The classic example often given of a trophic cascade is what happened in Yellowstone National Park when wolves were reintroduced in 1995. In ecological circles, a trophic cascade is a term used to describe a process in an ecosystem that starts at the top of the food chain and works its way down to the bottom. Yellowstone Wolf: Citizen Science Project retrieved on Nov.The relationship between the Yellowstone Ecosystem and its reintroduced wolves may be more complicated than just a “trophic cascade.” ©Candice Gaukel Andrews ![]() Source: The History of Wolves in Yellowstone. While Yellowstone's portion of the wolf population remains protected within its boundaries, a regulated wolf hunting and trapping season now takes place throughout Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, including in areas adjacent to the National Parks. This included a simultaneous wolf reintroduction in central Idaho and ongoing protection for a naturally recovering population in northwest Montana.īy 2002 the US Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery goals were met: the Northern Rockies were now home to 30 breeding wolf pairs, uniformly distributed throughout these three Rocky Mountain recovery areas for three successive years.ĭelisting in Montana and Idaho took place in 2009, followed by a brief relisting, and final delisting throughout Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming in 20. Wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone was part of the much larger Northern Rocky Mountain wolf recovery effort. Wolves flourished amidst Yellowstone's abundant prey and expansive, protected wilderness. With ESA listing came the goal of restoring wolves to their historic range, and in 19, following many years of public planning and input, a total of 31 wolves, captured in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, were reintroduced to Yellowstone. In the ensuing decades, our understanding of large predators and their role in healthy ecosystems changed, and Northern Rocky Mountain wolves were eventually listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. ![]() By 1926, as a result of federal and state predator control efforts, gray wolves (Canis lupus) were officially extirpated from Yellowstone National Park, WY.
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