Hypotheses Of The Effects Of Wolf Predation :: essays research papers

Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf PredationAbstract This paper discusses four hypotheses to explain the effects of wolfpredation on flow populations of handsome hoofed mammals. The four proposed hypothesesexamined are the predation limiting hypothesis, the predation regulatinghypothesis, the predator pit hypothesis, and the stable limit cycle hypothesis.There is much investigate literature that discusses how these hypotheses can beused to interpret various information sets obtained from field studies. It wasconcluded that the predation limiting hypothesis fit most claim cases, but thatmore research is necessary to account for multiple predator - multiple eatrelationships.The effects of predation can have an enormous encounter on the ecologicalorganization and structure of communities. The processes of predation affectvirtually every species to some degree or another. Predation can be specify aswhen members of one species eat (and/or kill) those of another species. Thespecif ic type of predation between wolves and large ungulates involvescarnivores preying on herbivores. Predation can have many possible effects onthe interrelations of populations. To draw any correlations between the effectsof these predator-prey interactions requires studies of a long duration, andstatistical analysis of large data sets representative of the populations as awhole. Predation could limit the prey distribution and decrease abundance. Suchlimitation may be desirable in the case of pest species, or undesirable to someindividuals as with game animals or endangered species. Predation may also actas a major selective force. The effects of predator prey coevolution can explainmany evolutionary adaptations in both predator and prey species.The effects of wolf predation on species of large ungulates have proven to becontroversial and elusive. There have been many different models proposed todescribe the processes operating on populations influenced by wolf predation.Some of the p roposed apparatuss complicate the predation limiting hypothesis, thepredation regulating hypothesis, the predator pit hypothesis, and the stablelimit cycle hypothesis (Boutin 1992). The purpose of this paper is to assess theempirical data on population dynamics and attempt to determine if one of thefour hypotheses is a better model of the effects of wolf predation on ungulatepopulation densities.The predation limiting hypothesis proposes that predation is the primary factorthat limits prey density. In this non- equilibrium model recurrent fluctuationsoccur in the prey population. This implies that the prey population does notreturn to some particular equilibrium after deviation. The predation limitinghypothesis involves a density independent mechanism. The mechanism might applyto one prey - one predator systems (Boutin 1992). This hypothesis predicts thatlosses of prey due to predation will be large passable to halt prey population