 Ian Craick Bernice Longouo Jeremy Raynor A Case Study on the removal of sharks and wolves

 Apex predators are the top level predators in an ecosystem. This means that they have no natural predators  Humans become predators – upset the natural balance

 What is removal?  How are predators removed?

 Ecosystems Services  Ecosystem dynamics and function  Energy and nutrient flow  Human Health

The importance of predation - predators have a fundamental influence on structure and function of ecosystem - Predators influence prey population and community - Predation affect prey behavior. Presence of predator allow prey to use behavioral mechanism to reduce predation risk.

 Large shark populations down by about 90% or more regionally  Found out of 547 species studies 20% were threatened (sharks, rays, chimaeras)  Difficult to measure due to mobility and low populations of target species Nicholas Dulvy 2006 Heithaus et al. 2008

 How do apex predators influence Nutrients flow?  Mainly through Biologic factors  Two methods: -Top Down Control -Trophic Cascades

 Changes in top predators influence the abundance and behavior of organisms in lower trophic levels

 Top predators influence trophic levels two or more levels below them Post 1999

 Wolf removal has seen major spikes in Deer, Elk, Moose and other prey populations  Wolf re-introduction has seen decreases in prey populations and significant increases in foliage

 Last Wolves exterminated in 1926 within the park  Re-introduced in  Pack reached a record high of approximately 40 individuals  Elk populations rise when wolves are exterminated, decreased after peak (resource limited) then decreased to ~pre-extermination levels after re-introduction of wolves

 Shark presence shapes prey behavior  Shark Bay, Australia  Behavior changes -Spatial -Temporal

Fear – Politics – Apathy – Ignorance - Greed

North American Gray wolf (canus lupus) Black Tip Shark population off the East Coast of the United States Heithaus et al article FIURipple et al 2005

Shark Finning Fear – Ideas of sharks as competitors and dangerous Money – Shark fin soup market growth in China Accidental Catch (bycatch) Long Lines, Trolling, Siene Netting

 Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Video Clip Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Video Clip State-funded culling programs Last month, Idaho’s Governor Otter signed a bill creating a $400,000-per-year wolf extermination fund. Approximately 1,300 Wolves have been killed in Idaho alone since 2011

 There ARE solutions  There ARE things YOU can do to help  Scientifically proven equations for success

 MPA (Marine Protected Areas)  National Parks  IUCN Red List ( International Union for Conservation of Nature )  CITES (International Trade Regulations)  Magnuson-Stevens Act (Fishery Conservation, Mgmt. USA)  Shark Finning Prohibition Act (USA)  ESA - Endangered Species Act (USA)  Biodiversity Hot Spots

 Education based on Long Term Scientific Studies  Advocacy based on the facts, environmental lobbyists  Awareness & Action: 1. Know the issue from multiple perspectives (Volunteer) 2. Know the history and current situation (Investigate) 3. Make a difference voice your opinion & support research

 Abesamis, R A, and G R. Russ. "Density-dependent Spillover from a Marine Reserve: Long-Term Evidence." Ecological Applications (2005): Print.  Beschta, R L, and W J. Ripple. "River Channel Dynamics Following Extirpation of Wolves in Northwestern Yellowstone National Park, Usa." Earth Surface Processes and Landforms : the Journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group (2006): Print.  Dulvy, Nicholas K. "Conservation Biology: Strict Marine Protected Areas Prevent Reef Shark Declines." Current Biology (2006). Print.  Graham, Nicholas A. J, Mark D. Spalding, and Charles R. C. Sheppard. "Reef Shark Declines in Remote Atolls Highlight the Need for Multi-Faceted Conservation Action."Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (2010): Print.

 Heithaus, MR, A Frid, AJ Wirsing, and B Worm. "Predicting Ecological Consequences of Marine Top Predator Declines." Trends in Ecology & Evolution (2008): Print.  Kareiva, Peter. “Conservation Biology: Beyond Marine Protected Areas” Current Biology (2006). Print.  Knip, D.M, M.R Heupel, and C.A Simpfendorfer. "Evaluating Marine Protected Areas for the Conservation of Tropical Coastal Sharks." Biological Conservation (2012): Print.  Ripple, William J., and Robert L. Beschta. "Linking wolves and plants: Aldo Leopold on trophic cascades." BioScience 55.7 (2005):  Robbins, William D, Mizue Hisano, Sean R. Connolly, and J H. Choat. "Ongoing Collapse of Coral-Reef Shark Populations." Current Biology (2006): Print.  Post, Eric, et al. "Ecosystem consequences of wolf behavioral response to climate." Nature (1999):

 Ian Craick Bernice Longouo Jeremy Raynor A Case Study on the removal of sharks and wolves “ To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution in intelligent tinkering” –Aldo Leopold