Land Use in Pinchot Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Land Use in Pinchot - Lab Report Example resulted in a decrease in the population of the predator/prey ecosystem while the 50% and 75% fragmentation created a more distorted distribution of the species. This shows that the hypothesis should be accepted. It was observed that increasing fragmentation is directly proportional to the increase in abundance of the Spiny Firegrass (SFG) and Elk population. The wolf and bluebunch wheatflower (BBWF) population remained constant at 0% and 25% fragmentation and drastically dropped at 50% and 75% fragmentation. The addition of the BBWF, elk and wolf created a more balanced ecosystem in the 0%, 25% and 50% fragmentation as affected by the hierarchy of the species in the trophic level (Moorecroft, n.d.). The increasing fragmentation caused the increase in the abundance of the SFG because of the increased amount of direct sunlight brought about by deforestation. The habitat has become more favorable for the SFG, while unfavorable for the wolf and BBWF which take shelter and protection from the forest. Lindsey (2007) emphasized that deforestation directly makes the species depending on the forests vulnerable; and in this case, it will be the wolves and BBWF. The wolves can be considered the keystone species in the Pinchot ecosystem because the results obtained from the 75% fragmentation created a trophic cascade because there was a very small number of the higher level predator that will be able to control the number of the elks in the ecosystem (Moorecroft, n.d.). The observations gathered shows that the ecosystem is a top-down control of population dynamics. Deforestation and urban sprawl has a direct impact on the food web because these two activities endanger the higher level predator, causing a trophic cascade in the ecosystem (Moorecroft, n.d.). Deforestation provides a better habitat for the proliferation of SFG, and urban sprawl drives away the wolves that live in the woods, causing the increase in the elk population, and consequently depleting the