The Effects of the Re-Introduction of Predators into an Eco-system.

Authors Avatar

Re-introduction of Predators

What effect does the removal of a top predator have on an ecosystem?

This could affect many factors unintentionally, due to the food chains affected. For example, when the wolves were removed from Yellowstone National Park in America, it caused many problems for other living things there. They were removed because they were a danger to humans. When they were removed, elk reproduced a lot and their population wasn’t being controlled by wolves anymore. Too many elk meant the ancient forests were destroyed because the elk were eating all the trees. This also created a problem for beavers, as not much wood was available for them and therefore couldn’t build dams in the rivers. This meant the river’s current was too fast and affected the aquatic creatures living there.

Join now!

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 ...

This is a preview of the whole essay