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Wolf keystone Bio
2
Gray wolf
Keystone Species
Yhes;ly Cantos & Alex Baron
05/24/2023
What is a keystone species
Where it all started
Originally this idea came from Robert Paine. Before Paine the description of the natural world was based on only observations. People recognized Ecology through their observations but never had evidence to conclude their ideas. Until Paine introduced "Kick it and see" ecology.
Robert Paine
Robert Paine
Kick It and See helped identify cruicial effects that animals play in their ecosystem. Robert paine discovered this by reducing the population of starfish and obvserving the effects twords the ecosystem. For example, a year into his experiement the acorn barnacles population increased and over 4 otheer species of algae disapeared. Paine concluded that one predator could control the composition of its whole ecosystem which eventually was called a keystone specie.
Paine also coined the term trophic cascade which identified that powerful indirect interactions can control an entire ecosystem, occurring when a trophic level in a food web is suppressed
Scientist that helped Paine
Other Ecologist
Charles Elton
Hardy Weinburg
Eventually both helped Paine conclude his idea of Kick it and see and concluded Ecologies theory by providing evidence and adding the Ideas of Hardy Weinburg and Charles Elton together to prove the life cycle in the ecosystems
Charles Elton
- March 29, 1900 - May 1, 1991
- Studied the lives of animals in their natural habitats and interrelationships with their surroundings
- Elton proposed the central question: How are the numbers and kinnds of animals & plants regulated?
- Elton suggested that the size relationships were the main reason for the existence of food chains .
*Pyramid, pictured the food chain as subdivided into different levels shown in the image above.
Hardy Weingburg
- Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation= p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1
- The hardy-weinberg principle states that allelic frequencies within a poplulation will not change unless certain conditions are met.
Why is the Gray wolf a Keystone Specie?
Gray wolfs explanation
As humans devloped more areas across North America, Gray Wolfs were killed to almost being extinct. In Yellowstone National Park experienced a similar effect with the removal of the grey wolf. Elk herds rapidly increased destroying the vegetation. Soil erosion and warmer water temperatures were also recorded due to overgrazing. With the reintroduction of the Gray Wolf in the mid-1990s, the park’s ecosystem is slowly recovering.
Trophic Level
Trophic level
- Gray wolves eat a diet that consists of large-hoofed animals such as deer, elk, and bison as well as smaller prey such as beavers, rodents, and hares. They are classified as both carnivores and scavengers.
- Their is not a specific predator for the wolfs, but they do have other competative natural enemies. The only main predator would be humans, when it comes to hunting.
What go Grey Wolfs prey and what are their predators?
Human Impacts
Hunted the Gray wolf for their fur
Reduced their enviorment for meterial (wood, minerals, ore)
Eliminated the natural prey of the Gray wolf (deer, buffalo, elk etc
Expanded argucultral on Gray wolf habitats
Humans have...
All of these are still ocuring to increase profit but there are many new rules that were created to protect endangered species like the gray wolves.
Range
North America
Range
Prey Diagram
Food web
Effects on the Ecosystem
Effects on the Ecosystem
Direct Effects
FOCUS TOPICS
The Grey wolf helps keep the elk population in check. If the grey wolfs are not present then the elks wouldnt have to worry about one less predator, which can cause an explosion on their population causing a decrease on leaves and grass.
Grey wolfs also keep the moose population in check. They hunt moose in the rights amount where the mooses are still considered a growing/stable population. If tgrey wolfs were not involved, the moose population would be placed in the expanding rapidly.
What we dont see
- More plants like grasses, forbs, acorns, leaves, buds and as well as bark. Allowing animals like squirls to have more food for the winter, lets caterpillars feed of leaves.
Indirect Effects
- Birds are able expand without worrying about deers eating them and their eggs, or destroying their nest. Allowing birds to keep expanding.
- Rivers and little creeks are able to flow unbother since wolfs keep beavers in check. Not allowing beavers to build dams that can affect water flow.
MLA Citations
Work Cited
- Admin, Veronica. “Animal Guide: Gray Wolf.” PBS, 27 Oct. 2014, www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/animal-guide-gray-wolf/476/#:~:text=Gray%20wolves%20are%20considered%20a,beavers%20to%20hawks%20and%20eagles.
- Arnold, Joe. “Do Deer Eat Meat? How Common Is It?” Wildlife Start, 16 July 2022, wildlifestart.com/deer-eat-meat/.
- Don, Fronal. “Elk.” National Parks Service, 2021, www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/elk.htm.
- Rayes, Hanna. “Grey Wolf.” Fauna & Flora International, 16 Jan. 2023, www.fauna-flora.org/species/grey-wolf/#:~:text=The%20grey%20wolf%20is%20the%20world’s%20largest%20wild%20dog%20species,natural%20enemies%20other%20than%20humans.\.
- Carroll, Sean B. “The Ecologist Who Threw Starfish - Nautilus.” Nautilus Magazine, 7 March 2016, https://nautil.us/the-ecologist-who-threw-starfish-235831/. Accessed 30 May 2023.
- Kryston, Joshua. “Environmental Impacts.” SERC, https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/nativelands/nezperce/environmental.html. Accessed 30 May 2023.
- Greene, Patricia. “28 Keystone Species Examples in North America.” Wildlife Informer, https://wildlifeinformer.com/keystone-species-examples/. Accessed 24 May 2023.
- Nielsen, Mark. “Gray Wolf: Exploring Keystone Species: HHMI BioInteractive.” Plateau Pika, https://media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/click/keystone/wolf.html. Accessed 24 May 2023.
- The Serengeti Rules