Editing Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (section)

==Animals and plant diversity==
=== Large mammals ===
The GYE is home to some of North America's most iconic wildlife.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=15 Facts About Our National Mammal: The American Bison {{!}} U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.doi.gov/blog/15-facts-about-our-national-mammal-american-bison |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=www.doi.gov |language=en}}</ref> The ecosystem supports the largest free-roaming herds of [[American bison|American bison (Bison bison)]] on public land,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yellowstone Bison - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bison.htm |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> a species central to the region's ecological balance. [[Grizzly bear|Grizzly bears]] (Ursus arctos horribilis) and [[Gray wolves|gray wolves (Canis lupus)]] are [[Apex predator|apex predators]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tallian |first1=Aimee |last2=Ordiz |first2=Andrés |last3=Metz |first3=Matthew C. |last4=Milleret |first4=Cyril |last5=Wikenros |first5=Camilla |last6=Smith |first6=Douglas W. |last7=Stahler |first7=Daniel R. |last8=Kindberg |first8=Jonas |last9=MacNulty |first9=Daniel R. |last10=Wabakken |first10=Petter |last11=Swenson |first11=Jon E. |last12=Sand |first12=Håkan |date=2017-02-08 |title=Competition between apex predators? Brown bears decrease wolf kill rate on two continents |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=284 |issue=1848 |pages=20162368 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2016.2368 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=5310606 |pmid=28179516}}</ref> that play crucial roles in regulating prey populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Joel |last2=Stacey |first2=Peter B. |last3=Bellis |first3=Lori |last4=Johnson |first4=Matthew P. |date=August 2001 |title=A Mammalian Predator-Prey Imbalance: Grizzly Bear and Wolf Extinction Affect Avian Neotropical Migrants |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0947:AMPPIG]2.0.CO;2 |journal=Ecological Applications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=947–960 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0947:AMPPIG]2.0.CO;2 |issn=1051-0761|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Elk]] (Cervus canadensis) are abundant and form a key component of the ecosystem, providing sustenance for predators.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=French |first1=Steven P. |last2=French |first2=Marilynn G. |date=1990 |title=Predatory Behavior of Grizzly Bears Feeding on Elk Calves in Yellowstone National Park, 1986-88 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3872937 |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=8 |pages=335–341 |doi=10.2307/3872937 |jstor=3872937 |issn=1936-0614 |quote=We also observed black bears (Ursus americanus), coyotes (Canis latrans), and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) prey on elk calves during this study.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Other significant [[ungulate]] species include [[moose]] (Alces alces),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tyers |first=Daniel B. |date=2006-01-01 |title=MOOSE POPULATION HISTORY ON THE NORTHERN YELLOWSTONE WINTER RANGE |url=https://www.alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/397 |journal=Alces: A Journal Devoted to the Biology and Management of Moose |language=en |volume=42 |pages=133–149 |issn=2293-6629}}</ref> [[pronghorn]] (Antilocapra americana),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=P.J. |last2=Davis |first2=Troy L. |last3=Barnowe-Meyer |first3=Kerey K. |last4=Crabtree |first4=Robert L. |last5=Garrott |first5=Robert A. |date=April 2007 |title=Partial migration and philopatry of Yellowstone pronghorn |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.10.041 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=135 |issue=4 |pages=502–510 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2006.10.041 |bibcode=2007BCons.135..502W |issn=0006-3207|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[bighorn sheep]] (Ovis canadensis),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Patrick J |last2=Lemke |first2=Thomas O |last3=Tyers |first3=Daniel B |last4=Fuller |first4=Julie A |date=2008 |title=Initial effects of reintroduced wolves Canis lupus on bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis dynamics in Yellowstone National Park |url=https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2981/0909-6396%282008%2914%5B138%3AIEORWC%5D2.0.CO%3B2 |journal=Wildlife Biology |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=138–146|doi=10.2981/0909-6396(2008)14[138:IEORWC]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref> and [[Mountain goat|mountain goats]] (Oreamnos americanus).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lemke |first=Thomas O. |date=June 2004 |title=Origin, expansion, and status of mountain goats in Yellowstone National Park |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2193/0091-7648%282004%2932%5B532%3AOEASOM%5D2.0.CO%3B2 |journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=532–541 |doi=10.2193/0091-7648(2004)32[532:OEASOM]2.0.CO;2 |issn=0091-7648|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Birds===
{{See also|List of birds of Yellowstone National Park}}
The GYE is home to a variety of birds, including iconic species like [[Bald eagle|Bald Eagles]],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |title=Bald Eagle - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bald-eagle.htm |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> [[Golden eagle|Golden Eagles]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Park |first1=Mailing Address: PO Box 168 Yellowstone National |last2=Us |first2=WY 82190-0168 Phone: 307-344-7381 Contact |title=Golden Eagle - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/golden-eagle.htm |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> and [[Peregrine falcon|Peregrine Falcons]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |title=Peregrine Falcon - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/peregrine.htm |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> [[Osprey]] populations around [[Yellowstone Lake]], have experienced declines, linked to the decrease in Cutthroat Trout.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baril |first1=Lisa M. |last2=Smith |first2=Douglas W. |last3=Drummer |first3=Thomas |last4=Koel |first4=Todd M. |date=September 2013 |title=Implications of Cutthroat Trout Declines for Breeding Ospreys and Bald Eagles at Yellowstone Lake |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3356/JRR-11-93.1 |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |language=en |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=234–245 |doi=10.3356/JRR-11-93.1 |issn=0892-1016}}</ref> Several bird species act as [[keystone species]] within the GYE. For example, the [[Clark's nutcracker|Clark's Nutcracker]] plays a crucial role in the dispersal of the all-important<ref>{{Citation |last1=Buermeyer |first1=Karl |title=Case Study: Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem |date=2016 |work=Climate Change in Wildlands: Pioneering Approaches to Science and Management |pages=304–326 |editor-last=Hansen |editor-first=Andrew J. |url=https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-713-1_15 |access-date=2024-07-27 |place=Washington, DC |publisher=Island Press/Center for Resource Economics |language=en |doi=10.5822/978-1-61091-713-1_15 |isbn=978-1-61091-713-1 |last2=Reinhart |first2=Daniel |last3=Legg |first3=Kristin |editor2-last=Monahan |editor2-first=William B. |editor3-last=Olliff |editor3-first=S. Thomas |editor4-last=Theobald |editor4-first=David M.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Pinus albicaulis|Whitebark Pine]] seeds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hutchins |first1=H. E. |last2=Lanner |first2=R. M. |date=1982-11-01 |title=The central role of Clark's nutcracker in the dispersal and establishment of whitebark pine |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384487 |journal=Oecologia |language=en |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=192–201 |doi=10.1007/BF00384487 |pmid=28311233 |bibcode=1982Oecol..55..192H |issn=1432-1939|url-access=subscription }}</ref>