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The wolf population on Isle Royale is presently very low despite the fact that the moose population is high. What factors have led to the decline in wolves?

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Explanation/Answer/Solution

if humans were to intervene and keep inbreeding from occurring in the wolf population of Isle Royale, they would need to increase genetic diversity by adding wolves from other areas to Isle Royale.

Inbreeding occurs when family members mate and have offspring. This in turn leads to less genetic diversity and can cause defects down the line. Increasing the size of the wolf population by bringing in the same species of wolves from other areas adds to the genetic diversity of the population because the new wolves would have more different genetic codes.

Bringing in new organisms means that humans would have to regulate the amount of resources in the environment. Bring in too many wolves too fast, and the food source (moose) will be depleted too quickly. Bring in not enough wolves, and the original wolf population and the new one group may fight, leading to the loss of lives in the wolf population in general (regardless, wolves are territorial and will fight, but if the new group is wiped out by the old group, the original plan to increase genetic diversity would not work).

Humans would also need to track the wolves and keep records of which wolves bred with each other in order to keep inbreeding from occurring. If needed, every so many years, humans may need to bring in a new population of wolves to keep inbreeding from occurring.

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User Surendra Kumar
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