This essay will provide a focus on the concept of structure in relation to function in biology. The example taken into consideration for the essay is the reintroduction of Gray wolves (Canis lupus), hence predators, into Yellowstone National Park to restore the ecosystem health. Many are the ecological interpretations of wolves’ function when it comes to the Northern Rockies ecosystem as research and scientists have been documenting their overall impact for the last few decades. Firstly, a detailed description of Gray wolves’ characteristics will be provided. Secondly, the specific case of their reintroduction into Yellowstone will be analysed, focusing on the impact on the trophic cascade.
Considering the anatomy and structure of Gray wolves …show more content…
By losing one single species the health of the habitat can be jeopardised and the ecosystem damaged. In the case of Yellowstone National Park, the wolf population was wiped out in the 1920s but between 1995 and 1996, thirty-one wolves were reintroduced into the basin. Since then many research studies have been carried out and are still ongoing and a lot has been discovered about the effects of such large carnivores on the ecosystem. The absence of wolves triggered a “trophic cascade”, a series of direct and indirect effects on species diversity and abundance across various levels of the ecosystem (Berger et al. 2008; Beschta and Ripple 2010). Over fifty years ago, such scientific finding proved that the interaction between a top trophic level predator (i.e. wolf) and the next lower level herbivore (i.e. elk), significantly influences vegetation. Yes, wolves are top predator in the park and kill many animals, but at the same time their presence gives life to many others. Before their reintroduction the elk population had doubled as nothing was hunting them and, even though humans try to control their number, these animals, being both browsers and grazers, manged to overgraze the entire park area, upsetting the ecosystem balance. This provoked an exponential drop in the number of mice and other small mammals like rabbits as they struggled to find protection from predators like coyotes. Other predators like Grizzly bears also suffered the consequences of the elk population increase as their pre-winter hibernation berry supply had vanished. Pollinators (bees and hummingbirds) struggled to find flowers to feed on, while songbirds, had less trees to nest in. Elk population even damaged the river banks as they gathered in herds and spent long periods of time close to the water, as there were no predators around they could not be ambushed. Their hooves eroded the river banks and clouded the
Considering the anatomy and structure of Gray wolves …show more content…
By losing one single species the health of the habitat can be jeopardised and the ecosystem damaged. In the case of Yellowstone National Park, the wolf population was wiped out in the 1920s but between 1995 and 1996, thirty-one wolves were reintroduced into the basin. Since then many research studies have been carried out and are still ongoing and a lot has been discovered about the effects of such large carnivores on the ecosystem. The absence of wolves triggered a “trophic cascade”, a series of direct and indirect effects on species diversity and abundance across various levels of the ecosystem (Berger et al. 2008; Beschta and Ripple 2010). Over fifty years ago, such scientific finding proved that the interaction between a top trophic level predator (i.e. wolf) and the next lower level herbivore (i.e. elk), significantly influences vegetation. Yes, wolves are top predator in the park and kill many animals, but at the same time their presence gives life to many others. Before their reintroduction the elk population had doubled as nothing was hunting them and, even though humans try to control their number, these animals, being both browsers and grazers, manged to overgraze the entire park area, upsetting the ecosystem balance. This provoked an exponential drop in the number of mice and other small mammals like rabbits as they struggled to find protection from predators like coyotes. Other predators like Grizzly bears also suffered the consequences of the elk population increase as their pre-winter hibernation berry supply had vanished. Pollinators (bees and hummingbirds) struggled to find flowers to feed on, while songbirds, had less trees to nest in. Elk population even damaged the river banks as they gathered in herds and spent long periods of time close to the water, as there were no predators around they could not be ambushed. Their hooves eroded the river banks and clouded the