Rewilding

Question 1

Name 2 Keystone species

Answer 1

Elephants
Wild horse
Wolf
The Tauros (cow)
Wildboar
Beaver

Question 2

Why are beavers keystone species?

Answer 2

Build pools for protection - provides habitats for fish, amphibians, dragonflies, plants, water fowl etc
Filters the water
Prevent flooding downstream after rain
Birds use twigs to build nests

Question 3

Why are wildboar keystone species?

Answer 3

open bracken thickets to feed on rhizomes - bulbous plants are dispersed by boar rooting
dig up soil invertebrates for birds to eat
Open carcasses with tusks for other organisms
wolves and lynx hunt boar
turned up soil disturbances creates germination

Question 4

Define rewilding

Answer 4

The large scale restoration of ecosystems where nature can take care of itself. It seeks to restore natural processes and missing species

Question 5

What is oostvaardersplassen? (OVP)

Answer 5

A made made polder of land
Reclaimed from the sea in 1968
Group of ecologists lobbied to designate area as a preserve
Reserve created new habitat for birds and other species
First incident of rewilding

Question 6

What do cattle and other grazers do to rewilding?

Answer 6

They prevent it

pause the process of natural succession of landscapes