The Ecology of Large Mammals in Central Yellowstone: Sixteen Years of Integrated Field Studies

This book is an authoritative work on the ecology of some of America’s most iconic large mammals in a natural environment - and of the interplay between climate, landscape, and animals in the interior of the world’s first and most famous national park.

Central Yellowstone includes the range of one of the largest migratory populations of bison in North America as well as a unique elk herd that remains in the park year round. These populations live in a varied landscape with seasonal and often extreme patterns of climate and food abundance. The reintroduction of wolves into the park a decade ago resulted in scientific and public controversy about the effect of large predators on their prey, a debate closely examined in the book.

Introductory chapters describe the geography, geology and vegetation of the ecosystem. The elk and bison are then introduced and their population ecology described both pre- and post– wolf introduction, enabling valuable insights into the demographic and behavioral consequences for their ungulate prey. Subsequent chapters describe the wildlife-human interactions and show how scientific research can inform the debate and policy issues surrounding winter recreation in Yellowstone. The book closes with a discussion of how this ecological knowledge can be used to educate the public, both about Yellowstone itself and about science, ecology and the environment in general.

Yellowstone National Park exemplifies some of the currently most hotly debated and high-profile ecological, wildlife management, and environmental policy issues and this book will have broad appeal not only to academic ecologists, but also to natural resource students, managers, biologists, policy makers, administrators and the general public.

* Unrivalled descriptions of ecological processes in a world famous ecosystem, based on information from 16 years of painstaking field work and collaborations among 66 scientists and technical experts and 15 graduate studies.

* Detailed studies of two charismatic North American herbivore species – elk and bison

* Description of the restoration of wolves into central Yellowstone and their ecological interactions with their elk and bison prey

* Illustrated with numerous evocative colour photographs and stunning maps

INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 Integrated science in the central Yellowstone ecosystem
LANDSCAPE AND CLIMATE
Chapter 2 The central Yellowstone landscape: geology, terrain, vegetation
Chapter 3 Climate: good years, bad years, and long-term change
Chapter 4 Quantifying and mapping Yellowstone's unique geothermal landscape
Chapter 5 Snowpack dynamics: processes and models
Chapter 6 Meadow dynamics: a remote sensing approach
UNGULATE SPATIAL AND POPULATION DYNAMICS PRIOR TO WOLVES
Chapter 7 Elk population dynamics before wolves: A bottom-up system
Chapter 8 Elk spatial dynamics and resource use patterns: adaptation to a unique environment
Chapter 9 The Recovery of Yellowstone's Bison: a Century of Population Dynamics
Chapter 10 Bison range expansion: affected by the same mechanisms influencing migratory behavior?
WOLVES REESTABLISHMENT AND PREDATION
Chapter 11 Recolonization dynamics of a new wolf population
Chapter 12 Wolf movement patterns in relation to prey and kill sites
Chapter 13 Wolf prey selection in an elk-bison system: choice or circumstance?
Chapter 14 Estimation of predator kill rates using imperfect data
Chapter 15 Factors driving wolf predation rates: predictably variable?
WOLF-UNGULATE DYNAMICS
Chapter 16 Alterations in elk group size to varying temporal and spatial wolf predation risks
Chapter 17 Alterations in elk winter foraging time: consequences of living in a risky environment
Chapter 18 Elk landscape use and winter movements: influenced by the environment or driven by fear?
Chapter 19 Characterizing elk resource selection responses to wolf predation risks
Chapter 20 Post-wolf elk population dynamics: strong top-down regulation?
Chapter 21 Alternative models of wolf-ungulate dynamics
Chapter 22 Comparison of wolf effects on ungulates in the Greater Yellowstone Area
HUMAN-WILDLIFE INTERACTIONS
Chapter 23 The winter recreation controversy
Chapter 24 Wildlife responses to park visitors in winter
Chapter 25 Bison winter road travel: facilitated by road grooming or a manifestation of natural trends?
Chapter 26 Aggregate effects of topography, habitat, snowpack, and roads on bison travel patterns
Chapter 27 Resolution of the winter recreation issue
COMMUNICATING ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND CONTRIBUTING TO NATURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Chapter 28 Communicating ecological knowledge to students and the public
Chapter 29 Science in National Parks: expectations, limitations, and contributions