![]() Scientists initially appear as polarized in their opinions of the role of wolves and large predators in ecosystems as the wolf watchers and ranchers are about their value to the local economy. The pack that I heard howling outside the cabin every night was quickly dispatched by the local rancher soon after I left their pelts could be found for sale in one of the souvenir stores at the entrance to Yellowstone. The enthusiasm of the wolf watchers is almost totally reversed by the many local ranchers who live outside the park and regard wolves as varmints, best used for target practice. It was an incredible moment, one that evoked feelings shared by the hundreds of wolf watchers who come to Yellowstone every month of the year hoping to experience even a glimpse of the wolves. This was the “Eight Mile” wolf pack, each member huge, healthy, and vigorous, romping through the light snow on a morning quest for elk, bison, or anyone too slow to get out of their way. The simplified graph data model below represents how part of the Yellowstone ecosystem co-relates in the aforementioned phenomenon, and the subsequent Cypher queries illustrate some valuable insights attainable.In the half moonlight at dawn on a sharply cold January morning, they looked like small ponies galloping beside the old railroad at the northern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Graph databases have the potential to effectively model the features of huge complex systems, which are gaining prevalence in today's 'Big Data' scene. (Reinforcing loops: Even number of 'inverse' links, Balancing loops: Odd number of 'inverse' links) Balancing loops are thus usually associated with system stability and equilibrium. Conversely, in a balancing loop, a change in any variable propagates through and returns as an opposite deviation to the same variable. Without breaking the loop, the system will be caught in a vicious cycles of circular chain reactions. If a variable varies in a reinforcing loop, its effect of the change reinforces the initial variation. A reinforcing loop is a cycle of nodes in which an increase (decrease) in any variable propagates through the cycle and returns as an increase (decrease) to the same variable. 'NOTE - For visualization simplicity in this GraphGist (see query (a) and (b)), the actual casual occurrence of each entity in Yellowstone's trophic cascade is included in its respective node (independent of the CLD model).'Ĭlosed cycles, defined as either a reinforcing or a balancing loop, are very important features of CLDs. ![]() A cause-and-effect tuple is said to be directly (positively) related if a change in the cause leads to a change in its effect in the same direction, and inversely (negatively) related if otherwise. The simplest entity in a CLD depicts the relationship between a cause and its direct effect, which can then double as a cause to other effects, and the list goes on. 'Example: Causal loop diagram of a model examining the growth or decline of a life insurance company'Ī causal loop diagram (CLD) explains the behavior of a system by visualizing a collection of connected nodes, and the feedback loops created by these connections. = Data Model: A Causal Loop Implementation How does re-introducing wolves improve the stability of rivers? How are the landscape features dependent on the density and behaviour of the mammals? Will the Yellowstone ecosystem be disrupted or return to equilibrium if bear-hunting increases? Let's find out! ![]() To effectively understand and study how one changed factor can effect a particular system behavior/response, it'd be most helpful to be able to visualize the flow of causal relationships from one actor to its reactor(s). Graphs provide an apt and intuitive representation of the ecological phenomenon above. It may prove a challenge in studying these inter-dependencies and their effect on biomass levels across the entire system. Yellowstone's northern trophic cascade involves huge ecosystems spanning multiple trophic levels. Wolf re-introduction may represent an effective approach for passively restoring ecosystems. This triggered a massive trophic cascade, involving different predators, prey, plants and even physical landscape. A classic example is what happened in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States, when wolves were reintroduced in 1995 after a 70-year hiatus. This interactive Neo4j graph tutorial uncovers a recent ecological phenomenon that has infiltrated the northern half of Yellowstone.Ī trophic cascade is an ecological process which starts at the top of the food chain and tumbles all the way down to the bottom. :twitter: domain:life-science, use-case:trophic-cascade = Trophic Cascade: A Wolf's Role in the Ecosystem of Yellowstone
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