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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Aspen Recovery In Northern Yellowstone: A Comment On Brice Et Al. (2021), Luke E. Painter, Robert L. Beschta, William J. Ripple
Aspen Recovery In Northern Yellowstone: A Comment On Brice Et Al. (2021), Luke E. Painter, Robert L. Beschta, William J. Ripple
Aspen Bibliography
Aspen sapling recruitment increased as browsing by elk decreased, following the 1995–96 reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. We address claims by Brice et al. (2021) that previous studies exaggerated recent aspen recovery. We conclude that their results actually supported previous work showing a trophic cascade benefiting aspen.
Revisiting Trophic Cascades And Aspen Recovery In Northern Yellowstone, Robert L. Beschta, Luke E. Painter, William J. Ripple
Revisiting Trophic Cascades And Aspen Recovery In Northern Yellowstone, Robert L. Beschta, Luke E. Painter, William J. Ripple
Aspen Bibliography
We revisit the nature and extent of trophic cascades and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) recovery in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP), where studies have reported on Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) browsing and young aspen heights following the St. John, 1995-96 reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus). A recent study by Brice et al. (2021) expressed concerns about methodologies employed in earlier aspen studies and that results from those studies exaggerated the extent to which a trophic cascade has benefitted aspen, concerns such as: (a) the selection of aspen stands, (b) …
Sampling Bias Exaggerates A Textbook Example Of A Trophic Cascade, Elaine M. Brice, Eric J. Larsen, Daniel R. Macnulty
Sampling Bias Exaggerates A Textbook Example Of A Trophic Cascade, Elaine M. Brice, Eric J. Larsen, Daniel R. Macnulty
Aspen Bibliography
Understanding trophic cascades in terrestrial wildlife communities is a major challenge because these systems are difficult to sample properly. We show how a tradition of non-random sampling has confounded this understanding in a textbook system (Yellowstone National Park) where carnivore [Canis lupus (wolf)] recovery is associated with a trophic cascade involving changes in herbivore [Cervus canadensis (elk)] behaviour and density that promote plant regeneration. Long-term data indicate a practice of sampling only the tallest young plants overestimated regeneration of overstory aspen (Populus tremuloides) by a factor of 4–7 compared to random sampling because it favoured plants taller than the preferred …
Diel Predator Activity Drives A Dynamic Landscape Of Fear, Michel T. Kohl, Daniel R. Stahler, Matthew C. Metz, James D. Forester, Matthew J. Kauffman, Nathan Varley, P. J. White, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Macnulty
Diel Predator Activity Drives A Dynamic Landscape Of Fear, Michel T. Kohl, Daniel R. Stahler, Matthew C. Metz, James D. Forester, Matthew J. Kauffman, Nathan Varley, P. J. White, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Macnulty
Ecology Center Publications
A “landscape of fear” (LOF) is a map that describes continuous spatial variation in an animal's perception of predation risk. The relief on this map reflects, for example, places that an animal avoids to minimize risk. Although the LOF concept is a potentially unifying theme in ecology that is often invoked to explain the ecological and conservation significance of fear, little is known about the daily dynamics of an LOF. Despite theory and data to the contrary, investigators often assume, implicitly or explicitly, that an LOF is a static consequence of a predator's mere presence within an ecosystem. We tested …
Herbivory Strains Resilience In Drought-Prone Aspen Landscapes Of The Western United States, Paul C. Rogers
Herbivory Strains Resilience In Drought-Prone Aspen Landscapes Of The Western United States, Paul C. Rogers
Aspen Bibliography
Aims: Aspen forests around the northern hemisphere provide rich biodiversity compared to surrounding vegetation types. In both North America and Europe, however, aspen are threatened by a variety of human impacts: clear-felling, land development, water diversions, fire suppression, and both wild and domestic ungulate herbivory. We conducted a landscape assessment of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) for the purpose of identifying key components of resilience. Specifically, we strove to test novel measures linking plant-animal interactions, compare crucial functional differences in aspen types, and make appropriate restorative recommendations based on the outcome of these assessments. Location: The Book Cliffs region of eastern …
Female Elk Contacts Are Neither Frequency Nor Density Dependent, P. C. Cross, T. G. Creech, Michael Ryan Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, K. Irvine, J. Henningsen, J. Rogerson, B. M. Scurlock, S. Creel
Female Elk Contacts Are Neither Frequency Nor Density Dependent, P. C. Cross, T. G. Creech, Michael Ryan Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, K. Irvine, J. Henningsen, J. Rogerson, B. M. Scurlock, S. Creel
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Identifying drivers of contact rates among individuals is critical to understanding disease dynamics and implementing targeted control measures. We studied the interaction patterns of 149 female elk (Cervus canadensis) distributed across five different regions of western Wyoming over three years, defining a contact as an approach within one body length (∼2 m). Using hierarchical models that account for correlations within individuals, pairs, and groups, we found that pairwise contact rates within a group declined by a factor of three as group sizes increased 33-fold. Per capita contact rates, however, increased with group size according to a power function, such that …
Elk-Aspen Relationships On A Prescribed Burn, Joseph V. Basile
Elk-Aspen Relationships On A Prescribed Burn, Joseph V. Basile
Aspen Bibliography
No abstract provided.