Read this article about the effects of the reintroduction of the Grey Wolf into Yellowstone National Park, and answer the following questions:
1) Discuss the effects of the reintroduction of the wolf into Yellowstone, and why this species has created these changes.
2) Why, according to scientists, is the documentation of the reintroduction a "rare, almost unique, opportunity?"
With the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone, there has been a An increase I the number of beaver? The reintroduction of wolves changed the food chain so quickly, that It was not natural. The decreas in elk is a result of the wolves.
ReplyDeleteBecause it is able to show that while the disappearance of wolves in the first place was disssapointing, from re introducing them so rapidly, it has changed the environment and food chain to fast.
1. When the wolves were reintroduced to the Yellowstone environment, it caused the elk there- who, in the wolves' absence, would browse on willows- to stay on the move and not browse on willows as much. This allowed the willow stands to be healthier and more abundant. These willow stands were fed on by the beaver population, therefore increasing the beaver population. With the increase in beaver population, more dams were built which provided more shaded water for fish. The reintroduction of the grey wolf population caused a ripple effect and affected many different species living in the Yellowstone environment.
ReplyDelete2. It is very common for a species of animal to be removed from an environment but it is extremely rare for that same species to reenter that environment. Because this is such a rare occurrence, it is imperative that researchers study this situation because it can show us how a reappearance of a species can affect many other species living in that same environment.
1. When wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone, they have created an "avalanche of change." Wolves consume elk and since the wolves' absence, there is less pressure on the elk and a greater supply available for other animals that prey upon them (bears, cougars, and coyotes.) With the return of the wolves, the consumption of elk means that elks don't browse on willow trees as much which is actually beneficial for the plant since it will enable them to recover their pre-cut biomass. In the end, the willows trees that are now made available benefits dam development for beavers.
ReplyDelete2. The documentation of the reintroduction of this is a "rare, almost unique, opportunity" because it allows scientists to observe the relationship when a specie is taken out of an environment and then put back in. In these findings, scientist have found that elks are very adaptable. In observing these happenings, scientists are able to determine survival methods that certain species use and the food distribution with the reintroduction of wolves.
1. The effects of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone is that the pressure on elk that had been taken away when the wolves left has now returned. When there were too many elk the beavers had a hard time getting willow bark, but now that the wolves are back the elk do not have as much time to feed on the willows. This causes the beavers to regain this resource and have better dam developments. When beavers have better dams there are also multiple effects on stream hydrology.
ReplyDelete2. Scientists say the reintroduction of wolves is a rare and unique opportunity because it allows the scientists to determine what happens to an ecosystem when it in a sense becomes whole again. They can document what happens when a key species is added back in to the equation. It is a rare occasion for a species to re-enter an environment so scientists want to take this opportunity while they can to try and learn more.
1- When wolves were slowly reintroduced to Yellowstone, they created a major change by starting to consume elk again. When wolves were not there, elk was consumed by other animals, mostly bears and coyotes and elk would feed on willows. Now that the wolves have been reintroduced to Yellowstone, it means elks do not feed on willows as much as they used to, which is beneficial to the plant. It causes beavers to regain this source of energy and have better dam development.
ReplyDelete2- According to scientists, the documentation of the reintroduction is a 'rare, almost unique opportunity' because it makes it possible for them to study more in depth ecosystems and what happen to them. They are able to document and take note of different happenings when a specie is reintroduced to a certain place. This is a great opportunity for them to uncover more.
1. The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone has been very beneficial to the ecology. Before the wolves, elk would feed on willow, which would decrease the population of willow and beavers (beavers eat willow). With the addition of the wolves, the elk have been moving a lot more and haven't been overgrazing certain areas of Yellowstone. In addition, the increase in beaver population has brought shade and cold water to fish as well as a method of storing water.
ReplyDelete2. This is a rare opportunity because scientists can study how an ecosystem becomes a whole again with the addition of species, as opposed to the decrease in species that is common. Scientists can now observe the relationship between species when one species is added, which is very uncommon in the world.
