A Wolf’s Role in the Ecosystem – The Trophic Cascade

A young forest service employee named Aldo Leopold, charged with killing wolves in New Mexico in the early
1900's started to notice that as the wolves died off, the deer population boomed and ate all the plants to
nothing. In his groundbreaking work, "Thinking Like a Mountain", Leopold put forth an idea 50 years ahead of
his time: predators control ecosystems.

Since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, we have learned much about the
effect large carnivores have on an ecosystem. In the past it was thought that an ecosystem was built from the
bottom up... with plant life as the basis from which everything grew. Once healthy plants were established,
insects, small rodents, birds, larger herbivores and finally the top predators fell into a balance with each
other. Almost all conservation and reintroduction efforts were based on this idea. In a damaged area,
biologists would first try to rebuild the plant life before doing anything else. However, some ecosystems could
not be fixed before reintroducing an endangered top-level animal. In Yellowstone National Park, the US Fish
and Wildlife Service was required by the Endangered Species Act to reintroduce wolves before balancing the
plant base and herbivore populations.

In the years since the wolf reintroduction, Yellowstone has become a premiere scientific laboratory for
wilderness observation and ecosystem recovery. Scientists have come from around the world to watch the
effect wild wolves have on the park. We have discovered that an ecological effect called the “trophic cascade”
has taken over Yellowstone, with the wolves initiating a more natural ecosystem balance than has been seen
in over 65 years.

The idea of a “trophic cascade” is relatively basic. The term “trophic” refers to the different levels of a food
chain (with the plants being one trophic level, insects the next, all of the way up the ladder). However, the
“cascade” forces us to look at the traditional food chain from a different perspective. Picture a small stream
flowing through the woods – then the stream comes to a waterfall, or cascade. As the stream falls over the
edge of the cascade, it hits a rock and splits, then each of those waterfalls hits another rock and splinters
again. You end up with a single stream at the top scattering out into many cascades. Now, put the two terms
together: trophic cascade. We are learning that a large carnivore at the top of the food chain is just like the
little stream – it’s effects on the rest of the ecosystem splinter out over all of the trophic levels. In other words,
when wild wolves return to an ecosystem, by chasing and hunting their prey and competing with other species,
they help restore balance to the ecosystem.

Since wild wolves have returned to Yellowstone, the elk and deer are stronger, the aspens and willows are
healthier and the grasses taller. For example, when wolves chase elk during the hunt, the elk are forced to run
faster and farther. As the elk run, their hooves aerate the soil, allowing more grasses to grow. Since the elk
cannot remain stationary for too long, aspens and willows in one area are not heavily grazed, and therefore
can fully recover between migrations. As with the rest of the country, coyote populations were nearly out of
control in Yellowstone before the wolves returned. Now, the coyotes have been out-competed and essentially
reduced by 80 percent in areas occupied by wolves. The coyotes that do remain are more skittish and
wary. With fewer coyotes hunting small rodents, raptors like the eagle and osprey have more prey and are
making a comeback. The endangered grizzly bears successfully steal wolf kills more often than not, thus
having more food to feed their cubs. In essence, we have learned that by starting recovery at the top with
predators like wolves, the whole system benefits. A wild wolf population actually makes for a stronger,
healthier and more balanced ecosystem. From plant, to insect, to people... we all stand to benefit from wolves.

With only 5% of our nation’s wilderness left, people are recognizing the important roles complete ecosystems
play in keeping all of us healthy. With new knowledge of the trophic cascade, we can now begin to focus
wilderness recovery efforts on a wider variety of ecosystems. Using Yellowstone as an example, we can teach
the world about the wolf’s positive and vital role in the wild.
 A Wolf’s Role in the Ecosystem – The Trophic Cascade
Without Wolves
1926-1995
The wolves of Yellowstone National Park were
eliminated by 1926, influencing a cascade of
changes that altered the park’s entire
ecosystem.
ELK, no longer pressured by predatory wolves,
became abundant and began to damage their
own habitat. Having lost the fear of being
hunted, elk gathered near streams,
overbrowsing aspens, willows, cottonwoods,
and shrubs that grow on banks and prevent
erosion. Habitat for fish, amphibians, and
reptiles declined as waters became broader,
shallower, and warmer without shade from
streamside vegetation. Elk populations were so
out of control that park rangers began to kill
and relocate elk in large numbers in an attempt
to reduce their burgeoning population.
ASPENS seldom reached full height in
Yellowstone’s northern valleys, where elk winter.
Browsed by elk, the new sprouts and shoots were
eaten, and existing trees were stunted. Along
streams and around wetlands willows and
cottonwoods were also not regenerating as
effectively under heavy browsing pressure from elk.
Fewer young trees meant songbirds lost nesting
space. Beaver populations decreased as they rely
on this vegetation to survive. At one point, only one
beaver colony was living in the park.
COYOTES, no longer having to share the land with
wolves, became much more abundant and one of
the park’s top predators. But the coyote’s small size
kept them from regulating the park’s large ungulate
populations, like wolves do. Though coyotes will kill
elk calves, they prey mainly on pocket gophers,
voles, and other small mammals. They also
specialize in killing the fawns of pronghorn. The
lack of carcasses left behind by wolves reduced the
food traditionally available for foxes, badgers,
raptors, coyotes and other scavengers.
With Wolves
1995-Present
ELK, the primary prey of wolves in
Yellowstone, have decreased in numbers
within the park. Other factors such as drought,
severe winters, and other large predators have
also contributed to the decline in Yellowstone
elk. But as wolves returned, the behavior of elk
changed; elk became more vigilant and were
once again forced to stay on the move.
Vulnerable along the rivers and streams, elk
now spend more time in denser cover or on
higher ground with better vistas for spotting
predators. Consumption of vegetation by elk is
thus restrained, giving many riparian areas a
chance to recover.
ASPENS, willows, cottonwoods, and other
vegetation have in many places resumed their
natural growth. When their favorite food and
building material reappeared, beavers
flourished, engineering broad wetlands that
attract frogs, swans, and sandhill cranes.
Stream banks once picked clear of vegetation
and eroded by hooves erupted in wildflowers,
which nourished insects, which in turn fed
songbirds that nested among the thick willows.
The water below now became shaded, deep,
cool, and clear—a better habitat for aquatic-
born insects and trout.
COYOTE numbers dropped as they once
again share the land with wolves. Many
coyotes were killed or driven away by wolves,
helping to bring about a resurgence in
pronghorn. A drop in coyotes leaves more
gophers, and other rodents for foxes, raptors,
and other mid-level carnivores.
WOLVES, now returned to their original habitat,
play a vital role in keeping the world of predator and
prey in balance. Once they’ve eaten their fill, the
leftovers from their kills provide food for
scavengers, including bald and golden eagles,
magpies, coyotes, ravens, and bears.