Wolf And Moose Essay

The wolves prey on elk , which consume plants. When wolves are not present in the ecosystem , elk have no concern about being preyed on. Therefore, they have time to graze on the surrounding trees and plants. Constantly , the native plants and trees have suffered from the over attention from the elk and their growth has been stunted. Some trees that have had this happen to them are cottonwoods, willows, and aspen trees, when wolves are in the environment. On the other hand, elk are cautious about where they eat. They no longer eat in the open , where wolves are able to hunt them. They find food in the thicker brush too be hidden. The trees in turn , are able to grow back to their original size and

Throughout the past decades it has become evident that Isle Royale does not receive many visitors when compared to other National Parks. Due to this human interaction with the national park has been kept to a minimum over the years A sub-claim that can be formed by this information is that Isle Royale has maintained such quality wildlife because of its lack of human interactment. One subclaim I have formed based on my research is that humans only have a negative impact on Isle Royale. Rolf Peterson: Leader of the Wolf Moose Project on Isle Royale claims “In the island’s wilderness, which is as pristine as any in the continental United States, wolves have inadvertently recorded [in their teeth] the two

...elk and other browsing animals behave differently when wolves are around. Instead of eating greenery down to the soil, they take a bite or two, look up to check for threats, and keep moving. The greenery can grow tall enough to reproduce.(578)

We looked first at the relationship between the wolf population and the moose population. From about 1960 to 1970, the wolf population remained fairly consistent at about 20 to 25 wolves. During this time, the moose population grew steadily from 500 to over 1200. The next 10 years saw a doubling of the wolf population to 50. This same 10 years saw a decrease of the moose population from over 1200 to over 800. Then in 1980 began a two year drastic decline in the moose population, which was brought down to 15. For the rest of the decade, the moose population remained quite low at numbers near 20. During the 1980s, the moose population doubled again from around 800 to

In “Scared to Death” by Ed Yong and Sharon Levy’s “Wolf Family Values,” we read about the need to protect the population of wolves in North America. These two articles have very different ways to go about this. Ed Yong talks about the wolf effects on elk as well as the rest of the environment. Levy’s approach is about wolf social structure and how it is impacted by hunting. Both of these make some valid points on why more conservation efforts should be made; however, I believe Ed Yong made the stronger case.

The thesis of this article is that wolves, once endangered, have come back and started to flourish causing mixed feelings for locals and biologists. Wolves were once hunted because one, to protect livestock, and two, they were seen as pests and/or vermin. The government then put wolves under the endangered list to try to save them. Since then, wolf populations have multiplied.

Only three wolves now remain on Michigan’s Isle Royale, down from nine wolves last year, Michigan Technological University reported. This means that one of the most studied wolf packs in the world are in serious danger of extinction. Wolves on Isle Royale in Michigan have fluctuated over the past 50 years going from 11 wolves all the way to 50 in 1980. But now the wolves are at an all time low at only 3 wolves. Isle Royale is a natural habitat that should not be managed by man. Nature should be allowed to take its course, even if it means the loss of the population of wolves of Isle Royale in Michigan.

The introduction of the wolves caused the moose population to decrease. The moose population dropped to approximately 150 when the wolves are present.

The declining wolf population has turned around and is now increasing at a steady pace. The National Park Service says “During the 1980s, wolves began to reestablish breeding packs in Northwestern Montana; 50-60 wolves inhabited Montana in 1994.”(NPS) We are very fortunate for the quick acts of transferring the wolves from Canada down to the Yellowstone National Park and to the intense research that has been done

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.

George, J. C., & Minor, W. (2008). The wolves are back. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books. The Wolves are Back is a wonderful children’s picture book.

The chain of events is continuous once a high order predator is eliminated. Reintroducing wolves into California may help restore the balance and diversity of plants and animals in our ecosystem. However, the return of wolves would not be without problems. California is very different now from the environment it once was when wolves lived here. They would have to contend with the growing human population, development, and livestock industries. Politics and public opinion might also be against them.

For example, their concept indicates that prey species will alter their foraging habits to the features of the terrain in order to avoid areas with a high risk of predation. Predation risk in a changing environment is also focused on by the authors. There are many environmental variables that may influence the degree of predation risk such as weather, wildfires, and other conditions that influence ungulates’ access to vegetation. Finally, the authors focus on ecosystem responses to trophic cascades—primarily on riparian functions and on beaver and bird populations. They also inform us that wolves may represent an indirect control on beaver populations as well as cause ungulates to avoid some riparian areas—therefore reducing herbivory on wooden browse species.

“Of the 116 radio collared moose, 85 (73%) died by 1 March 2008” (Lenarz et al 2009, p. 506). Sources of mortality included capture stress, hunting, poaching, vehicle collision, predation, disease, and cases of unknown mortality. Displayed in figure 2, non-anthropogenic mortality is highest between April and May. As displayed in Table 2, “Annual survival rates

Gray wolves. To some, these creatures are monsters, harbingers of death and destruction. To others, they are simply misunderstood creatures, protective of their family and their pack. However, what either side does not know is that these creatures play a greater role in their ecosystem than one human alone could understand. Grey wolves are one of thousands of different keystone species- species of organisms that have a large effect on the health and stability of a particular ecosystem. But they are also on the brink of extinction. The over hunting of these creatures in the 1900’s has lead to a severe decline in their population throughout the U.S., creating a ripple effect in the ecosystems in which they reside in. Luckily, reintroduction