By Jennifer Donovan
April 7, 2014—Michigan Technological University’s Isle Royale wolf-moose predator-prey study has been elected to the Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame. John Vucetich, associate professor of wildlife ecology in Michigan Tech’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES), will represent the research project at an induction ceremony at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., on April 10.
Ten individuals and organizations will be honored at the ceremony.
“For more than 50 years, the wolves and moose of Isle Royale have been teaching us –all of us—about nature’s intricate and interconnected ways,” said Vucetich. “They’ve been offering vital clues about how we can best relate to the natural world around us. It’s a great honor to accept this recognition from the Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame on behalf of the wolves and moose of Isle Royale.”
Vucetich is director of the Isle Royale wolf-moose research, the longest-running predator-prey study in the world. The project was started in 1958 by.Durward Allen, a pioneer among ecologists for having the foresight to understand the value of continuing to observe over time where others would have drawn conclusions and moved on to study something else.
Since then, the wolf and moose population of the remote wilderness islands has fluctuated dramatically due to a variety of factors. In the early 1980s, the wolves were driven almost to extinction by the accidental introduction of canine parvovirus. They rebounded, but inbreeding latercaused population numbers to drop to an all-time low of 8.
Vucetich has worked on the wolf-moose research since the early 1990s and has been leading the project since 2001 with Research Professor Rolf Peterson, also an SFRES faculty member at Michigan Tech. Major supporters include the National Science Foundation and the National Park Service.
Detailed reports on the annual Winter Study and other information about the wolves and moose of Isle Royale can be found at http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/.
The Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Muskegon Environmental Research & Education Society.