Yellowstone National Park

Bison is know to be at a recent high rate of 5000 in distinction

What has caused this?

-has led to long-term societal conflict regarding perceived overabundance

-transboundary movements

-potential transmission of brucellosis from bison to livestock. 

-bison move outside the park during winter

-numbers are below food-limited carrying capacity 

-food-limited carrying capacity of 6200 in Yellowstone National Park

-more bison began to migrate earlier to lower-elevation winter ranges as numbers increased and climatic factors interacted with density to limit nutritional intake and foraging efficiency.

-A gradual expansion of the winter range as bison numbers increased enabled relatively constant population growth

-increased food limited carrying capacity.

-Current management actions attempt to preserve bison migration to essential winter range areas within and adjacent to the park, while actively preventing dispersal and range expansion to outlying areas via hazing and removals.

-A population of 2500–4500 bison should satisfy collective interests concerning the park’s forage base, bison movement ecology, retention of genetic diversity, brucellosis risk management, and prevailing social conditions. 

 

If the bison decrease, what will happen to the rest of the economy?

-the rest of the economy will be affected

-the animals bison would originally eat will be overpopulated

-the animals that usually eat bison will eventually die

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/habitat/documents2/Plumb_et_al_Carrying.pdf

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison