Yellowstone Wolves: Their Ecology and Community Consequences

在消失了80年之后，1995年，狼被重新引入黄石国家公园。研究YNP狼的基本方法是对戴着无线电项圈的狼进行地面和空中跟踪。在过去的十年里，从11月15日到3月1日，对黄石公园北部山脉的所有狼群进行了为期30天的密集监测。在这两个时期，丰度、种群大小动态、杀伤率、生存率以及种内和种间行为等方面都得到了确定。这些观察结果有助于更好地了解狼种群动态，以及狼种群如何影响麋鹿种群以及受麋鹿种群的影响。目前的项目是一项已经进行了10年的研究的延续。本研究的主题-捕食-是基本的生态关系之一。这项研究的主题——狼和它们对麋鹿的捕食——引起了公众和管理人员的极大兴趣。因为它将一个重要的科学概念与一对受欢迎的物种联系在一起，这项研究直接与广泛的公共教育推广联系在一起，这种教育推广采取多种形式，从实地课程、书籍到主要的电视纪录片。近年来，该研究还与十几位科学合作者密切合作，并为12名研究生提供了研究重点。它还为约50名志愿者（40%为女性）提供了全职的、为期一季的实地研究机会，其中大多数人希望从事科学事业。

Following 80 years of absence, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in 1995. The basic approach to studying YNP wolves has entailed ground and aerial tracking of radio-collared wolves. For the past ten years, all wolf packs on Yellowstone's Northern Range have been monitored intensively for 30-day periods beginning 15 November and 1 March. During these two periods abundance, pack size dynamics, kill rates, vital rates, and aspects of intra- and interspecific behavior have been determined. These observations contribute to a better understanding of wolf population dynamics and of how wolf populations affect and are affected by elk populations. The current project represents a continuation of what has already been a 10-year study.The topic of this research - predation - is one of the fundamental ecological relationships. The subject of the study - wolves and their predation on elk - is of great interest to the general public and managers. Because it links an important scientific concept with a popular pair of species, this research is directly associated with broad public educational outreach that takes many forms, from field classes and books to major TV documentaries. In recent years, this research has also been closely linked to that of over a dozen scientific collaborators and has provided research foci for 12 graduate students. It has also provided full-time, season-long opportunities to participate in field research to ~50 volunteers (40% female), most of whom are expecting to pursue a career in science.