The Whitebark Pine Tree and the Mountain Pine Beetle A small beetle can kill a 1,000 year old tree. In recent years, the number of live whitebark pine trees has been declining dramatically. In the past, mountain pine beetle populations have erupted at times, causing widespread adverse effects on whitebark pine trees. A similar type of warming-related outbreak is occuring today. The whitebark pine tree is beneficial in many ways. In response to increased tree mortality, researchers have established some methods of restoration for the whitebark pine. Increasing temperatures due to global warming may be significantly changing the way mountain pine beetles interact with ecologically important whitebark pine trees by enabling the beetles to more …show more content…
long, can destroy pine trees like the whitebark pine. Mountain pine beetles may be more inclined to invade trees that are already weak. For example, a tree affected with a pathogen called white pine blister rust is probably going to favored by a beetle over a healthy tree. After selecting a tree to invade, a mountain pine beetle bores into the tree. Depending on the climate at that tree's location, it may take one, two, or more years to complete its life cycle and lay eggs in the tree. Mountain pine beetles are dependent on temperature because they must emerge from the tree late enough in the early summer that they do not freeze, but lay their eggs early enough in the summer that the eggs have ample time to develop before winter comes (Logan and Powell 2001). This shows how mountain pine beetles are dependent on climate. Once the eggs hatch, the new beetles consume the phloem, tissue that transports nutrients from the leaves to the roots. Without the means to transport nutrients to the roots, the tree slowly …show more content…
Grizzly bears find where animals have cached whitebark pine seeds and then consume the seeds (Logan and Powell 2001). The seeds of the whitebark pine make up a large part of a grizzly bear's diet during the fat build-up period before hibernation (Logan and Powell 2001). The availability of seeds keep grizzlies away from humans; for instance, one study showed that, in general, during years in which whitebark pine seeds were not plentiful, many more grizzly-human encounters occurred (Mattson, Blanchard, and Knight 1992). When grizzly bears cannot find enough food at high elevations, they search lower elevations for food, which often brings them closer to people and their property. Shortage of whitebark pine seeds due to high tree mortality could create an increase in human-bear
Now even though these bears help the environment so will other bears. The Grizzlies are just another species of the many species of bears why are these bears more important than other bears. As we find from the GNWT: “Grizzly Bears in the NWT occur primarily in open alpine or tundra habitats, but they can also be found in forested areas. They have large home ranges relative to most other bear species. On average, a male’s range can exte...
Shortleaf pine tends to grow rather slowly in the early stages of its life when compared to its closest competitor, loblolly pine. Therefore it cannot compete for the best sites under natural regeneration, but, because of it's tolerance of a wide range of site conditions, shortleaf pine is found naturally in areas where loblolly pine will not grow effectively. It is for this reason that shortleaf pine was chosen for this site instead of loblolly. When planted artificially, it was found that after the first few years of development, shortleaf pine will match loblolly in height growth on the better sites and will surpass loblolly on the poorer sites (Harrington, 1987). Because of this, shortleaf pine is the most commonly regenerated pine in the northern and western parts of its range where the site conditions are not as ideal as in the southern part of its range.
Poulson, T. L., & Platt, W. J. (1996). Replacement patterns of beech and sugar maple in Warren Woods, Michigan. Ecology, 1234-1253.
It’s not the latest comic book super villain that we’re worried about, here in Northwest Ohio. No, it’s a little green beetle that, since 2003, has been munching its way through our neighborhoods and Metroparks. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) feasts on our Ash trees, leaving us little choice but to spray a bright red stripe or “X” on the trunks of the mortally wounded flora.
