Pantheraman
Well-Known Member
Are wolves’ footprints on ecosystems overstated? | International Wolf Center
"But researchers recently found wolves (Canis lupus)—and other predators—aren’t singlehandedly responsible for many of these events. There is still a place for them in the ecosystem, they argue, but not because they’re engineers."
Not engineers? I beg to differ, as mountain lions for example, are ecosystem engineers because their kills provide food for many different species and are even homes for 216 species of beetles. And that's just one example.
"Blossey originally worked as an entomologist, studying the use of insects as biocontrol for invasive plants. He noticed that introduced plant species were super competitive with native species in the Northeast. But he soon found out that the introduced plants weren’t the main driver of changes in the ecosystem, but white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were. As he researched the issue, he found that sterilization and hunting wouldn’t significantly bring down deer numbers. That prompted other suggestions."
Given how the system of wildlife management works in this country, of course, recreational hunting won't lower deer numbers. The system simply doesn't work that way.
"Blossey and his co-author, Darragh Hare, with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, concluded that based on the available evidence, wolves by themselves would probably not restore the landscape the way conservationists might hope. They also probably would not cause the devastation to livestock that some ranchers fear.
“One of the big things that we see is that the data that we have is not good enough for us to actually make these bold claims,” he said.
Looking at wolves’ effects on deer, Blossey and Hare argue that that past research didn’t take into account other ungulates that wolves prey on, and it didn’t consider a lack of forage due to excessive deer browse itself and other factors like cattle grazing, feral horses and drought, which could play important role of deer abundance declines."
"Instead of reintroducing wolves, Blossey suggests they be allowed to disperse naturally. They might even be able to help stabilize deer and elk numbers, he said, but they probably can’t do without the help of recreational hunting. Wolves have a role to play, he said, but they won’t likely restore ecosystems."
Two things to take away from this.
1. What's wrong with reintroducing them? I'm not really sure how letting them dispserse on their own is any better than a reintroduction since either way you'll have a newly established wolf population, but a reintroduction is quicker and thus one can help deal with ungulate overpopulations much sooner.
2. When it comes to deer control the only thing they seem to be looking at is the ability of predators to reduce prey numbers, what they're failing to even bring up is the true main job of top predators: The Ecology of Fear, where the presence of predators makes the prey use the landscape in a way that prevents them from basically destroying the ecosystem. That's what happened in Yellowstone National Park, when wolves were reintroduced, now all the cogs of the wheel were in place, and now both the wolves and cougars kinda work together to keep elk on the move.
And this is something they can and have done without the help of hunters.
"But researchers recently found wolves (Canis lupus)—and other predators—aren’t singlehandedly responsible for many of these events. There is still a place for them in the ecosystem, they argue, but not because they’re engineers."
Not engineers? I beg to differ, as mountain lions for example, are ecosystem engineers because their kills provide food for many different species and are even homes for 216 species of beetles. And that's just one example.
"Blossey originally worked as an entomologist, studying the use of insects as biocontrol for invasive plants. He noticed that introduced plant species were super competitive with native species in the Northeast. But he soon found out that the introduced plants weren’t the main driver of changes in the ecosystem, but white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were. As he researched the issue, he found that sterilization and hunting wouldn’t significantly bring down deer numbers. That prompted other suggestions."
Given how the system of wildlife management works in this country, of course, recreational hunting won't lower deer numbers. The system simply doesn't work that way.
"Blossey and his co-author, Darragh Hare, with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, concluded that based on the available evidence, wolves by themselves would probably not restore the landscape the way conservationists might hope. They also probably would not cause the devastation to livestock that some ranchers fear.
“One of the big things that we see is that the data that we have is not good enough for us to actually make these bold claims,” he said.
Looking at wolves’ effects on deer, Blossey and Hare argue that that past research didn’t take into account other ungulates that wolves prey on, and it didn’t consider a lack of forage due to excessive deer browse itself and other factors like cattle grazing, feral horses and drought, which could play important role of deer abundance declines."
"Instead of reintroducing wolves, Blossey suggests they be allowed to disperse naturally. They might even be able to help stabilize deer and elk numbers, he said, but they probably can’t do without the help of recreational hunting. Wolves have a role to play, he said, but they won’t likely restore ecosystems."
Two things to take away from this.
1. What's wrong with reintroducing them? I'm not really sure how letting them dispserse on their own is any better than a reintroduction since either way you'll have a newly established wolf population, but a reintroduction is quicker and thus one can help deal with ungulate overpopulations much sooner.
2. When it comes to deer control the only thing they seem to be looking at is the ability of predators to reduce prey numbers, what they're failing to even bring up is the true main job of top predators: The Ecology of Fear, where the presence of predators makes the prey use the landscape in a way that prevents them from basically destroying the ecosystem. That's what happened in Yellowstone National Park, when wolves were reintroduced, now all the cogs of the wheel were in place, and now both the wolves and cougars kinda work together to keep elk on the move.
And this is something they can and have done without the help of hunters.
