A group of statisticians decides they will answer the question: Has the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone been detrimental to elk herds in the park? They decide that each of the four data scientists...

A group of statisticians decides they will answer the question:  Has the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone been detrimental to elk herds in the park?  They decide that each of the four data scientists will take a quadrant of the park to collect a sample from as randomly as possible.  They decide they will collect the sample during the winter, the time the elk herds are most stressed.  They agree to trust each others professional judgement when it comes to the health of the individual elk in the herd.  They will give each elk a grade out of 3pts: 1 pt for sick, 2pts for fair, and 3pts for healthy.  They then share their data and compare to create a final report on the overall health of the elk in the park. In this scenario, what is the dependent variable?