Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region
High densities of white-tailed deer throughout eastern North America have been implicated in changing forest community structure and composition. We hypothesized that the recovery of an apex predator, the gray wolf (Canis lupus), in a region affected by deer overabundance could reduce browsing impac...
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ftwrightuniv:oai:corescholar.libraries.wright.edu:biology-1113 2023-05-15T15:50:20+02:00 Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region Bouchard, Krystle A. Rooney, Thomas P. Wydeven, Adrian P. Wiedenhoeft, Jane E. 2009-01-01T08:00:00Z https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology/114 http://eco.confex.com/eco/2009/techprogram/P17051.HTM unknown CORE Scholar https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology/114 http://eco.confex.com/eco/2009/techprogram/P17051.HTM Biological Sciences Faculty Publications Biology Life Sciences Medical Sciences Medicine and Health Sciences Systems Biology text 2009 ftwrightuniv 2021-11-21T09:51:41Z High densities of white-tailed deer throughout eastern North America have been implicated in changing forest community structure and composition. We hypothesized that the recovery of an apex predator, the gray wolf (Canis lupus), in a region affected by deer overabundance could reduce browsing impacts on vegetation via a trophic cascade. We tested this hypothesis by surveying an herbaceous forest understory species sensitive to deer browsing (Polygonatum pubescens) in areas of northern Wisconsin where wolves have re-colonized over the past 20 years. We used a natural experimental framework, surveying populations in areas that lack wolves (nonwolf, n = 3 sites), areas where wolves have been established for 3-5 years (3 sites), and areas where wolves have been established for 9-11 years (3 sites). Each site consisted of five 10m x 10m plots. We compared these populations to plants growing in deer exclosures continuously maintained for 15 years. The number of leaves per plant and percent flowering was recorded for 1,579 plants. Text Canis lupus gray wolf Wright State University: CORE Scholar (Campus Online Repository) |
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Open Polar |
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Wright State University: CORE Scholar (Campus Online Repository) |
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ftwrightuniv |
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topic |
Biology Life Sciences Medical Sciences Medicine and Health Sciences Systems Biology |
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Biology Life Sciences Medical Sciences Medicine and Health Sciences Systems Biology Bouchard, Krystle A. Rooney, Thomas P. Wydeven, Adrian P. Wiedenhoeft, Jane E. Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
topic_facet |
Biology Life Sciences Medical Sciences Medicine and Health Sciences Systems Biology |
description |
High densities of white-tailed deer throughout eastern North America have been implicated in changing forest community structure and composition. We hypothesized that the recovery of an apex predator, the gray wolf (Canis lupus), in a region affected by deer overabundance could reduce browsing impacts on vegetation via a trophic cascade. We tested this hypothesis by surveying an herbaceous forest understory species sensitive to deer browsing (Polygonatum pubescens) in areas of northern Wisconsin where wolves have re-colonized over the past 20 years. We used a natural experimental framework, surveying populations in areas that lack wolves (nonwolf, n = 3 sites), areas where wolves have been established for 3-5 years (3 sites), and areas where wolves have been established for 9-11 years (3 sites). Each site consisted of five 10m x 10m plots. We compared these populations to plants growing in deer exclosures continuously maintained for 15 years. The number of leaves per plant and percent flowering was recorded for 1,579 plants. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bouchard, Krystle A. Rooney, Thomas P. Wydeven, Adrian P. Wiedenhoeft, Jane E. |
author_facet |
Bouchard, Krystle A. Rooney, Thomas P. Wydeven, Adrian P. Wiedenhoeft, Jane E. |
author_sort |
Bouchard, Krystle A. |
title |
Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
title_short |
Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
title_full |
Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
title_fullStr |
Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Gray Wolf Recovery Precipitates a Species-Specific Trophic Cascade in the Upper Great Lakes Region |
title_sort |
gray wolf recovery precipitates a species-specific trophic cascade in the upper great lakes region |
publisher |
CORE Scholar |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology/114 http://eco.confex.com/eco/2009/techprogram/P17051.HTM |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_source |
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/biology/114 http://eco.confex.com/eco/2009/techprogram/P17051.HTM |
_version_ |
1766385302711042048 |