Grizzly Bear-Elk Relationships in Yellowstone National Park
Cole GF. 1972. Grizzly Bear-Elk Relationships in Yellowstone National Park. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 36(2):556-561
The elk (Cervus canadensis) population was mainly self-regulated by density-influenced mortality from intraspecific competition for food and compensating natality and survival. Mortality higher than usual was mainly due to weather that also increased the vulnerability of elk to predation by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). Grizzly predation with competitive scavenging was a nonessential but assisting adjunct to other natural processes that regulated the elk population. As an interacting unit, bears of different social rank and an associated scavenger fauna probably helped to dampen elk population fluctuations by culling animals with low-energy reserves. The presence of a grizzly population in Yellowstone Park appears essential to have representative natural equilibriums among interacting secondary consumers, to maintain natural relationships between secondary and primary consumers, and to retain the scientific values of ecological systems with an intact native biota.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Cole, Glen
- Units
- YELL
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Climate, Elk (Cervus elaphus), Feeding, Food, grizzly bear(Ursus arctos), Mammals, Mortality, Population, Predation, Predators, Weather