Yellowstone Wolves: Their Ecology and Community Consequences

离开黄石国家公园80年后，狼于1995年重新引入黄石国家公园。研究YNP狼的基本方法是对无线电项圈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，黄石公园北部范围内的所有狼群都受到了为期30天的密集监测。在这两个时期，已经确定了种群数量、种群大小动态、杀伤率、生命率以及种内和种间行为的各个方面。这些观察有助于更好地了解狼的种群动态，以及狼种群如何影响麋鹿种群以及受到影响。目前的项目代表了已经进行了10年的研究的继续。这项研究的主题-捕食-是基本的生态关系之一。这项研究的主题--狼及其对麋鹿的捕食--引起了公众和管理者的极大兴趣。由于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宣传活动有关，这些宣传活动采取了多种形式，从野外课堂和书籍到主要的电视纪录片。近年来，这项研究还与十几名科学合作者的研究密切相关，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、长达一季的参与实地研究的机会，他们中的大多数人都希望从事科学事业。

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.