For many, plains bison are the embodiment of wildness and the pure-settlement American West. After millennial of evolution through natural selection, however, the species was nearly wiped out, only to be subjected to domestication for more than 100 years. Domestication alters the bison genome throug...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben

1. Verfasser:	Bailey, James A. (VerfasserIn)
Format:	Buch
Sprache:	English
Veröffentlicht:	Helena, Mont. Sweetgrass Books 2013
Schlagworte:	American bison American bison / Reintroduction / United States USA
Zusammenfassung:	For many, plains bison are the embodiment of wildness and the pure-settlement American West. After millennial of evolution through natural selection, however, the species was nearly wiped out, only to be subjected to domestication for more than 100 years. Domestication alters the bison genome through inbreeding, crossing with cattle genes, shrinking genetic diversity and artificial selection. These forces continue to replace natural selection and valued wild characteristics of bison. Does the future hold only continued domestication for plains bison in the United States? With a view from over 50 years in the profession of wildlife biology, Bailey probes this and other questions in American Plains Bison: Rewilding an Icon. The book presents his original and lively analysis of 44 conservation bison herds on native range in the United States. He focuses upon the gray area between wildness and domestication and sheds light on domesticating practices of Native American and government agencies, as well as commercial bison producers. He challenges the profession of wildlife management to expand its views on manipulating wildlife populations. For bison, Bailey makes a strong case for creating large reserves to restore wild bison and their natural contributions to our grassland ecosystems
Beschreibung:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-233) and index Part 1. Origins. From Steppe bison to Plains bison (Pleistocene origins ; Prehistoric bison) ; Bison in early historic time (East of the Mississippi ; The Great Plains ; The Rocky Mountains ; The far West) Part 2. Dimensions of wildness. Extinction (Numerical extinction ; Ecological extinction ; Genetic extinction) ; Wild bison (Evolution and fitness ; Bison as an adaptive syndrome ; Adaptations to the physical environment ; Adaptations to the biotic environment ; Adaptations to the social environment ; Wildness in perspective) ; Wild bison populations (Genetic diversity ; Population sex-age structure ; Competition, dominance and natural selection ; Population fluctuations ; Natural selection and evolution) ; Values of wild Plains bison (Recreational value ; Commercial value ; Scientific value ; Ecological value ; Esthetic, historical, cultural and religious values ; The value of wildness in bison) ; Major ecotypes of wild Plains bison (Northern Great Plains bison ; Central Great Plains bison ; Southern Great Plains bison ; Mountain bison ; Bison in the far West) ; Domestication of Plains bison (The wildness-domestication continuum ; Human interventions leading to domestication ; Results of human interventions and domestication ; Empirical evidence of domestication) Part 3. American Plains bison in the modern era. 20th century : from devastation to limbo (Brush with extinction ; Early restoration efforts ; A century of warehousing Plains bison) ; 21st century : an imitation of wildness (States disregard wild Plains bison ; Federal agencies avoid bison controversies ; Discontinuity of restoration effort ; Commercial herds of Plains bison ; Native American herds of Plains bison ; Private efforts to conserve Plains bison ; Forty-four "conservation herds" ; Wildness denied) ; Rating our conservation herds (Today's "consevation" herds ; Wild bison scorecard ; Wildness values of "conservation" herds ; Our "wildest" Plains bison herds ; Pervasive domestication of Plains bison) Part 4. Restoration of wild Plains bison. To restore wild Plains bison (Evolution of wildlife conservation ; Wildness as a goal ; