scholarly journals Understanding the influence of climate, genetic variation, and herbivory on aspen (Populus tremuloides) growth in Yellowstone National Park

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 48-54
Author(s):  
Elaine M. Brice ◽  
Daniel MacNulty
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
State University ◽  
Utah State University ◽  
Top Down

Predation is commonly cited as a top-down effect that structures food webs, with the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone as perhaps the most famous example. However, despite two decades of research, there is still debate as to whether wolves (Canis lupus) have indirectly benefited aspen (Populus tremuloides) by reducing herbivory from elk (Cervus canadensis). As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of top-down and bottom-up forces on aspen recruitment in northern Yellowstone. The UW-NPS grant funds were used to conduct a genetic analysis of 59 aspen stands in an effort to determine whether genetic variation is one control of aspen recruitment. During summer 2018, 122 leaves were collected and sent to the Mock Lab at Utah State University. The samples will undergo DNA extractions at 12 microsatellite loci, which will provide us with genotype and ploidy level, with the genotype at a resolution to distinguish clones. Concurrently, we measured aspen heights and browse rates, as well as soil moisture. The median aspen height in 2018 was 110 cm (SD=135), and the browse rate was 0.45. Stands varied in volumetric water content (VWC), ranging from a mean VWC of 2.7% to 45.2%.   Featured photo by Yellowstone National Park on Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/efXLV2

scholarly journals Differential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (12) ◽  
pp. 1473-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer ◽  
L. David Mech ◽  
Wesley E. Newton ◽  
Bridget L. Borg
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Pack Size ◽  
Alces Americanus ◽  
Denali National Park

Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (). The SNF differences could be related to the wolves’ risk when hunting primary prey, for those packs () hunting moose (Alces americanus) were significantly larger than those () hunting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (, ). Our data support the hypothesis that differential pack-size persistence may be perpetuated by differences in primary prey riskiness to wolves, and we highlight two important extensions of this idea: (1) the potential for wolves to provision and defend injured packmates from other wolves and (2) the importance of less-risky, buffer prey to pack-size persistence and year-to-year variation.

Microstructure of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter deposited around hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone National Park: the role of biological and abiological processes in sedimentation

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 1611-1642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R Lowe ◽  
Deena Braunstein
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Strain Effect ◽  
Temperature Sinter ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Siliceous Sinter ◽  
High Temperature Sinter

Slightly alkaline hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone National Park exhibit distinctive assemblages of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter reflecting local hydrodynamic conditions. The main depositional zones include subaqueous pool and channel bottoms and intermittently wetted subaerial splash, surge, and overflow areas. Subaqueous deposits include particulate siliceous sediment and dendritic and microbial silica framework. Silica framework forms thin, porous, microbe-rich films coating subaqueous surfaces. Spicules with intervening narrow crevices dominate in splash zones. Surge and overflow deposits include pool and channel rims, columns, and knobs. In thin section, subaerial sinter is composed of (i) dark brown, nearly opaque laminated sinter deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness; (ii) clear translucent silica deposited subaqueously through precipitation driven by supersaturation; (iii) heterogeneous silica representing silica-encrusted microbial filaments and detritus; and (iv) sinter debris. Brownish laminations form the framework of most sinter deposited in surge and overflow zones. Pits and cavities are common architectural features of subaerial sinter and show concave-upward pseudo-cross-laminations and micro-unconformities developed through migration. Marked birefringence of silica deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness is probably a strain effect. Repeated wetting and evaporation, often to dryness, and capillary effects control the deposition, morphology, and microstructure of most high-temperature sinter outside of the fully subaqueous zone. Microbial filaments are abundant on and within high-temperature sinter but do not provide the main controls on morphology or structuring except in biofilms developed on subaqueous surfaces. Millimetre-scale lamination cyclicity in much high-temperature sinter represents annual layering and regular seasonal fluctuations in silica sedimentation.

scholarly journals Distribution, Morphology, Survival, and Genetics of Aspen (Populus Tremuloides) Seedlings Following the 1988 Yellowstone Fires

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
Monica Turner ◽  
Rebecca Reed ◽  
William Romme ◽  
Gerald Tuskan
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Plant Competition ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Rare Event ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
Burned Areas

An unexpected consequence of the 1988 Yellowstone fires was the widespread establishment of seedlings of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the burned forests, including areas outside the previous range of aspen (Kay 1993; Romme et al. 1997). Although aspen is the most widely distributed tree species in North America (Powells 1965), it is relatively uncommon and localized in distribution within Yellowstone National Park (Despain 1991). Most aspen stands in Yellowstone are found in the lower elevation landscapes in the northern portion of the park, and the species was absent - prior to 1988 -- across most of the high plateaus that dominate the southern and central park area. Aspen in the Rocky Mountain region reproduces primarily by means of vegetative root sprouting. Although viable seeds are regularly produced, establishment of seedlings in the wild is apparently a rare event due to the limited tolerance of aspen seedlings for desiccation or competition (e.g., Pearson 1914; McDonough 1985). In the immediate aftermath of the 1988 Yellowstone fires, there was a brief "window of opportunity" for aspen seedling establishment, as a result of abundant aspen seed production, moist weather conditions in spring and summer, and bare mineral soil and reduced plant competition within extensive burned areas (Jelinski and Cheliak 1992; Romme et al. 1997). We initiated this 3-year study in 1996 to address four questions about the aspen seedlings now growing in burned areas across the Yellowstone Plateau: (1) What are the broad-scale patterns of distribution and abundance of aspen seedlings across the subalpine plateaus of Yellowstone National Park? (2) What is the morphology and population structure -- e.g., proportions of genets (genetic individuals that developed from a single seed) and ramets (vegetative root sprouts produced by a genet) of various ages - in aspen seedling populations? (3) What are the mechanisms leading to eventual persistence or extirpation of seedling populations along an elevational gradient, particularly with respect to ungulate browsing and plant competition? (4) What is the genetic diversity and relatedness of the seedling populations along gradients of elevation and substrate?

