Yellowstone wildlife biologists examining the wing of a red-naped sap sucker.
Yellowstone's Center for Resources develops publications that highlight science conducted by park biologists and researchers. View the variety of publications and reports below.
Natural Resources
In Yellowstone’s Vital Signs Reports, park scientists and their cooperators report on data from more than two dozen indicators to study the influences, both inside and outside the park, that affect Yellowstone’s overall ecological status and the condition of cultural resources. Ecological indicators include ecosystem process such as wildland fire and the status of native species and stressors such as wildlife disease and nonnative species.
These reports are valuable tools to assist park managers and scientists more fully understand the status of important indicators of resource condition, inform resource management decisions, and support ongoing and future research needs.
Winter Ecology: Learn how wildlife adapt to the harsh winters of Yellowstone.
Wildlife & Aquatic Resources
Yellowstone’s bird program compiles annual reports summarizing the monitoring program's analysis of a small portion of raptors, wetland birds, and passerines found in the park. This helps inform park staff of potential shifts in ecosystem function (e.g., climate change effects) to Yellowstone's bird community and may guide future conservation of the park’s birds and habitats.
The grassland and sagebrush-steppe habitats in and near Yellowstone have been referred to as "America’s Serengeti" because they support abundant and diverse ungulates and their predators. Thousands of bison and elk, and hundreds of bighorn sheep, deer, and pronghorn migrate seasonally across the landscape where they interact with black bears, coyotes, grizzly bears, and wolves, thereby providing one of the premier places in the world to observe and photograph or film wildlife. However, these habitats also have been a source of controversy since the 1920's due to concerns about too many ungulates removing too much vegetation, compacting soils, and reducing the diversity of plants, especially in the northern region of the park known as the “northern range.”
Since 2012, biologists have conducted several monitoring and research efforts to document above-ground grass production, percent consumption by the grazing community, soil nutrient availability, soil organic matter, plant composition, bare ground, and litter at several sites in high-use bison areas. In addition, vegetation ecologists have been quantifying sage-steppe communities in the park to spatially describe the variability in plant community composition and be positioned to detect community changes in abundance, bare soil and litter, percent cover, and other metrics over time.
In this issue of Yellowstone Science magazine, learn about the results of these efforts and the historic and current effects of grazing and other factors on grassland production and ecosystem stability.
Yellowstone Bison: Conserving an American Icon in Modern Society
Edited by P.J. White, Rick L. Wallen, and David E. Hallac
Published by Yellowstone Forever (formerly Yellowstone Association)
This book examines the history of bison conservation and management in the United States, compiles the latest scientific information about Yellowstone bison, and discusses both the opportunities for and challenges to plains bison conservation within the Greater Yellowstone Area and across their historic range.
The authors outline the multi-jurisdictional partnerships tasked with successful bison management and offer a candid assessment for moving forward with bison conservation. The book is important not only for the information it provides, but for the framework it creates for engendering strong, diverse-stakeholder conservation partnerships in modern society.
Frank, D. A., R. L. Wallen, and P. J. White. 2013. Assessing the effects of climate change and wolf restoration on grassland processes. Pages 195–205 in P. J. White, R. A. Garrott, and G. E. Plumb. Yellowstone’s wildlife in transition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Freese, C. H., K. E. Aune, D. P. Boyd, J. N. Derr, S. C. Forrest, C. C. Gates, P. J. P. Gogan, S. M. Grassel, N. D. Halbert, K. Kunkel, and K. H. Redford. 2007. Second chance for the plains bison. Biological Conservation 136:175–184.
Gates, C. C., and L. Broberg. 2011. Yellowstone bison: the science and management of a migratory wildlife population. University of Montana Press, Missoula, Montana.
Geremia, C., J.A. Merkle, M. Hebblewhite, D.R. Eacker, R.L. Wallen, P.J. White, and M.J. Kauffman. 2019. Yellowstone bison engineer the green wave. Proceedings National Academy Sciences 116:25707-25713.
Geremia, C. 2020. Bison conservation update, November 2020. Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth, Wyoming.
Schullery, P., and L. H. Whittlesey. 2006. Greater Yellowstone bison distribution and abundance in the early historical period. Pages 135–140 in A. W. Biel, editor. Greater Yellowstone public lands: proceedings of the eighth biennial scientific conference on the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth, Wyoming.
In this edition of Yellowstone Science, we describe the significant progress that has already been made, along with the challenges that lie ahead as we continue our efforts to conserve native fish. As most of what occurs with fish lies under the surface of the water and largely out of sight, we hope that these articles will be revealing, enlightening, and increase understanding of the management approaches taken as we promote the restoration and preservation of native fish.
Koel, T. M., J. L. Arnold, P. E. Bigelow, T. O. Brenden, J. D. Davis, C. R. Detjens, P. D. Doepke, B. D. Ertel, H. C. Glassic, R. E. Gresswell, C. S. Guy, D. J. MacDonald, M. E. Ruhl, T. J. Stuth, D. P. Sweet, J. M. Syslo, N. A. Thomas, L. M. Tronstad, P. J. White, and A. V. Zale. 2020. Yellowstone Lake ecosystem restoration: A case study for invasive fish management. Fishes 5:18.
Fish Ecology: Learn about the native and nonnative fish species found in Yellowstone.
Fisheries Management: Learn how the Native Fish Conservation program works to preserve Yellowstone Lake cutthroat trout and restore fluvial trout populations.
The Yellowstone wolf territory GIS files are available for download. The data is public domain; however, we do appreciate National Park Service credit for its use. These are the same shape files that we use in creating our annual report maps.
From the Preface by Daniel N. Wenk:
Grizzly bears are the icon of wildness in Yellowstone National Park. The American people’s willingness to recover a species with such an intimidating reputation is a remarkable conservation achievement. This book outlines the fascinating history of the conservation of grizzly bears, from the early 1870s to the management challenges of today’s human-dominated landscape. The authors reveal the latest findings about the role grizzly bears play in Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and contemplate the diverse stakeholder interests and issues in grizzly bear management. Most importantly, this book illustrates our collective commitment to sustain a viable population of wild grizzly bears on the landscape.
The Grizzly Bear Recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Issue of Yellowstone Science magazine
In this issue of Yellowstone Science, we present recent research on dietary preferences and the response of bears to changing food resources, demographics of the current greater Yellowstone bear population, and bear habituation to people in national parks. We also present information on grizzly range expansion, cub adoption, consumption of army cutworm moths at high elevation talus slopes, and the risk of a bear attack. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was once again considering removing grizzly bears from threatened species status. Whether you are in favor of or opposed to delisting, this issue of Yellowstone Science has something for you.
Middleton, A.D., T.A. Morrison, J.K. Fortin, M.J. Kauffman, C.T. Robbins, K.M. Proffitt, P.J. White, D.E. McWhirter, T.M. Koel, D. Brimeyer, and W.S. Fairbanks. 2013. Grizzly bears link non-native trout to migratory elk in Yellowstone.Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280:20130870.
Richardson, Leslie, Tatjana Rosen, Kerry Gunther, and Chuck Schwartz. 2014. The economics of roadside bear viewing. Journal of Environmental Management. 140:102-110.
