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The strength of top-down forces in terrestrial food webs is highly debated as there are few examples illustrating the role of largemammalian carnivores in structuring biotic and abiotic systems. Based on the results of this studywe hypothesize that an increase in human visitation within Zion Canyon of Zion National Park ultimately resulted in a catastrophic regime shift through pathways involving trophic cascades and abiotic environmental changes. Increases in human visitors in Zion Canyon apparently reduced cougar (Puma concolor) densities, which subsequently led to higher mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) densities, higher browsing intensities and reduced recruitment of riparian cottonwood trees (Populus fremontii),...
Large predators potentially can help shape the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, yet strong evidence of top-down herbivore limitation has not been widely reported in the scientific literature. Herein we synthesize outcomes of recent tri-trophic cascades studies involving the presence and absence of large predators for five national parks in the western United States, including Olympic, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, and Wind Cave. Historical observations by park biologists regarding woody browse species and recently compiled age structure data for deciduous trees indicate major impacts to woody plant communities by ungulates following the extirpation or displacement of large predators. Declines...
In 1998, Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) were introduced into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA) that spans adjacent portions of Arizona andNewMexico. In 2009 we selected three mixedconifer sites on the Apache National Forest, within the BRWRA of east-central Arizona, to characterize long-term age structure of aspen (Populus tremuloides) and to check for the possible occurrence of a tri-trophic cascade involving Mexican wolves, Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and aspen. These mixed-conifer sites included (a) a refugium site, (b) an old-growth site, and (c) a site thinned in 1991?1992. The refugium site was inaccessible to elk and cattle whereas the old-growth and thinned sites were...