The Harms of Losing Predatory Animals

Caribou also are often the pray of wolves or lynx. 5) The extinction of the caribou could affect the eco system by leaving the wolves/lynx that were feeding on caribou with less food to eat, and the population of vegetation where the caribou once were would increase because caribou mainly feed on vegetation.

If a predator organism was removed from an ecosystem, it would allow the prey population to increase which could lead to not having enough food for these organisms to eat. For example, if wolves were eliminated from the taiga biome than there would be a dramatic increase in the population of moose. This would result in the moose not having enough jack pine and could lead to starvation. The wolves would then have to eat more rabbits, elk, and voles which would decrease their population and starve the organisms that rely on these animals.

When herbivorous species such as white-tailed deer and elks are the main predators in a habitat, they create an imbalance in the habitat, and force other species in the habitat to go extinct. Natural predation also has a stronger impact in stabilizing or reducing the population of white-tailed deer than human hunting alone. One of the main reasons for the overpopulation of the deer was the extinction of their predators. Every animal in the food web is highly important in keeping the balance in the ecosystem. Yellowstone National Park was a great example of how every species support the

The absence of wolves has allowed for smaller predators to increase in population and range, such as coyotes and raccoons. These species in turn cause greater exploitation of their specific food sources. Coyotes have now assumed the position of top predator in California, making populations of foxes dwindle as they compete for the similar food sources.

Reintroduction of wolves brought about recovery of plants and animals in Yellowstone National Park. In 1990s, deer were overpopulated due to absence of its predator, wolves. Regardless of people’s efforts, the number of deer kept increasing. As a result,

Summarize: The result of one species extinction could potentially be fatal to the environment. In the animal kingdom, there is a food chain. Keystone animals, are the key ingredient to the food chain. When that keystone animals goes extinct, it sets off a chain reaction on the other animal’s food source. This causes one species to flourish and another to dwindle. The environment needs a healthy checks and balance system to keep each animal population under control (Stuart, 1990 ). Humans can cause the keystone animal to become extinct and therefore, responsible for rise and decline of other species, ultimately, throwing the food chain off balance.

I think Jim from the book “Sewer Rats” is a better protagonist than Callie from the book “Flower Power”. Jim is a better protagonist than Callie since I can connect with him more than I can connect with Callie. I can connect with Jim since he enjoys simple things especially like playing paintball. I also enjoy playing paintball so I can connect with Jim that way proving he is more connectable with. In the book Callie does not seem to enjoy things making her harder to connect with. Another reason why Jim is the better protagonist is that he is just plain likeable. He is very likeable since he just doesn’t realize how awesome he is. In the book, Jim saves Carter and Lisa with the help of his friends. So to the rest of his friends he should be

Then, smaller animal populations, such as rodents, rabbits, and insects decreased because the plants they depended on for food were now less abundant. In addition, the number of foxes, hawks, and owls that prey on smaller animals and the number of ravens, eagles, and other scavengers that eat wolf kill decreased. Therefore, the initial disappearance of wolves resulted in communities with considerably less biodiversity. However, once wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, substantial changes occurred for other species in the park. The top predators’ effects have ranged from altering relationships among predator and prey species to transforming vegetation profiles. For example, coyotes are potential prey for wolves, and wolf packs have decimated some coyote populations. The reduction in coyotes had allowed populations of the coyotes’ prey, such as ground squirrels and chipmunks, to increase. Also, scavengers such as ravens, bald eagles, and grizzly bears have benefited from eating the scraps from wolf kills. In addition, it is predicted that a decrease in wolves prey such as elk should cause broader, long-term impacts. A decline in elk population would

The cause of the local big game population dropping isn’t because animals are not reproducing. It is because wolves are killing too many big game animals and killing the ecosystem of the North Western United States. The population of Mule Deer in SouthEastern Idaho was cut in half in only 8 years, from 1995 to 2003 (IFG, 2006). What caused this sudden decline? Wolves did. Deer are not the only species suffering. Elk populations are seriously struggling to keep their numbers up. Wolves are killing them too fast and elk cannot keep up.

