More On Yellowstone - Trophic Cascade With Elk, Cutthroat and Lake Trout

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Large-bull-elk-stance

Yellowstone seems to be a wonderful case study for ecological study and restoration.  We have posted previously on Wolves, Elk, Willow, Beavers and Geese in Yellowstone.  Now it appears we can throw Cutthroat Trout, Lake Trout and Grizzly Bear into the mix.

Scientists stumbled upon this fact in an attempt to try and explain declining elk numbers in the park.  They found an interesting connection between declining cutthroat numbers and grizzly predation.  Invasive lake trout introduced by anglers have suppressed cutthroat numbers to the point that grizzly bears are looking elsewhere for food.  Additionally, lake trout cannot replace that niche because they breed in deeper waters where the grizzlies cannot reach them.  The result has been very high predation rates on elk as grizzlies attempt to find a replacement source for protein.

It seems that the more we learn about these systems, the more it highlights how everything is connected.  Change any one aspect and you get a ripple affect.  This is how trophic cascade works.  It is a domino effect that is very difficult to understand.

http://phys.org/news/2013-05-trout-invasion-yellowstone-elk-decline.html

In order to understand the further implications of this please read our other posts.

http://agroregeneration.blogspot.com/2013/02/more-on-beavers-and-trophic-cascade.html

http://agroregeneration.blogspot.com/2013/01/beavers-are-engineers-of-structural.html