More on Trophic Cascades and the "Landscape of Fear"

We heard from and reviewed John Laundre's LANDSCAPE OF FEAR  paradigm last weekend. Top down pressures on all trophic levels of animal and plants induced by the Top Trophic level predators in a system cause dramatic and positive impacts on the status and functioning of ecosystems.................these charismatic Predators are crucial for maintaining optimum biodiversity in our World.

Bill Ripple and Robert Beschta echo Laundre's call for reintroductions of Wolves, Cougars, Bears and Wolverines into our Open Spaces citing  the benefits of their presence and "job function" of both direct predation of prey species as well as "KEEPING THOSE UNGULATES(deer, moose, caribou, elk) AND MESOCARNIVORES(coyotes, raccoons, skunks, foxes) on their toes and on the move.....................not allowing them to get too comfortable in their surroundings.................and thus mitigating their negative impact on the trophic level animals and plants below them(e.g. trees and shrubs as it relates to ungulates...........birds eggs as it relates to mesocarnivores).

All three biologists(Laundre, Ripple and Beschta) and virtually every other esteemed carnivore researcher in the World cites Aldo Leopolld as one of the key

FOUNDING FATHERS of the trophic cascade premise...............................

                        "As the Elk fears the Wolf and the Lion, so does the Mountain fear the deer"

Anotherwards, too many deer, elk, moose and caribou in a system create monocultures with only those plants that taste awful to these hoofed browsers flourishing on the land....................This, causing many species of animals and birds that depend on a wide array of" green growers"  to go extinct. What appears to be a pretty green woodland, prarie or chaparrel environment is actually a desert, devoid of most life when the top carnivore species like wolf, lion, bear and wolverine are extirpated from the scene.

It is a proven fact that when the top order predators are wiped from the map, we have tidal wave irruptions of deer, elk and moose across the land...................Put the predators back on the ground and a balance returns to the system allowing for a manageable number of plant eaters to exist without denuding the forest, prarie and chaparrel.

Wolves and Cougars were gone from New York's Adirondacks by 1890 causing a deer irruption in 1895..................Out West, wolves and cougars were functionally wiped off the land by the 1930's.........................casusing elk in Yellowstone to expand 6+ times from 3000 to over 20,000 strong.............................no more willows, no more cottonwoods...........no more beaver, as the elk stripped the land clean of those tree species, causing beaver to no longer to be able to survive.

As we know, since 1995 when Wolves were restored to Yellowstone,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the multi-pronged predator suite in Yellowstone was re-fortified with "wolf power(in addition to Griz and Cougar and Wolverine) keeping elk from overbrowing willow and cottonwood.................beavers are back........................Wolves have reduced coyotes by 50%.............therefore fox populations are up................Griz populations are growing due to more wolf kills on the ground(Griz often take wolf kills away from wolves--they steal their meat)...............

Very positive effects for the entire animal and plant community without any creature being driven to extinction...........................Instead, Elk are drifting back to their previous 1930 wolf predation days of several thousand.............the remaining coyotes actually now live in  bigger packs as they too dine on wolf kills periodically(the remaining coyotes actually have more nutritious food to eat than when wolves were absent).................

Every species in Yellowstone is back on the ground in a much more balanced setting................biodiversity revived ................the land healing in the process and thus will be a better breeding ground for future generations of all predator and prey.

As Leopold stated in his classic 1949 SAND COUNTY ALMANAC(a must read by all those new to this area of science).........................................

      " ONE OF  THE MOST INSIDIOUS INVASIONS OF WILDERNESS IS VIA PREDATOR CONTROL...........IT WORKS THUS: WOLVES AND LIONS ARE

       CLEANED OUT OF A WILDERNESS AREA IN THE INTEREST OF BIG GAME MANAGEMENT........THE BIG GAME HERDS(USUALLY DEER AND ELK)

       THEN INCREASE TO THE POINT OF OVERBROWSING THE RANGE"

If we agree with Leopold that we should not drive other living organisms to extinction......................."that we should leave all the cogs and wheels" in place(anotherwards, truly caretake our natural community),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then an understanding of the benefits that large carnivores bring to our planet is critical for all of us to have and understand..................

.Let us continue to explore trophic cascades and the landscape of fear in future posts...........................Please click on the Ripple/Beschta and Laundre papers attached for a full read and comprehension on this most critical component of our WILD AMERICA:

click on: Ripple/Beschta: Linking Wolves and Plants: Aldo Leopold on Trophic Cascades

click on: Laundre: can Cougars save our Eastern Forests?