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Yellowstone National Park
Article 1: SHORT: Yellowstone Birds Are Vital
Traveling through Yellowstone National Park (YNP), visitors frequently stop to enjoy the park’s birds: small songbirds flitting about the willows, sandhill cranes engaged in their ritual mating dances, or myriad species of waterfowl loafing in one of the park's many wetlands. Typically while driving the roads of YNP, a majority of visitors consider a stopped car and raised binoculars a sure sign of some large mammal sighting... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 2: SHORT: Yellowstone bats important indicator ecosystem health
The popularity of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is often gauged by the abundance of wildlife that calls it home, but the ecological health of the park is regularly assessed by a suite of indicator species. Bioindicators are typically species or species groups that are easily observed; however, a silent gray blur darting overhead at twilight may turn out to be an important indicator of environmental health... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 3: SHORT: Taking the Pulse of Wetlands
Why indeed care about tiny frogs, with so many spectacular and elsewhere-rare animals inhabiting Yellowstone National Park (YNP)?... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 4: SHORT: The Yellowstone River Fish-Kill
Trout are socioeconomically and ecologically important in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), yet these fish face numerous threats. Disease may begin to play a larger role in reducing fish populations, partly because many existing threats may interact to exacerbate the frequency, extent, and severity of fish diseases (Lafferty 2009)... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 5: SHORT: Insects as a Vital Sign in the GYE
Insects far outnumber vertebrates in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), North America, and worldwide. In fact, 80% of all named species are invertebrates (Cardoso et al. 2011). Despite their abundance, ecological importance, and benefits to society, numerous opportunities for discovery and for elevating the understanding of insects’ contributions to health of ecosystems still remains... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 6: SHORT: Aquatic Vascular Macrophytes as Vital Signs
Large, readily visible plants (macrophytes) are central species of aquatic ecosystems. Macrophytes have diverse morphological and ecological strategies for living in divergent ecological conditions or niches that span the water column. For example, macrophytes can be free-floating on the surface, entirely or partially submerged, and emergent. Of the 41 vital signs selected for Yellowstone National Park (YNP), nearly two of every five (40%) can be connected to macrophytes... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 7: SHORT: Invasive Plants as Indicators of Ecosystem Health
Healthy, native plant communities provide sustainable habitat for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. They can persist through drought and contribute to ecosystem services, such as clean air and water. When invasive species are introduced into a native plant community, there can be numerous deleterious efects with minor to major consequences... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 8: SHORT: An Uncertain Future: the Persistence of Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
If ever I was to love a tree, this is the tree (figure 1) that would own my heart. Enduring gracefully at the base of a narrow, high-elevation cirque in the Wind River Range, it is a challenging off-trail scramble to be in its presence. My first encounter with this massive whitebark pine was in July 2014. Located just a stone’s throw from our monitoring plot, I felt compelled to pay homage to this incredible specimen that has clearly withstood hardship... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 9: SHORT: Past Warm Periods Provide Vital Benchmarks for Understanding the Future of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The wildlife, vegetation, and ecosystems discussed in this issue of Yellowstone Science are vital signs of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) that warrant continued monitoring. Determining which organisms and processes are truly vital ecosystem components requires both an understanding of modern ecological interactions and insight into the resilience of organisms and processes to stressors in the past... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 10: SHORT: What We’re Listening To: How Sound Inventories Can Contribute to Understanding Change
Do you want to get off the beaten track and experience Yellowstone in an entirely new way? If you answered “yes,” visit Black Sand Pool and turn an ear to the ground. The giant, imploding bubbles in Black Sand Pool make a low-frequency sound that you’ll feel through your whole body. It’s undeniably an Earth sound—a planetary sound. And listening to a hot spring is an entirely different experience than looking at a hot spring... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 11: SHORT: Improving Visitor Preparedness and Safety in the Bear Country of Yellowstone National Park
On August 23, 2018, a grizzly mother attacked a 10-year-old boy who was hiking the Divide Trail southeast of Old Faithful. While he was badly injured, his parents prevented the attack from being much worse due to the quick actions and use of bear spray. The bear spray had been rented from a new innovation in the park called Bear Aware, L.L.C., where visitors may rent bear spray and also receive training in the use of bear spray and on bear activity in the park... Read more
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Yellowstone National Park
Article 12: SHORT: How Have Yellowstone Backpackers Changed?
Yellowstone National Park, comprises 3,472 square miles, is known for its beauty, diversity of flora and fauna, and recreation opportunities (YNP 2016). However, most visitors never go beyond a few steps from the roads and boardwalks in the park. Many visitors appear to be in a hurry and want to see the Yellowstone highlights. Indeed, Yellowstone provides a cornucopia of sights, sounds, and smells... Read more