Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wolf
Population
Deer
Population
Deer
Offspring
Deer
Predation Starvation Population
Change
1971
10
2,000
800
400
100
+300
1972
12
2,300
920
480
240
+200
1973
16
2,500
1,000
640
500
-140
1974
22
2,360
944
880
180
-136
1975
28
2,224
996
1,120
26
-130
1976
24
2,094
836
960
-126
1977
21
1,968
788
840
-52
1978
18
1,916
766
720
+46
1979
19
1,952
780
760
+20
1980
19
1,972
790
760
+30
Analysis:
1. What negative impacts can the wolf population have on the island?
If too many wolves were introduced to the island they could have completely wiped out
the deer population. The newly introduced wolves could also have an effect of the deers
existing local predators, if they dont receive enough food they could also start to die of
starvation.
2. Describe what happened to the deer and wolf populations between 1971 and 1980.
When the population of 10 wolves was first introduced to the island in 1971 there were
2000 deer that already lived in the community. After three years of growth the peak
population of deer was 2500. At this point the population of wolves was 16. For the next
4 years the populations of deer decrease dramatically and in an almost constant fashion.
This is due to the peak in wolf population (28 individuals) in 1975. Both populations
continue to decrease until 1978 and then start to rise slowly again over the next two
years.
3. What do you think would have happened to the deer on the island had wolves NOT been
introduced?
If the wolves had not been introduced to the island, then the deer population would
continue to increase rapidly. After a while the deer would run out of resources and much
of the population would die due to starvation. The remaining population would be
considered the most fit for their environment and natural selection would occur.
4. Why is death by predators more natural or right then death by starvation? Do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
Death by predation is a natural part of an ecosystem. Predators rely on their prey to
survive the same way that the prey might rely on plants to survive. From a practical
standpoint, death by predation is better than death by starvation because the energy of the
prey is being transferred to the predator in order for them to survive.
5.
6. Would the deer on the island be better off, worse off, or about the same without the
wolves? Defend your opinion.
Without the wolves the deer on the island would be worse off. As the population would
continue to grow rapidly, it would not take long for the deer to run out of resources. With
limited food the deer would have to compete with members of their own species as well
as different species living in their community. Eventually the deer will start to die of
starvation which is a lot slower and more painful than death by predation.
7.
Is introducing the deer natural predators (wolf) a good decision for the environment?
Why?
Introducing the wolf to the deers environment is a good idea for the end result that the
Forest Management was trying to achieve. Since the wolf is a natural predator of the deer
it was a natural instinct for them to catch their prey, thus helping the Forest Management
achieve their goal while also receiving nutrients from the deer. However, introducing a
non-native species can be very dangerous to the balance of an ecosystem. A non-native
species has the power to misconfigure food webs and even import diseases, which can
lead to the extinction of native species in the environment.
8. What would have been another deer population control method that the Forest
Management could have chosen?
Forest Management could have taken away some of the deers resources to quicken the
effects of starvation, or they could have moved some of the deer population to a different
location. Neither of these methods would have been as effective as introducing wolves to
the island.