The first, an ecologist, said: there are probably moose here because this ecosystem generally requires large herbivores to remain healthy.
The second, an evolutionary biologist, said: fossil ungulates have been discovered in this area, and I expect their moose descendants to be here.
The third, a molecular biologist, said: there are moose in the park because we had an undergrad collect some environmental DNA (eDNA) from around here, I think, and we found sequences that match the moose genome.
The social scientist looked at them bemused and said: 100% certain there are moose here. Look at the “Moose Crossing” sign.
Acknowledgements
I thank Saskia Hogenhout for contributing to writing this post. This travel website asks the same question as our scientists.
Addendum
In case you’re interested, you can buy a Moose Crossing sign for $24.71.
Cite as: Kamoun, S. (2022). Three biologists and a social scientist go to Yellowstone… Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6794150
