How Wolves Change Rivers

Why HN readers recommended it

HN cites it as the go-to example of how one keystone species can reshape an entire ecosystem.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

Sustainable Human

Topic

trophic cascades

Format

explainer

Level

general

HN recommenders in dataset

4

HN mentions in dataset

17

Recommendation years in dataset

2014–2022

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• In hindsight this looks like the idle ramblings of someone out of touch with reality. But in truth it's closer to the opposite - I've spent too much time analyzing the repercussions of everything because that's what programmers do. If someone ever finds this, this …

• You need to learn about trophic cascades. Here's a quick intro: [VIDEO] This played out in the Pleistocene extinctions to a very significant degree, having tremendous effect on ecosystems everywhere. Here's an entire conference worth of the subject: [LINK]

• I saw a pretty cool documentary on how reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone changed the ecosystem for the better. Not the one I saw but very similar: [VIDEO] More serious article: [LINK]