Undetected Species Losses, Food Webs, and Ecological Baselines: a Cautionary Tale from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA

Authors

Joel Berger, University of Montana - MissoulaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Oryx

Publication Date

6-2008

Volume

42

Issue

1

Disciplines

Biology | Life Sciences

Abstract

Large protected areas are often considered natural yet outside pressures may compromise ecological integrity. This paper points to a problem in assessing ecological baselines: what if species' extirpations go undetected? I present a data set spanning 130 years that demonstrates the loss of white-tailed jack rabbits Lepus townsendii from two National Parks in the well studied 60,000 km(2) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. While these extirpations have been unnoticed until now, an ecological consequence may be elevated predation on juvenile ungulates. A critical challenge we face is how to apply better the concept of shifting baselines to the restoration of functional relationships when species' losses are undetected.

DOI

10.1017/S0030605308001051

Comments

© 2008, Cambridge University Press. View original article here.

Rights

© 2008, Cambridge University Press. View original article here.

Recommended Citation

Berger, Joel, "Undetected Species Losses, Food Webs, and Ecological Baselines: a Cautionary Tale from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA" (2008). Biological Sciences Faculty Publications. 76.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/biosci_pubs/76