For instance, gray wolves, according to the authors of “Using Small Populations of Wolves for Ecosystem Restoration and Stewardship”, “...influence the abundance of ungulates, which in turn affects the structure and composition of plant communities”(Licht et al. 2). Wolves prey on herbivores such as deer and elk, keeping their population under control and thus allowing more plant species that the prey feed on to grow and reproduce. If wolves were to go extinct the prey populations would soar. There would be no predators to hunt the animals, so they would spend less time worrying about predators and more time feeding. This would drastically reduce the population of plant species that the prey animals feed on until there is not enough food to sustain the ever growing prey species. The prey species population would begin to die of starvation and the few animals left would develop a variety of diseases due to malnutrition and genes that were passed through generations of animals. The genes would have not passed through the animals if the wolves had not gone extinct. This is due to the fact that wolves would have eaten the weak prey animals, therefore reducing the chance of weak and sickly offspring and improving the health of future generations of prey animals. Additionally, with the plant

The effect of the new wolf population was a miracle beyond hope, the ecosystem began to recover and diversify greatly. When the wolves were introduced it was found that they killed elk and restored their numbers to something the ecosystem could carry in conjunction with other species who feed on similar resources. In this way a surge of beaver population can be noted, as a result of beaver population increase the rivers became more stable and lodging was created for a half dozen species. It was also found that with the hunting of elk wolves left behind food for other animals whose populations also greatly benefited from this new predator. With the reintroduction of this alpha predator, the ecosystem made great strides toward recovering and diversifying, stream traveled slowly, meandered less and forest began to grow anew. Despite some arguments that Grey Wolves are a menace to the area or sensationalist report trying to discredit the wolf the results are clear. While man was responsible for the over hunting of the Grey Wolf in the 20th century, at its end the mistakes were rectified and the ecosystem shifted back into

One cause why some animals are going extinct is because of hunting. The animal(s) kills other animals and people then kill that animal(s). According to U.S Department of Agriculture it mentions that, “In 2010 wolves killed 570 adult cows and 1,990 calves (baby cows) in Idaho. Montana had 440 adult cows die and 852 calves. Finally, then Wyoming with 74 adult cows and 511 calved dead from wolves.” There are more wolves in Idaho then Wyoming and Montana which also means that more

Farmers, ranchers, and government agents have been contributors to this decline by poisoning wolves and over trapping (National Wildlife Federation, 1996-2015). From January 1, 2015- March 31, 2015 there have been a total of 13 wolf deaths in the state of Minnesota. A total of 3 were unknown, 3 incidental, 1 was hit by a vehicle, 1 natural death, 2 under investigation, and 3 were illegal that included 1 illegal shooting and 2 illegal snares. (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2015) Humans have not only been the factor of decline in wolf population, but the decline in prey (bison, elk, white-tailed deer, moose, caribou, and beaver) has decreased wolf numbers as well. Being the white-tailed deer population has increased the wolf population is back on the rise. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, 2015, April 23) These factors are essential when it comes to determining the problem behind a decline in a specie population. We not only need to look at one factor, but a wide range of issues that can contribute to this

Habitat destruction, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, and poaching. These actions and ecological happenings are creating a world where animals are going extinct at rapid rates. Our world is on the brink of what scientists believe is the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the five previous mass extinction, the latest one killing a majority of the dinosaurs, the main causes for this current extinction are anthropogenic reasons, not natural events.

Since the beginning of life itself, some species have lived and prospered while other species have gone extinct never to be seen again by mankind. Because of this, some would claim that extinction is natural and not significantly problematic to the world that we live in. Others, however, understand that due to climate change, habitat loss, and poaching, more and more species are becoming endangered which leads to a chain reaction that can be devastating to ecosystems. Species such as the Chinook salmon, gorillas, tropical sharks, and polar bears are all directly affected by climate change, species such as northern spotted owls, Sumatran tigers, and lemurs are greatly harmed due to habitat loss, and species such as the sea turtle, Javan rhinoceros, African elephant, and the Red-Fronted Macaw are all affected by poaching driving them all closer and closer to becoming extinct.