Comments RockyMtnOne has made
pine trees/pine nuts/ bears
A serious side issue to the loss of the pine trees is the subsequent loss of the pine nut harvest---which is an important and sizeable element in the grizzly bears' fall diet. The loss of trees in Yellowstone is accompanied by the loss of rainbow trout to the bears because of lake trout introduced purposely or accidentally (by the release of bait minnows) into Yellowstone Lake. The remaining numbers of rainbow trout are increasingly infected with "twirling disease" and don't live to maturity.On The New York Times blows the bark beetle story posted 1 year ago 14 Responses