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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]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @05:16PM
cattle ranchers are spoiled fucks. you think you can breed as many cows as possible and just send them out into the wild unprotected and then you get to slaughter anything that tries to kill them? after the fact, of course, because you were far away when the killing happened, so you don't even know which individuals did it. you're too lazy, cheap or stupid to even train guard dogs to live with them. you poison dogs, coyotes, wolves and god knows what else(like cowards), as if you have the rights of some twisted god. now coyotes are all across the US because you put them under pressure and they breed more and get smarter when you do that. i don't really mind b/c i'm not scared of coyotes. i'd only shoot one if i really had to. if they encroach my dogs will tear their asses up/run them off, though they've never tried to come up to the yard when they know we're outside. they haven't even gotten a single one of my chickens because my dogs and the rooster guard them; and i grew up in the city. it's not that hard. you just teach the dog that the chickens (and even that asshole rooster) are part of the family. then they are on autopilot.