In The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge by Joe Starita, Starita focuses on five generations of the Dull Knife family which goes from the 1870s until the present. He starts by asking the reader to visualize the history of the Dull Knife family and how they had to adapt and were able to survive after the Northern Cheyenne were forcefully removed from the northern plains to Oklahoma Indian Territory and 3 back to the northern plains again. The story started with Guy Dull Knife Sr. living in a convalescent home in Colorado and would start to trace his ancestry back to the original Chief Dull Knife. George Dull Knife, his son, was born in 1875, most likely came north to the Pine Ridge reservation many years after and found his identity with the Lakota rather than the Northern Cheyenne. George
happens because the roots emit pigments of red color into the soil which then runs into the water. Even though the amount of red pigment released is very little, due to the large amount of cedar trees in the Pine forests, the water is affected. The main crops of the Pine Barrens include blueberries and cranberries. There are also many rare plants that can be found in the Pinelands. One of these is the pitcher plant which is related to the Venus Fly Trap. Plants such as these have an influence on how nitrogen is depleted in the Pine Barrens and also on how the Pine “Barrens” got there name, nothing like vegetables grow there. The pitcher plant helps prevent pollution from entering the lakes as well as help in preventing flooding. The lakes in the Pine forest are home to the tree frog. These forests are also home to many other animals like cranes, water snakes, turtles, salamanders, and other frogs.
The habitat is also made up of trees with nuts and bushes with berries. Black Bears are omnivores so they eat these along with other small animals. They are opportunist when it comes to food. Mostly bears eat vegetation during the spring but they will eat mainly anything they encounter. During the summer the bears eat salmon out of the rivers if they can catch it. If they can’t catch any they mainly survive off of berries, mainly blueberries, ants, grubs, and other insects. In the fall their diet starts to shift and they start to save up food for winter. They are also known to eat newborn moose calves during the winter when food is scarce.
Although they are now rare, grizzly bears inhabit the dense forest of Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Grizzlies grow as tall as eight feet and can weigh up than 1,000 pounds, yet they can move as fast as a horse. There are six national grizzly recovery zones, and three are in Montana. They are Cabinet-Yaak, Northern Continental Divided, and Yellowstone (Av2 books).
Many people who hunt the limited Grizzly Bears do it to satisfy their own “needs” of achievements. The Grizzly bear is an exclusive species that is only local to British Columbia; therefore it adds to the feeling of achievement for hunters, but it also encourages individuals, environmental organizations, and the first nations to preserve this rare species. Hunting bears is not sustainable and it’s much worth it to have them alive to promote more advantageous benefits than to have them dead with their heads on the wall to amuse people or to disturb people’s thoughts of what was once a beautiful
The urban legend of the West Virginia Mothman persists to this day. Some say the Mothman appears in times of impending dangers. Others say the legend causes disasters. So, what is the legend of the West Virginia Mothman?
Many old-growth forests across the landscape of northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan contain a mixture of tree species rather than a monoculture. Many researchers have put forward ideas to explain the competition and co-existence of tree species in such communities. A theory explaining competition and co-existence between two species is gap regeneration. Gap regeneration is when a gap is created upon death of a plant individual and a new individual, sometimes of the same species as died and sometimes not dependent on environmental heterogeneity, takes its place (Kenneth Lertzman). Canopy gaps during gap regeneration can be explained by either reciprocal replacement or habitat preference . In a reciprocal replacement, seedlings of one species would be found predominately under large trees ...
Coyotes and bears are a common sight in the woods. These animals, along with others, are predators that help to control deer population but also decrease the amount of land allowed to the deer. In Western NC, deer rates have fallen and bag limits have been reduced. In Pennsylvania, biologists have conducted a lengthy study to determine fawn mortality and predation. Predators killed 46% of fawns, (Hart). A study about coyotes in Ohio found that even though they kill numerous fawns, the population of deer continues to grow, (Hart). It would be critical to maintain...
They can be malicious or they can be passive, but Grizzly bears are normally solitary animals. Grizzly bears as big and ferocious as they are aren't very territorial and may be seen together eating where food is abundant, like in a stream where they can catch salmon. When a mother grizzly has her babies she tries to keep them away from other male grizzlies because they can be dangerous to the cubs and try to kill them. When they do venture close though the mother bear might fight back to protect her cubs, ( even considering the big size difference the males and females have). Grizzly bears will do pretty much everything to protect her cub against all of the dangers in this world, fighting back against everything that dares step close to her cubs. Well that’s all for this blog post see you next time on blog posters
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
Hunting Black Bears and Grizzlies could be affecting their population that is already low, but hunting with bait, dogs, different kind of guns and tactics, is negatively affecting how many are killed during a hunting season. The numbers are low there is a chance the bears are outnumbered by hunters and there tactics. The number of hunters privileged with a bear tag should be limited this could negatively or positively affect the populations.