As humans spread invasive species around and alter fire regimes, we change the basic functioning of single keystone species, which ultimately radiates to other species. With whitebark pines declining from 40%-90% throughout their range, these high elevation regions are drastically being transformed. Grizzly bears depend on these fatty pine nuts to get them through the harshest winter months when little else is available. As these tree populations decrease, the fight for survival intensifies. It is time we all think about plant conservation and our role as humans in protecting these truly wild places. I’m here to remind you, and remind myself, that the struggle for survival in Yellowstone is ramping up, and that the decimation of one species radiates throughout the food web, which increases competition, which unfortunately increases the rates of human-bear conflicts.
Read moreBark beetle competition with its own ‘mutualist’
Beetles represent 40% of all the insects, and 25% of all the animals living on Earth today.
Beetles are the most diverse group of insects in the world. They have been interacting with the forest floor since the Carboniferous, more than 300 million years ago. With this long period of time, one can see why so many evolutionary relationships have occurred since they made their way on to Earth's terrestrial scene.
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