CNN: Study shows wolves' importance to ecosystems

[shockra]

Study shows wolves' importance to ecosystems

Monday, August 1, 2005; Posted: 3:21 p.m. EDT (19:21 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The loss of once-plentiful wolves in a part of Canada's west allowed the elk population to mushroom, pushing out beavers and songbirds and showing the importance of top predators, Canadian researchers said on Monday.

Although scientists have long noted that the loss of even one species can have profound effects, the report is one of the first large-scale studies to show clearly the widespread consequences of losing a predator at the top of the food chain.

Mark Hebblewhite of the University of Alberta, and colleagues studied what happened in "a serendipitous natural experiment" when wolves returned to part of the Bow Valley of Banff National Park in Alberta.

Wolves were driven out in the 1960s "because that's what we did then," Hebblewhite said.

more...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/08/01/canada.wolves.reut/index.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. When will man learn to stop fooling around with Mother Nature?

Chaos theory tells us that tiny alterations (even the flapping of the butterfly's wing) may produce dramatic effects-

[otohara]

2. PBS Did A Special on This - Pretty Amazing What Happens

when things are the way they are supposed to be.

[DanCa]

3. Everything we do is interconnected with someone/something else.

Funny for an "outdoors men" Bush isn't very concerned with the ecosystem is he? Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we all would learn to live and let live?

[havocmom]

4. Wolves returned to Yellowstone helped birds of prey.

The wolves went in and killed a third of the coyote population in short order. They seem to be keeping the coyote numbers pretty constant. As a result, hawks and eagles are doing better because they scavenge and with fewer coyotes (that population got out of hand) the big birds are having an easier time and flourishing.

Balance. Balance.

[astonamous]

5. Wolves being slaughtered in Alaska

Agreed. Mother Nature has a way of balancing everything out without interference from idiot people.

Check out the video
http://www.savealaskawolves.org/

And then don't get me started about what is going on with the Wild Horses of America.

[shockra]

7. Yup.

We were thinking the same thing.

[shockra]

6. Made me think of Alaska's aerial wolf "hunt."

[Lorien]

8. Coyote populations exploding because of the loss of the wolf

Wolves will kill coyotes, coyotes will kill foxes-but wolves don't kill foxes. So now fox populations are dropping and coyotes are rapidly expanding their range.This could also cause a steep increase in the populations of the prey favored by foxes but overlooked by coyotes.