The Wolf-Moose Project
Six decades of studying fluctuating wolf and moose populations on Isle Royale
Isle Royale is a remote wilderness island, isolated by the frigid waters of Lake Superior, and home to populations of wolves and moose. As predator and prey, the lives and deaths of wolves and moose are linked in a drama that is timeless and historic. Historic because we have been documenting them for more than six decades. Timeless because we still have so much more to learn.
Nature is difficult to understand because it usually includes interactions among so many species. Isle Royale is different. Here, wolves are the only predator of moose, and moose are essentially the only food for wolves. This research project is the longest continuous study of any predator-prey system in the world.
The purposes of this Project are to better understand the ecology of predation and what that knowledge can teach us about our relationship with nature. Much of what we have learned is associated with having been patient enough to observe and study the fluctuations in wolf and moose abundances.
The Place
Biogeography
If by some accident of the Earth’s geologic history Isle Royale had been smaller than it is,it would be too small to support a wolf population.
If Isle Royale had been larger than it is, it would be too large to effectively study the moose population.
If Isle Royale had been further from the mainland than it is, wolves and moose may never have made it to Isle Royale.
If Isle Royale were closer to the mainland than it is, other species now absent on Isle Royale would be interacting with wolves and moose, obscuring our ability to focus on just wolves and moose.
Isle Royale is not too close, not too far, not too small, and not too large.
A Unique Laboratory
Nature is difficult to understand because it usually includes interactions among so many species. Isle Royale is different. Here, wolves are the only predator of moose, and moose are essentially the only food for wolves.
It’s very important that some of our observations of nature include places where the relationships are relatively simple. That simplicity is key to understanding more complex places. And if we cannot understand the simple places, it says something about our ability to understand more complex places.
Wilderness
Isle Royale is a remote wilderness island, in one of the planet’s most unforgiving lakes, Lake Superior, North America. She was born of fire and smoke, from lava that poured from a crack in the earth’s crust a billion years ago. She was shaped of ice and water, from glaciers that piled rich sediments in the south and scoured her bare in the north.
Today, she is a corrugated series of ridges and valley that follow her long axis. She is mostly green with boreal forest, speckled with blue inland lakes, and rimmed in the dark grey basaltic rocks that separate her from Lake Superior.
The People
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John Vucetich
John is an ecologist from Michigan Technological University and began working with the project in the early 1990s as a field technician and now leads the Project.
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Rolf Peterson
Rolf began leading the project in the early 1970s. He is a world authority on wolves and moose. After retiring as a professor on 2006, he began to devote even more time to the wolf-moose project, and now spends more time on Isle Royale than on the mainland. Rolf continues to be fascinated by the scientific insights and surprises that the island provides.
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Sarah Hoy
Sarah has been leading research on the wolves and moose of Isle Royale since 2017 and is an assistant professor at Michigan Technological University, where she teaches courses on conservation science and research methods. Prior to researching wolves and moose on Isle Royale, she contributed to a diverse set of research projects focused on conserving bird, insect, amphibian and mammal species in the United Kingdom and Latin America.
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Leah Vucetich
Leah has, for nearly two decades, been the glue holding the wolf-moose project together - guiding personnel, logistics, budgets, laboratory work, and countless other needs. No detail slips her attention. Leah has learned that as important as planning is, we are not in control and must embrace whatever Mother Nature has in store for us.
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Candy Peterson
Candy's contributions to the Isle Royale wolf-moose project span five decades. She’s been a field assistant, logistics expert, writer and educator, and she’s raised a family on Isle Royale. Candy enjoys park visitors, not only to share research findings but also to restore people’s faith in the human animal. “The best thing we can do for wolves and wilderness is to help people get along with each other.”
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Don Murray
Don grew up in a flying family and was raised flying and maintaining small aircraft in wilderness settings. His love of flying and wildlife conservation are a perfect match for the wolf-moose research on Isle Royale.
Ready to take the next step?
Consider joining a Moosewatch expedition!
On the expedition, your team will be guided by a seasoned expedition leader, and you will be able to spend a unique and intimate experience on Isle Royale as a citizen scientist.
Consider a Donation to the Wolf-Moose Foundation
Your donation can have a long-lasting and immediate impact on the future of the Study and its continued success.