In the tundra, where both reindeer and wolves live, the number of reindeer herds do not
exceed the carrying capacity of their environment. in 1944, the united states coast guard ..
transported 29 reindeer to st. matthew island in the bering strait. st. matthew island has the
typical climate for a tundra, but no wolves live there.
the graph shown in figure 2 represents the growth curve for the reindeer population there.
figure 2
60007
5000
6000
19
nois of ver-
1
number of reindeer
53000
20004
29 reindeer
introduced
42 reindeer left
1945 1950 1959 1960 1965
reindeer population's growth on st. matthew island
10. by how many times did the reindeer population increase between 1945 and 1963?
11. by how many times did the reindeer population decrease between 1963 and 1966?
12. did the reindeer exceed the carrying capacity of their environment? explain your answer.
13. why do you think the population increased so rapidly in less than 20 years?
14. why do you think that the population declined so rapidly, from 6000 to 42. in 3 years?
.
15. what do you think would have happened if wolves had been brought to the island?