Outsized effect of predation: Wolves alter wetland creation and recolonization by killing ecosystem engineers.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gable TD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7673763 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Outsized effect of predation: Wolves alter wetland creation and recolonization by killing ecosystem engineers.
Gable Thomas D TD Johnson-Bice Sean M SM Homkes Austin T AT Windels Steve K SK Bump Joseph K JK
Science advances 20201113 46
Gray wolves are a premier example of how predators can transform ecosystems through trophic cascades. However, whether wolves change ecosystems as drastically as previously suggested has been increasingly questioned. We demonstrate how wolves alter wetland creation and recolonization by killing dispersing beavers. Beavers are ecosystem engineers that generate most wetland creation throughout boreal ecosystems. By studying beaver pond creation and recolonization patterns coupled with wolf predati ...[more]
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