Elk bones tell stories of life, death, and habitat use at Yellowstone National Park
Monday, December 10, 2012 - 11:00
in Earth & Climate
Concentrations of elk bones and antlers provide baseline ecological data complementary to aerial counts Yellowstone National Park, adding a historical component to live observation. Because bones can last decades to centuries in the Yellowstone environment they can put relatively recent data from direct observation into broader context for managers looking at long-range planning, helping to sort out important changes from the noise of cyclical booms, busts and shifts in landscape use.