Wolves, Grizzlies, Elk and Berries - an unexpected set of dependencies

I just got through reading the Science Daily version [1] of a journal article, Trophic cascades from wolves to grizzly bears in Yellowstone.[2] The article describes how an unexpected relationship has been discovered between the populations of wolves, elk and grizzly bears through berries. Turns out without wolves around the elk suffered little predation - except for human hunting - and their expanding numbers fed on berries, reducing their availability to the grizzly bear. However, the grizzly really needed that late summer/early fall crop of berries to get them ready for winter, so fewer berries meant fewer grizzlies. Although grizzlies are omnivores and did take their share of elk, this was not enough to sustain their numbers. So with the re-introduction of wolves, the population of elk was naturally reduced, which led to more berries being available, which led to greater numbers of grizzlies surviving their winters. So, very simplistically, the relationship could be represented by a series of statements:

Wolves /\ => Elk \/

Elk \/ => Berries /\

Berries /\ => Grizzlies /\

Therefore,

Wolves /\ => Grizzlies /\

What is really interesting to me is that there has tended to be a certain hysteria that has taken over discussions in the US about re-introducing wolves into local wilderness over the last 40 years or so. The hysteria seems to be driven by anectdotal "evidence" of how wolves are responsible for widespread livestock losses, reductions of game animals such as elk, or deaths of humans and/or their pets. Although the wolf does indeed feed upon both wild prey and domesticated animals, the wolf seems to have been portrayed as an evil and vicious creature in fables and myths as a result of the view centered on our reliance on the sheep, cows and pigs we've raised for sustenance. Even so, the wolf needs to calculate any preference for domesticated livestock over wild prey against fear of humans. If there is a shortage of wild prey (often called "game animals" in the US), then the wolves' hunger will overcome that fear. In Eurasia where there is little wild prey available, wolves are much more likely to attack domesticated livestock than in the US where there are substantial numbers of animals for the wolves to feed on [3][4].


[1] Of bears and berries: Return of wolves aids grizzly bears in Yellowstone
[2] William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, Jennifer K. Fortin, Charles T. Robbins. Trophic cascades from wolves to grizzly bears in Yellowstone. Journal of Animal Ecology, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12123
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf#Relationships_with_humans
[4] Mech, L. David; Boitani, Luigi (2003). Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-51696-2.

Death and Dying on LinkedIn

Has a friend or colleague who is also a contact on LinkedIn passed away? I recently attempted to follow LinkedIn directions on how to notify them about a friend's death since his profile was still active and he had died over two years ago; it was not easy. The process laid out by LinkedIn did not work - the instructions were wrong/unclear/incomplete and so I had to do this through the Help & Support system with multiple messages back and forth over two weeks. Even then, if I search for my deceased friend, here is the message I get back from the system:

I suppose that technically this is true, but this message has no meaning at all for anyone else who might be searching from my friend. In fact, I would even say that this is cruel and puts LinkedIn in a bad light. I sent a message about this plus asking about an Obituary section to the Help & Support team and this was the response:

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry for the missing part of your inquiry. Currently, the Docusign form is our official notification and process in order to identify and close a deceased member's account. You're unable to view the profile because of it having recently been closed. 

Feedback from members like you provides us with insights that identify the needs of our customers. I sent your message to our research and development team for review and consideration in future developments.

Although every idea cannot be individually responded to or implemented, please know that we do monitor suggestions quite closely for recurring themes. I'd like to invite you to follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/linkedin or check out the LinkedIn Blog http://blog.linkedin.com for the latest notifications on site improvements. Both options are great ways to stay informed about new releases and exciting work going on behind the scenes here at LinkedIn.

Regards,

Jason

LinkedIn Trust & Safety

Notice that Jason does not address the bizarre nature of the message I received when searching. And apparently the death of members is not seen as a "recurring theme" by support. Unbelievable.

As you know if you have lost anyone, it's hard enough to notify others, but if the process to do the notification is arduous, well that just is unacceptable. I recently went through this process with a family member and I saw how a good funeral home makes the process as smooth as possible. Of course, this is their business, but really it takes people who realize that if their company is built on connections, they must, must, must be able to gracefully honor the unfortunate severing of those connections due to someone's death.

Another LinkedIn member suggested that there be an Obituary section, which I think is a fantastic idea. I'm not an actuary, but with the number of members LinkedIn has, and a recent LinkedIn blog put that number at 58 million, there has to be a non-trivial number who die each year. On Obit section would be a great way of honoring friends and colleagues. It would also be great to have a way of having colleagues notified when someone dies.

However, organizational processes are a reflection of the organizational culture and it looks to me like the culture of LinkedIn is all about growing their community and looking forward to a glorious future. But not so much about looking back or considering the messy & difficult processes involved in death and dying or even just accepting the unpleasant fact of death. It may be that it comes from the energies of the 20 & 30 year olds that make up most of the company's ranks. I never thought much about death when I was that young!

Nevertheless, Facebook has accepted that people will die and they provide a process for "memorializing" or deleting an account upon that member's death:


Memorializing the account:
It is our policy to memorialize the account of a deceased person.
In order to protect the privacy of the deceased person, we cannot provide login information for the account. However, once it has been memorialized, we take measures to secure the account.
If you need to report a timeline to be memorialized, please contact us.
Removing the account:
Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one’s account from the site.

So it's really not so hard to do. I wonder how long it will take LinkedIn to come up with the same?