The given question is not complete. The complete question is:
Watch the film “Liz Hadly Tracks the Impact of Climate Change in Yellowstone (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.” from the Scientists at Work series. Prior to watching the film, read the questions below and think about how you might answer them. You do not need to turn in your answers from before you watch the film.
Questions
Explain what is happening to the whitebark pine in Yellowstone National Park as a result of climate change
Researchers often study ecosystems for a long period of time. Dr. Hadly has studied Yellowstone’s ecology for 30 years and the amphibians for 20 years. What is the value of long- term studies to advancing scientific understanding?
Answer:
1. As a consequence of climate change, the whitebark pine is been targeted by pine beetles, which can thrive in winter conditions. An attack led by various beetles for one to two days has generated holes in the pine leading to its destruction.
2. The objective of long term studies is to find the connections between animals and plants and to witness how they are associating with each other in their micro-environment. Like in the documentary it was the association between the squirrel, pine trees and bear.
The beer needs to consume high content nutritious seeds of the pine tree, which safeguarded them in the winters due to the high amount of fat present in them that offered warmth. However, the beers were not able to reach the pine trees as they were far from their reach and thus, they took help from squirrels, which serve the objective for the bears.
Thus, it can be comprehended that all three creatures, that is, squirrel, tree and bear are associated with each other and developing a food web. All these studies need an ample amount of time and observation. Hence, Dr. Hardley took thirty years examining them and also took twenty years examining the influence of climate on amphibians living in the pond. Their species diversity declined substantially due to global warming that resulted in the drying up of the pond.
