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The Moose Hypothesis

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The Wolf, the Moose, and the Fir Tree
Jedadiah Baker, Jerome Copeland, Shaquela Leslie, and Christina Sampson
Biology 1308
Dr. Ilse Silva-Krott
Central Texas College Introduction This case study conducted in Isle Royale National Park is designed to observe the overall impact that the environment has on various trophic levels in a geographic region. In addition, the study observes how changes in one trophic level population have an effect on another population. Two scientific methods are at question, and the purpose of our investigation is to identify the hypothesis best supported by the data available. The designation of the primary productivity, “bottom up”, or the trophic cascade, “top down” hypotheses is at the center of the discussion. …show more content…
Longitudinal data are available for each of the key variables, including annual plant growth, herbivore density, and carnivore density. The historical growth rates of balsam fir have been determined through tree-ring analysis. When herbivores remove large quantities of the foliar biomass, annual wood accrual decreases and the ring widths are reduced. Thus the tree ring data allow us to estimate the intensity of herbivory over time (Fortier, 1999). The trophic levels observed are those of the gray wolf, the moose, and the fir tree, with influences of the actual evapotranspiration rates (AET) also taken into consideration. The Isle Royale has a rather simple food chain consisting of producers and a single large herbivore that in turn has only a single predator, the gray wolf (Canis lupus). The island had a rather large abundance of balsam fir (Abies balsamea) until the park was colonized by moose (Alces alces) that swam to the island in the 19th century (Fortier, …show more content…
Ultimately the conclusion is that this case study supports the “top down” (trophic cascade) model. The top-down (trophic cascade) model predicts that changes in density at one trophic level are caused by opposite changes in the next higher trophic level and that such inverse correlations cascade down a food chain. Accordingly, effects such as changes in primary productivity (the energy flow to plants) become noticeable only when higher, masking trophic levels are removed. After removal of carnivores from a three level system, the control of density relationships is passed down the chain to herbivores (McLaren, B.E; Peterson, R.O., 1994).
Methods
The hypotheses of the “bottom up” and “top down” approach were argued in this case study in order to determine the cause of certain declines. The bottom-up model predicts that positive correlations occur between density changes at all trophic levels especially between adjacent trophic levels and especially between adjacent trophic levels, that changes in primary productivity affect higher trophic levels, and that extinction of the top trophic level does not change density patterns in lower levels (McLaren, B.E; Peterson, R.O.,

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