Carnivores in Ecosystems : The Yellowstone Experience

by Edited by Tim W. Clark, A. Peyton Curlee, Steven C. Minta, and

• ISBN13: 9780300078169
• ISBN10: 0300078161
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 1999-11-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Large carnivores -- such as the gray wolf and grizzly bear -- are in danger of extinction; saving them is one of the most difficult challenges facing conservation biologists worldwide. Other carnivores -- such as the mountain lion, wolverine, and lynx -- are in need of special management. This valuable book examines the current status, management, and conservation of carnivores in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where these animals have not only been researched for almost forty years but have also been affected by pressures from growing human uses.

Written by leading authorities in the field, the book begins by considering Yellowstone as a "model" system that has international significance. It goes on to survey the history of changing attitudes toward Greater Yellowstone carnivores and to discuss specific animals and their prey (including bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, elk, bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, moose, and small mammals).

The book also assesses the current status of conservation genetics and ecosystem dynamics. It closes with a look at the h

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vi	(2)
List of Tables	viii	(3)
Preface	xi
1 A Model Ecosystem for Carnivores in Greater Yellowstone	1	(10)
Tim W. Clark
Steven C. Minta
A. Peyton Curlee
Peter M. Kareiva
2 Greater Yellowstone Carnivores: A History of Changing Attitudes	11	(40)
Paul Schullery
Lee H. Whittlesey
3 Yellowstone Bears	51	(26)
Richard R. Knight
Bonnie M. Blanchard
Paul Schullery
4 The Ecology of Anthropogenic Influences on Cougars	77	(26)
Kerry M. Murphy
P. Ian Ross
Maurice G. Hornocker
5 Wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Restoration of a Top Carnivore in a Complex Management Environment	103	(24)
Douglas W. Smith
Wayne G. Brewster
Edward E. Bangs
6 Coyotes and Canid Coexistence in Yellowstone	127	(38)
Robert L. Crabtree
Jennifer W. Sheldon
7 Mesocarnivores of Yellowstone	165	(24)
Steven W. Buskirk
8 Predicting the Effects of Wildfire and Carnivore Predation on Ungulates	189	(50)
Francis J. Singer
John A. Mack
9 Small Prey of Carnivores in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem	239	(26)
Kurt A. Johnson
Robert L. Crabtree
10 Evaluating the Role of Carnivores in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem	265	(20)
Mark S. Boyce
Eric M. Anderson
11 Genetic Considerations for Carnivore Conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem	285	(38)
F. Lance Craighead
Michael E. Gilpin
Ernest R. Vyse
12 Carnivore Research and Conservation: Learning from History and Theory	323	(82)
Steven C. Minta
Peter M. Kareiva
A. Peyton Curlee
List of Contributors	405	(10)
Index	415