Arthur Middleton is a wildlife ecologist and a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The article he wrote called, “Is the Wolf a Real American Hero?” argues that the popular belief that wolves were saving the plants of Yellowstone is not completely true. He uses several studies to prove that although the story of Yellowstone makes sense, it is not very accurate. He realized that there were other factors to why the biodiversity was greater when the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, like climate change. Arthur Middleton’s conclusion both represents the nature and process of scientific studies.
Scientific studies show that although wolves had been introduced back into Yellowstone park, elk were …show more content…
For example, a long-term, experimental study by a research group at Colorado State University found out that “After humans exterminated wolves nearly a century ago, elk grew so abundant that they all but eliminated willow shrubs. Without willows to eat, beavers declined. Without beaver dams, fast-flowing streams cut deeper into the terrain. The water table dropped below the reach of willow roots. Now it’s too late for even high levels of wolf predation to restore the willows.” This shows that the wolves were a keystone species and were essential for Yellowstone to have so that there would not be a trophic cascade. The wolves were the reason that biodiversity was increased in Yellowstone and they show how interconnected everything is in an ecosystem. Sadly, since they were gone so long, they were unable to make a large difference to the Yellowstone ecosystem when reintroduced. In addition, Arthur Middleton writes that “a few small patches of Yellowstone’s trees do appear to have benefited from elk declines, but wolves are not the only cause of those declines.” This shows that other factors like human hunting, growing bear numbers, and severe drought are also reasons for reduced elk populations. Grizzly bears have also killed more elk calves because of the loss of cutthroat trout as a food source. Among this clutter of ecology, there is not a clear link from wolves to plants, songbirds and beavers. These scientific studies show that it is too late for wolves to make much of change to Yellowstone park and that there are other reasons for why elk population
Scientific studies show that although wolves had been introduced back into Yellowstone park, elk were …show more content…
For example, a long-term, experimental study by a research group at Colorado State University found out that “After humans exterminated wolves nearly a century ago, elk grew so abundant that they all but eliminated willow shrubs. Without willows to eat, beavers declined. Without beaver dams, fast-flowing streams cut deeper into the terrain. The water table dropped below the reach of willow roots. Now it’s too late for even high levels of wolf predation to restore the willows.” This shows that the wolves were a keystone species and were essential for Yellowstone to have so that there would not be a trophic cascade. The wolves were the reason that biodiversity was increased in Yellowstone and they show how interconnected everything is in an ecosystem. Sadly, since they were gone so long, they were unable to make a large difference to the Yellowstone ecosystem when reintroduced. In addition, Arthur Middleton writes that “a few small patches of Yellowstone’s trees do appear to have benefited from elk declines, but wolves are not the only cause of those declines.” This shows that other factors like human hunting, growing bear numbers, and severe drought are also reasons for reduced elk populations. Grizzly bears have also killed more elk calves because of the loss of cutthroat trout as a food source. Among this clutter of ecology, there is not a clear link from wolves to plants, songbirds and beavers. These scientific studies show that it is too late for wolves to make much of change to Yellowstone park and that there are other reasons for why elk population