The result is an increase in whitebark pine infection and mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The ecological significance of whitebark pines has only recently been recognized. Conservationists point to a vital correlation between the trees and grizzlies. Bearing large seeds that are high in fat, whitebark pine trees provide an important food source for many animal species. Whitebark pine seeds are a major component of the grizzly bear's diet.
Biologists say the nutritious seeds are one of the four major food sources that grizzlies depend on.
Rich in digestible lipids, whitebark pine seeds can provide as much as 40 percent of a bear's winter fat layer. Research also suggests that the seeds contain estrogenic compounds, which may increase grizzly reproduction. When the pine-nut crop is poor, grizzly bears seek out alternative sources in their caloric race against winter. Instead of looking for nuts at high elevations where whitebark pines grow, they often head to lower elevations where campgrounds and trash receptacles are found. There they encounter more humans and more conflict.