Wolves, a top predator, were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 after a 50-year absence. In a multiyear study, the numbers of wolves and elk were monitored. The data are shown in Figure 1. In two different environments scientists monitored the percent of aspen trees browsed by herbivores (Figure 2) as well as the growth of the trees (Figure 3). The upland environments consist mostly of flat forested areas. The riparian environments are areas along streams with steep, wooded banks. Based on the data, which of the following behaviors in elk could account for the differences between the percent of aspens browsed by herbivores and the height of aspen trees in riparian and upland environments?Elk tend to avoid riparian areas where the steep, wooded riverbanks make it difficult to escape predators.

Predators clearly can impact the size of prey species populaces through direct mortality, which, can impact all out scavenging pressure on explicit plant species or whole plant networks
Predation hazard can likewise have populace ramifications for prey by expanding mortality, as indicated by the "predation delicate nourishment" theory
The Gros Ventre River, which depletes around 600 square miles of eastern Jackson Hole and the mountains more remote east is the biggest waterway on the asylum. The generally wide stream diverts are vigorously meshed in territories where geologic materials are of low erosional opposition, just like the case on the shelter. The various rock bars in the river channel have next to zero vegetative spread, thus, of yearly flooding and disintegration
Hence, the right answer is "Elk tend to avoid riparian areas and wooded riverbanks"