Is the return of the wolf, wolverine, and grizzly bear to Oregon and California biologically feasible

摘要: Carnivores are indicators of ecosystem function and can serve as keystones in the top-down regulation of ecosystems (Terborgh et at 1999), Although the strength of top-down processes varies widely among species and ecosystems (Noss et al. 1996), it is probably more prevalent than many ecologiste have assumed (Terborgh et al. 1999; Crooks and Soulé 1999). Wide-ranging carnivores may serve as" bioassays" of emergent landscape characteristics such as connectivity and give us information on the optimal size and arrangement of reserves. Viability analysis of carnivore species may highlight potential reserve areas that are not targeted in other biodiversity assessments such as gap analysis (Scott et al. 1993),