Student questions: answered at last!

Back in February, our friends from St. Matthew's Primary School (read their Volunteer Perspective here on the blog!) sent us a handful of questions about the project. With our team scattered from California to Minnesota to Tennessee to South Africa over the last 6 weeks, it's taken a while to get responses! Apologies, St. Matthew's students! Thank you for your patience. Below, you'll find their initial questions paired with responses from our team. Variety in sound levels is entirely my fault - you have been warned! :)

Intro from St. Matthew's

Welcome to Cedar Creek!

How many cameras do you set up to capture so many different species?

What is the aim of the project? Is it to learn more about wild animals and how they act?

Answer from lead researcher Dr. Forest Isbell (Cedar Creek's associate director): Yes, my goal is to learn how predators, like wolves, and herbivores, like deer, influence the flows of energy and the recycling of materials in ecosystems. Many top predators, including wolves, have been killed and removed from ecosystems. In some places, including at our study site, top predators are now returning. As wolves return to our site, we want to understand how they influence the abundances and locations of their prey, including deer, and how this then affects the plants and other living things. For example, if wolves make the deer afraid to use some areas of the landscape, then the plants might grow more at those places where there are fewer deer to eat them. One reason we care about the plants is because they pull carbon pollution out of the air as they grow, which slows down climate change. Thus far, though, we are not finding that the wolves increase plant growth. Instead, the deer keep eating the plants, even in the risky places, but they do so at the relatively safe times of day when wolves are not around. It might take many more years before the wolves reduce the number of deer enough to help the plants grow. We have lots more to learn in the coming years. Thank you very much for your interest in and contributions to our project!

What inspired you to become a scientist?

Answer from lead researcher Dr. Forest Isbell (Cedar Creek's associate director): I have always felt at home in nature and been inspired by it. I became a scientist to learn how nature works and to use that knowledge to protect it for future generations. This is a very exciting time to study nature because previous scientists identified the many environmental problems society faces and we are now working to find solutions!

When you started, were there any animals you hoped to see? Did you see them?

If you could have a science reserve anywhere else in the world, where would it be and why?

Has this inspired you to do more projects on this theme?