Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday September 18 2018, @06:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the circle-of-life dept.

https://yellowstoneinsider.com/2018/09/04/wolves-fewer-elk-yellowstone-aspen-comeback/

But with the reintroduction of wolves, the elk population has gone down significantly — from almost 20,000 in 1995 to around 7,500 in the latest estimates — and during that time scientists have documented a Yellowstone aspen comeback. That’s part of a larger picture of restoring balance to the ecosystem. The aspen already face a variety of challenges from insects and the like.

A 2010 study did not find any impact on aspen with the reintroduction of wolves, but a new study, published in the journal Ecosphere, did. Here’s a synopsis of the study from Oregon State:

This is the first large-scale study to show that aspen is recovering in areas around the park, as well as inside the park boundary, said Luke Painter, a wildlife ecologist at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. Wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995. The study shows their predation on elk is a major reason for new growth of aspen, a tree that plays an important ecological role in the American West.

Wolves are culling the elk herd, adding to the effects of bears, cougars, and hunters outside the park, which means less elk are browsing on aspen and other woody species. The presence of wolves has also resulted in most of the elk herd spending winter outside of the park, Painter said. Before wolf restoration, even when elk numbers were similarly low, most of the elk stayed in the park.

"What we're seeing in Yellowstone is the emergence of an ecosystem that is more normal for the region and one that will support greater biodiversity," Painter said. "Restoring aspen in northern Yellowstone has been a goal of the National Park Service for decades. Now they've begun to achieve that passively, by having the animals do it for them. It's a restoration success story."….

The study answers the question of whether the return of wolves to Yellowstone could have a cascading effect on ecosystems outside the park, Painter said, where there is much more human activity such as hunting, livestock grazing, and predator control. There has also been skepticism surrounding the extent and significance of aspen recovery, he said.

[Editor's Note: Related - there has been a lot of interest generated in this topic from this TED talk]


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @04:15AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @04:15AM (#736910)

    First of all, many people like to live outside of the urban megacities. It's not just a tourism thing.

    Second of all, unimproved land goes unused or worse. Take roads for example. If land is more than 5 or 10 miles from a road, most hikers won't use it. It isn't reasonable to reserve the land for the exclusive use of the sort of people who hike the Appalachian Trail. Making land more accessible spreads out the users, reducing impact to the land. Dangerous predators are a factor in this.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Wednesday September 19 2018, @04:27PM

    by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @04:27PM (#737092)

    The solution is simple - if you're not willing to accept your rightful place in nature (prey, as well as predator) then stay away from it. Nature is vital to our long-term survival - your safety and comfort in an illusory tamed version of it is not.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @08:05AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 21 2018, @08:05AM (#738010)

    Second of all, unimproved land goes unused or worse.

    Any time I have visited "unimproved" lands, I have noticed that it is being used to its full capacity. Maybe not by humans, but they are not the only living things on the planet.