How wolves
changed Yellowstone National Park
In 1995,
wolves where reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. They had been absent
for 70 years. The elk and deer population was big since no other animals where
there to cut it down. The deer ate all the grass in the valleys and gorges so
no grass or flowers lived there.
When the
wolves arrived, they didn’t just kill some deer, the deer moved away from those
valleys which lead to the growth of grass and flowers. The trees became taller
which brang in plenty of different species of birds. Beavers came in to live
there since they ate the trees. They created dams and niches which allowed other species such as muskrates and
otters to live in. The wolves killed the coyotes so the number of rabits and
mice went up, which gave life to more hawks and eagles.
The wolves
didn’t just change the Yellowstone National Parks ecosystem but also its
physical appearence; the wolves changed the rivers. More trees started to grow
close to the river banks, reinforcing the banks. The banks stopped collapsing
so the river was healthier and wider.
The wolves
kept the Yellowstone National Park alive by changing the ecosystem and its
physical appearance.
Questions:
1. Do you know another animal that
changed the ecosystem or physical appearance of an area?
2. How do you think the wolves kept the
park alive in a way?
Another animal that can change a lands physical appearance are beavers. Beavers will fell trees on river banks and the surrounding area. This causes the banks to become frail and they can wash away. Also, they create great dams that block the waters passage and this will affect the ecosystem downstream as they will have a shortage of their once abundant water.
ReplyDeleteI think that wolves kept YNP alive in a fashion because many things could have happened if these predators had not been revived. First, all of the elk and deer were starting to multiply into unhealthy numbers. They would have run out of food and also could have started a wide spread epidemic wiping out their species. Also, without the banks being reinforced it would have been treacherous crossing the banks and it would prove to a problem for migrations and water sources.
Grizzly bears can change the physical appearance of an ecosystem. If there are no grizzly bears in an ecosystem, ungulate (hoofed mammal) populations can grow out of control and alter the vegetation structure in the ecosystem. If grizzly bears are present in the location, they can start digging and foraging for food which can help the vegetation stay healthy. It helps to mix up the nutrient level in the soil which helps to increase the ammonium and nitrate levels of the soil which helps other plants species grow and make the ecosystem look beautiful. As you can see, grizzly bears can help the biodiversity of a certain ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteElephants are the world's largest and most powerful land animals, so it's not surprising they have a profound impact on the ecosystem. To reach food, elephants regularly break branches, uproot bushes and push down whole trees — sometimes whole strands of trees. Elephants prefer to roam across a vast territory, so forests can usually recover from the damage they cause. But when fences, farmland and human encroachment shrink the range of these magnificent beasts, elephant behavior can radically alter a limited landscape.
ReplyDeleteI think they did it by making the deer get out of there, so, the main problem was the deer, they didn't allow nature grow in YNP.
An other animal that can change the appearance of an ecosystem is the great white shark. The diet of the shark are sea lions and if the sharks disappear there would be overpopulation of sea lions. The sea lions would eat all the sea plants in the zone and this would make the fish and sea lions move out of there.
ReplyDeleteWhat the wolves made was reorganizes and rebalance the food chain of the Yellowstone Park. By doing this all the park has life again and a lot more of animal species are living there.
This was a really interesting comment from Amanda.
Another animal that can change the ecosystem is the human being because we would hunt all the animal and we would cut trees to build houses and other things
ReplyDeleteBecause they create a new food chain so they were the new strongest predator, so they scare out the animals that were finishing the soil and that allow to the other animals to take their place in the Yellowstone park
The beers were the main problem, they were finishing with the ecosystem, no other animal could stopped them. When the wolves arrived, the stopped with the beers by killing them and finishing with the main problem.
ReplyDelete