Coyote foraging ecology and vigilance in response to gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Adam Switalski
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Large Carnivore ◽  
Continuous Source

Coyotes (Canis latrans) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have lived in the absence of wolves (Canis lupus) for over 60 years. I examined whether wolf reintroduction in 1995 and 1996 in YNP influenced coyote vigilance and foraging ecology. From December 1997 to July 2000, my co-workers and I collected 1708 h of coyote activity budgets. Once wolves became established in the Park, they once again provided a continuous source of carrion in the Lamar Valley and we found that coyotes began feeding on carcasses throughout the year. Although we documented that wolves killed coyotes, it also became clear that surviving coyotes quickly adjusted their behaviors when wolves were present. When coyotes were near wolves or in areas of high wolf use, they fed on carcasses much more; however, they increased the amount of time spent in vigilance activities and decreased rest. There appears to be a trade-off in which wolf kills provide a quick source of food that is energetically advantageous to coyotes; however, attendant costs included increased vigilance, decreased rest, and a higher risk of being killed. Changes in the behavior of coyotes in response to the reintroduction of this large carnivore may ultimately have wide-ranging cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.

Birds Without Borders

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-455
Author(s):  
Lino Camprubí
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
National Park ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Science Diplomacy ◽  
The World ◽  
Large Project ◽  
Environmental Diplomacy ◽  
Ecological Dimension

The Spanish Doñana Biological Station, inaugurated in 1964, poses two historiographical puzzles. First, it was the first large project of the World Wildlife Fund, which is usually seen as a response to the very specific post-imperial challenges of African parks. Second, it was the first non-alpine park in Spain, and although it was designed and inaugurated in the midst of Francisco Franco’s nationalist dictatorship, it was an explicitly transnational project. This paper approaches Doñana’s unique story through the concept of ecological diplomacy. It points to the diplomatic strategies mobilized by a small group of ecologists with managerial and financial skills. Promoting Doñana, British ornithologists presented it as an African wilderness, which created tensions with Spanish ecologists, themselves colonial scientists. Ecological diplomacy, moreover, refers to a characteristic period between conservation diplomacy and environmental diplomacy. In it, conservation was understood as the top-down management of foreign territories for research purposes. While this can be partly understood as the globalization of the Swiss model for conservation, it arrived in Spain through the mediation of the French Tour du Valat station and of English ecology. Finally, stressing the ecological dimension of this type of conservation diplomacy helps in studying the role of the science of ecology and its transformations. As Doñana became a national park, the WWF’s early emphasis on research was replaced by a new attention to recreation. Max Nicholson’s participation in the International Biology Program granted him an opportunity to favor this model when Doñana became a national park. This essay is part of a special issue entitled Science Diplomacy, edited by Giulia Rispoli and Simone Turchetti.

Genetic variation in postfire aspen seedlings in Yellowstone National Park

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1769-1780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Stevens ◽  
Monica G. Turner ◽  
Gerald A. Tuskan ◽  
William H. Romme ◽  
Lee E. Gunter3 ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park

Long-term aspen dynamics, trophic cascades, and climate in northern Yellowstone National Park

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Beschta ◽  
Luke E. Painter ◽  
Taal Levi ◽  
William J. Ripple
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Average Density ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
Climatic Trend ◽  
Predator Prey

We report long-term patterns of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) recruitment for five ungulate exclosures in the northern ungulate winter range of Yellowstone National Park. Aspen recruitment was low (<3 aspen·ha−1·year−1) in the mid-1900s prior to exclosure construction due to herbivory by Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) but increased more than 60-fold within 25 years after exclosure construction despite a drying climatic trend since 1940. Results support the hypothesis that long-term aspen decline in Yellowstone’s northern range during the latter half of the 20th century was caused by high levels of ungulate herbivory and not a drying climate. Gray wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) were reintroduced during 1995–1996. For the period 1995–2012, we summarized annual predator–prey ratios, ungulate biomass, and drought severity. The average density of young aspen increased from 4350 aspen·ha−1 in 1997–1998 to 8960 aspen·ha−1 in 2012; during the same time period, those >1 m in height increased over 30-fold (from 105 to 3194 aspen·ha−1). Increased heights of young aspen occurred primarily from 2007 to 2012, a period with relatively high predator–prey ratios, declining elk numbers, and decreasing browsing rates. Consistent with a re-established trophic cascade, aspen stands in Yellowstone’s northern range have increasingly begun to recover.

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