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How Wolves Change Rivers
Mary Edna emailed me this video about the success of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park. Here is also the success of science, its study and practical application. Approaching internet media with skepticism at first, I echoed a reader’s comment, who sees a glossy finished product and no reference to the science.
He says: “Really want to believe this but where are the facts? A well spoken English narrator sounding convincing with his powerful statements overlaid on lots of pretty pictures is very persuasive but where is the scientific evidence to back it up? The video is making some pretty bold claims considering only a 7 year window. I want to believe this but our media has made me cynical.”
However, readers came to provide the answer. Following are several scientific papers about this subject:
*Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction, 2011. William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711004046
http://www.cof.orst.edu/leopold/papers/RippleBeschtaYellowstone_BioConserv.pdf
*Wolf reintroduction, predation risk, and cottonwood recovery in Yellowstone National Park, 2003. William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL), Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
http://www.cof.orst.edu/leopold/papers/ripple.pdf
And the most amazing part of the video, that wolves have altered the way rivers behave:
*River channel dynamics following extirpation of wolves in northwestern Yellowstone National Park, USA, 2006. Robert L. Beschta and W. J. Ripple, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jcallen/river%20channel%20dynamics.pdf
*Hydrologic Regime and Herbivory Stabilize an Alternative State in Yellowstone National Park, 2007. Evan C. Wolf, David J. Cooper, and N. Thompson Hobbs, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
http://etal.usu.edu/ICRRR/Beaver/Tuesday/F_AssessingPotentialBeaverRestoration/Wolf_etal_BeaverWillowYellowstone_2007.pdf
And from the magazine Scientific American, here is an article by Jim Robbins, June 2004 and a 60 second audio clip by Sophie Bushwick, August 1, 2013.