Douglas W. Smith

TL;DR: The status, threats, and ecological importance of the 31 largest mammalian carnivores globally are reviewed and a Global Large Carnivore Initiative is proposed to coordinate local, national, and international research, conservation, and policy.

TL;DR: Monitoring of aspen stands in Yellowstone National Park to determine if reintroduced wolves are influencing elk browsing patterns and aspen regeneration through a trophic cascades interaction appears to have altered elk foraging behaviors.

TL;DR: It is argued that comprehensive ecological research and monitoring should be an essential long-term component of the management of Yellowstone National Park, and it is predicted that wolf restoration will have similar effects to a degree, reducing elk and coyote density.

TL;DR: The melanistic K locus mutation in North American wolves derives from past hybridization with domestic dogs, has risen to high frequency in forested habitats, and exhibits a molecular signature of positive selection as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that wolves increase the time period over which carrion is available, and change the variability in scavenge from a late winter pulse dependent primarily on abiotic environmental conditions to one that is relatively constant across the winter and primarily dependent on wolf demographics.