1) The reintroduction of the species has had a domino effect on all other creatures within the ecosystem. Specifically, the elk have been effected in that their numbers are dwindling due to their new predators; and consequently, they are not over grazing areas. This helps improve the beavers' environment because they have more resources and energy sources
ReplyDelete2) This is a very unique opportunity for scientists to explore the effects of a species being reintroduced into an environment. It is a fantastic way to look into the ecological interactions of such a rare occurrence.
1. The reintroduction of wolves into the Yellowstone environment has resulted in the resurrection of an ecosystem in utter disorder. The disappearance of wolves has caused the overpopulation of elk resulting in their grazing on willows which is a primary product required by beavers. Because the wolves are the main predators of elk, their introduction has caused the dispersion of elk herds through out Yellowstone allowing for willow groves to not be completely consumed by the elk populations resulting in the increase in beaver populations. Another effect of wolf introduction is that there has been an increase in scavenging materials for birds and small mammals. Since wolves kill more elk now during the winter then the actual winter cold did, these small animals are able to feed better on the abundance of elk carcasses left over by wolves that weren't left as much by the cold winters. Overall, wolves at Yellowstone have brought the ecosystem back to equilibrium by decreasing and dispersing elk population, evidently increasing both beaver and other small animal populations.
ReplyDelete2. Scientists say that their observations on the reintroduction of wolves at Yellowstone is a "rare, almost unique, opportunity" because there have only been six other scenarios where scientists have observed similar situations while they most of the time have to observe ecosystems with decreasing species numbers. But in this case it is the exact opposite. What this brings is an important understanding of the Yellowstone ecosystem as well as other ecosystems that could experience this same event.
1. The reintroduction of wolves is forcing the elk to stay moving once more, which enables the willows to be healthier, which makes it easier for beavers to build dams, which makes it easier for fish to survive and controls water levels. A simple event caused an avalanche of other events to follow.
ReplyDelete2. They are now able to study what would normally be too large of an environmental change to study in a normal ecosystem, but in a much smaller and easier to control size.
1. With the reintroduction of wolves in yellowstone Park, the ecosystem recieved a dramatic change. The elk are now forced to move along, and not doing as much foraging in the open grass areas where the willow is. This is a dramatic change, because when the wolf population was gone, the elk were pushing their population boundaries and their mortality was really only based on the extremities of the weather. Another dramatic change is that there are now nine beaver colonies as opposed to one beaver colony when the wolves were gone. These changes have happened because the wolves are now the primary determiner of the elk's mortality. This also goes with how they need to continuously move (and not forage in open grass areas), because now they have a larger population of enemies to kill them. So, because they cannot forge they aren't eating/detroying the willow, so the beavers can use it to survive. This all happens because the wolf is reintroduced to Yellowstone's ecosystem.
ReplyDelete2. The documentation of the reintroduction of the elk is rare and unique, because not often do scientist get to see the ripple effect of adding a species back into it's natural ecosystem and watching the effects of returning to it's equilibrium.
1.By repopulating the wolves into Yellowstone park allowed for the Elk population to be balanced because, without the wolves the Elk were pushing ther5e population boundries. The wolves also changed the beaver population by constantly moving the Elk the plants were able to thrive and supple the beavers with the proper foliage to build their dams; assisting the ecosystem in the water because water flow was then controlled by the dams.
ReplyDelete2. This studyn now allows scientist to study what is too drastic of a change in the environment on a controlable sample size.
1. The reintroduction of wolves now allow multiple species flourish in a complex fashion. Willow trees have become healthier due to the reintroduction of wolves. Previously the large elk population ate the willow trees and they were not able to recover from the heavy eating. Now since the wolves are back the elk do not have time to eat as heavily as they use to resulting in healthier trees. Healthier trees now result in a growing beaver population. The wolves also benefit scavengers because there are more elk deaths resulting in more carcasses.
ReplyDelete2. Scientist are calling this such are rare opportunity because there are only a handful of these types of occurrences in different ecosystems