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Absence of wolves causes imbalance in US ecosystem, say scientists http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1233269041
Settlers and trappers killed them all in little more than three decades.
But the loss of the stealthy predators in the early 1900s left a hole in the landscape that scientists say they are just beginning to grasp. The ripples extend throughout what is now Olympic National Park, leading to a boom in elk populations, overbrowsing of shrubs and trees, and erosion so severe it has altered the very nature of the rivers, says a team of Oregon State University biologists.
The result, they argue, is an environment that is less rich, less resilient and - perhaps - in peril.
"We think this ecosystem is unravelling in the absence of wolves," said OSU ecologist William Ripple.
Everything from salmon to songbirds could feel the fallout from the missing predators, the scientists say.
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[Read more stories about:
predator depletion, ecosystem interrelationships]
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It's as if we barely understand the interrelated complexities of ecosystems. Could that be?
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