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The Community of the Red Wolf
Red wolves live within communities which often involve various animals, such as deer, rabbits, and raccoons (prey). A community can be defined as an association of two or more species living within the same environment (Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, n.d.).
The red wolf is an organism that is an apex predator. The red wolf, just like other wolves, live in close knit packs that consist of about 5-8 animals. The pack usually consists of a breeding couple and children's of all ages. The red wolf is native to the eastern US and they communicate in 3 ways. Between red wolves, interactions often involve communication using sound, smell, and body language. This communication is often used to mark territory, mate, or hunt for food (Wildlands Network, n.d.).
The major predator-prey interaction is between the red wolf and its prey. The red wolf helps to control the population of its prey. Whenever the population of red wolves decrease, prey populations (the populations of deer, rabbits, and raccoons) increase, but when the population of red wolves increases the opposite occurs. This results in a population fluctuation, that depends on the abundance and presence of the predators and prey (Federation, 2023). These interactions also influence the food chain (Federation, 2023). This is because they impact the transfer of energy and this impact is increased by the complexity of their role within the environment (Federation, 2023). A specific model which helps to demonstrate the cyclical fluctuations of the predator-prey populations is the Lotka-Volterra model (Federation, 2023).
An image of the Lotka-Volterra Model, which shows the fluctuations in the populations of each type of organism.
One of the major factors which is driving the population dynamics within the red wolf's environment is coyote-red wolf hybridization. Coyotes and red wolves are very closely related, so they are a part of the same ecological niche (Evan, 2018). An ecological niche or niche partioning is essentially how a species using the resources present in its environment and how these resources are divided between different species of a similar type of animal. An example of this is how some species of birds which are closely related may occupy different levels on a tree (Ferrall et al., n.d.). As a result of the fact that the coyotes and red wolves share the shame ecological niche, they often compete for resources. This has resulted in a significant decrease in red wolf populations, which is a major reason why they are critically endangered. This is known as interspecific competition, since two different species are competing for the same resources. This can also result in competitive exclusion, since the red wolves would be at a large disadvantage due to their small population numbers. Competitive exclusion can be described as when two animals are in the same niche and are thus competing for the same resources. This results in one animal eventually being excluded because it is at a disadvantage and is no longer able to compete for resources (Evan, 2018).
Wolves are known to be able to initiate trophic cascades, since they are known to have effects on all other populations within their ecosystem (Nywolf & Nywolf, 2019). A trophic cascade is when an organism, typically a tertiary consumer or other top predator, undergoes a change that impacts the relative populations of all other organisms in the food web. A third example of a population dynamic between the red wolf and another organism is the symbiotic relationship (symbiosis) demonstrated between the bobwhite quail and the red wolf. A study conducted in late 2022 found a symbiotic relationship between the two organisms, since the red wolf preys on the raccoon, which preys upon the eggs of the bobwhite quail. A symbiotic relationship can be defined as a close relationship between two different animals (Brusowankin & Pbs, 2022).
In contrast to a symbiotic relationship, an example of a parasitic relationship or parasite of the red wolf is the sarcoptic mange (Brzeski et al., 2015). The sarcoptic mange is an example of parasitism since it causes its host, the red wolf, harm and provides no benefit for the red wolf. This was a parasite that could be considered a limiting factor of red wolf, since it increased mortality rate and decreased survival rates of the red wolf.
Ecosystem Diversity and Resilience to Changes in the Environment
Currently the only location which red wolves exist in the wild is in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, located in North Carolina. This environment consists of many diverse ecosystems, such as swamps, forests (Orr, 2023) which provide for many different threats to the red wolf's population. As a result, the environment of the red wolf is highly biodiverse. Since there is a high amount of biodiversity, it can allow for a more stable, resilient population. However, this depends upon the specific change to the environment, since different events would have varying impacts.
Positive Event:
Migration to open fields would positively impact the population of the red wolf, but would not necessarily positively impact the biodiversity of the red wolf. This is because migration to open fields would only prove to be beneficial for red wolves, since that is where they would be less susceptible to human influence and would be able to more easily hunt. However, this could result in a significantly reduced population of the prey, since they may be dying off at an accelerated rate.
Negative Event:
Climate change would negatively impact both the population of the Red Wolf and the biodiversity. This is because it would cause significant habitat loss or significantly alter the environment in such a way that causes large groups of animals to migrate out of the environment/community. Events such as floods would destroy trees and inundate land, thus removing shelter and nutrient sources of the animals. High temperature increases may cause many animals to migrate or die, since many primary producers would struggle to grow.
The changes in biodiversity within the ecosystem could be quantified through the use of various biodiversity indices. One such index is the Shannon-Wiener index. The Shannon-Wiener index is a commonly used index used to measure the biodiversity of an ecosystem. The formula for the Shannon-Wiener index is shown below. To quantify the change in the biodiversity, the Shannon-Wiener index can be calculated before and after each event and the values can be compared.
Another way in which the biodiversity can be measured is through the Simpson Index. The Simpson Index is another commonly used index used to quantify species diversity within a population. Below, an image of the formula for the Simpson Index is shown. This is considered a measure of species diversity, since it takes into account the relative abundance of each species (geographyfieldwork.com/Simpson'sDiversityIndex.htm).
Some other methods of measuring species biodiversity include species richness. Species richness is a measure of the number of a species within a community. This method is less complex compared to the Shannon-Wiener index and the Simpson Index, since they do not take into account the relative abundance of the species itself. The formula for this can be shown in the form S = N, where N is the number of distinct animals present of a particular species (Pyron, 2010).
Keystone vs Foundation Species
A foundation species is an organism that significantly alters the surrounding environment in which other organisms live and benefits the other organisms as a whole. A keystone species can be defined as any species which helps maintain biodiversity, and so a decrease in their population will significantly change the relationships between animals within a ecosystem (Libretexts, 2020). By this definition, the red wolf is a keystone species, since it helps to enhance the biodiversity of the ecosystem it is present in. This can be supported by several observations of Red Wolves remove sick and deceased animals from the population, which limits the spread of disease throughout the ecosystem (Admin, 2023). As a result, this helps to promote a healthy environment for the organisms in the community. Furthermore, Red Wolves are tertiary consumers within their ecosystem, which means that they control the population of many different animals within their ecosystem. This is because they consume secondary consumers which in turn regulates the population of animals on lower trophic levels. If the population of a red wolf were to decrease within an ecosystem, it would result in these populations being unregulated. This would also impact the nutrient availability in the ecosystem, since the primary consumers consume a significant portion of the primary producers within the ecosystem. This would result in depleted nutrient availability (Red Wolf | National Wildlife Federation, n.d.).
Image of a red wolf, which is a keystone species in its environment.
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