What may happen to other parts of an ecosystem if the predators are re-introduced?
The other parts of the ecosystem might be controlled and stabilised by the returning predators. Like in the wolves’ example, when re-introduced the elk population was controlled and brought down to a reasonable amount. Which meant the elk didn’t eat as many trees and therefore let the trees grow more making the forests look better. With more wood available, the beavers made a return and built dams which helped the aquatic population. So overall the ecosystem was improved a lot.
What are the other implications of re-introduction?
Although the wolves’ re-introduction would be considered a ‘success’, there are possible disadvantages to reintroducing predators. When wolves were re-introduced there was a 90% decline of coyotes, although this was only considered a small problem. Also, when the Florida Panthers were re-introduced into Florida, there was the danger of the panthers attacking humans. As they were reintroduced quite close to where humans lived, some were killing their goats. Another problem was inbreeding; only a small number of panthers were introduced, so some started to inbreed. Inbreeding can cause many problems making some infertile and reducing the gene pool. In a different example, when brown bears were introduced into places near The Alps, there were some implications. The bears were a danger to locals because they are natural scavengers; they were drawn to where the humans lived.
How might the ‘success’ of the re-introduction be determined?
I would say a ‘success’ would be determined when the goal has been achieved and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This may be determined by the predators just surviving and reproducing properly or controlling certain pray. I would consider the example when wolves were re-introduced to be a success because there were many advantages and the ecosystem was improved a lot. For the Panthers example, it’s hard to determine, but I think it was still a success because now they can control the inbreeding problem by helping them get to other parts of the forest where more panthers should be. Although one was attacking goats, this can be controlled and the humans have to learn to live with the panthers being so close. I wouldn’t consider it a success if the humans were being attacked or if the predators died out. If the predators just caused more problems then I wouldn’t consider it to be a success.