Sentences with phrase «for whitebark»

«A weaker defense system may also be why we are seeing a strong preference now by the beetle for whitebark pine over lodgepole pine, which has long been its preferred host.»

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - A history of fire suppression, an invasive fungal plague, and rampant insect infestation fueled by global warming add up to likely extinction for the whitebark pine and serious trouble for the grizzly bear and other species that depend on it, some scientists say.

Good years for whitebark pine seed production mean good years for grizzly bears - abundant food far, far away from livestock, birdfeeders, orchards, garbage and other temptations in valley bottoms crowded with roads, development and people.

Six said that blister rust, drought and the ongoing pine beetle outbreak are each bad for whitebark pines, in and of themselves.

The hope for whitebark pines in the face of the blister rust epidemic is that some trees are resistant and pass that resistance on to seedlings, which can be replanted in the wild, until genetic resistance to blister rust is well - distributed.

It takes 50 years for whitebark pines to start producing seeds and 150 years until seed production peaks.

If blister rust can be regarded as a steadily, if slow - moving, disaster for whitebark pine, the relatively dramatic and sudden attack of mountain pine beetles can be regarded as a biological firestorm, fueled by global warming, experts at a recent workshop sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

There's trouble ahead for the whitebark pine, a mountain tree that's integral to wildlife and water resources in the western United States and Canada.

«By combining field data on seed and pollen production for whitebark pines with models that simulate mature cone production, this study helps to answer that question for these pines.»

«In the past, low years for whitebark pine cones have led to six times more conflicts between grizzlies and humans, as hungry bears look for food in campgrounds,» says Crone.

«We as a society need to reduce emissions or these refugia are just going to become hospices for whitebark pine,» she said.

The death is a major concern for conservationists, biologists and public land managers, for the whitebark pine supports the entire ecosystem.

Not exact matches

The study, appearing in this month's issue of Ecology, also portends even harder times for the grizzlies, thanks to recent poor yields of whitebark pine seeds, one of the bear's key foods.

For example, white pine blister rust, caused by the fungus (Cronartium ribicola), has put western white pine, limber pine, and whitebark pine in some areas of Montana in jeopardy (Smith et al. 2008).

Unlike their salmon - eating kin in Canada, or berry - eating cousins in Glacier National Park, Yellowstone grizzlies really don't have a high - calorie substitute for the loss of whitebark pines to blister rust.

Fire suppression in the post-settlement era has meant fewer fires and thus fewer opportunities for regeneration of whitebark pines.