A variety of species contribute to the ecological balance of Hayden Valley, and Yellowstone overall
Consumers
Primary Consumers
Herbivores in Hayden Valley, animals that eat vegetation for energy, include: buffalo, Canada geese, moose, elk, cutthroat trout, deer mice, beavers, mayflies, and harlequin ducks. Elk and buffalo for example graze for most of their food, and beavers consume lots of tree bark mostly. Right: a beaver in Hayden Valley Secondary Consumers Carnivores that eat herbivores include grizzly bears which eat cutthroat trout, red foxes that eat mice and other rodents, and coyotes which eat everything from elk to beavers to ducks. Right: a red fox in Hayden Valley Tertiary Consumers These top carnivores who eat other carnivores include gray wolves and bald eagles. Bald eagles will eat osprey that eat cutthroat trout that eat algae. Gold eagles will eat foxes that eat small rodents. Gray wolves will sometimes eat bald eagles, along with bison, elk, sheep, etc. Right: A gold eagle eats a red fox |
Species Survivorship Curves
Type I Survivorship
Species with this type of curve experience low death rates during early and middle life. They typically produce fewer offspring and then provide them with lots of parental care. Elk for example provide parental care until their offspring are old enough to escape predators. They typically give birth to only one (and very rarely two) babies at a time.
Left: a mother elk cleans her baby
Species with this type of curve experience low death rates during early and middle life. They typically produce fewer offspring and then provide them with lots of parental care. Elk for example provide parental care until their offspring are old enough to escape predators. They typically give birth to only one (and very rarely two) babies at a time.
Left: a mother elk cleans her baby
Type III Survivorship
Species with this curve experience high death rates in early life that eventually level out. They have short life spans, produce many offspring at once that they give little parental care to, and they sexually mature quickly. Deer mice for example have 3 to 4 litters per year, each containing 3 to 5 young, which are weaned about 20 days after being born. They receive very little parental care, and live independently within weeks of being born.
Right: A deer mouse in the winter