An Unparalleled Opportunity for an Important Ecological Study

Authors

L. David Mech, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Juan Carlos Blanco, Biology ConsultantsFollow
Luigi Boitani, University of RomeFollow
Ludwig Carbyn, University of AlbertaFollow
Glenn Delgiudice, Minnesota Department of Natural ResourcesFollow
Steven H. Fritts, US Fish and Wildlife ServiceFollow
Djuro Huber, University of ZagrebFollow
Olof Liberg, University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Brent Patterson, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryFollow
Richard R. Thiel, Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesFollow

Date of this Version

10-2017

Citation

BioScience, October 2017, Vol. 67 No. 10, pp. 875-876, doi:10.1093/biosci/bix095.

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

Wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces americanus) have been studied since 1958 on 540-squarekilometer Isle Royale National Park, in Lake Superior. Wolves arrived there across the ice around 1949, and the population once increased to about 50, averaging about 25 annually (Mech 1966, Jordan et al. 1967, Vucetich and Peterson 2009). However, for various reasons, wolf numbers there have now dwindled to 2 nonbreeders, and the US National Park Service has proposed reintroducing 20–30 wolves over 3 years (National Park Service 2016). This situation offers an unparalleled opportunity to promote science-based management of this unique national park. The park has long been in the public eye for its world-renowned wolf and moose populations. Visitors to this island wilderness are especially interested in the scientific studies it has yielded and in maintaining its ecosystem.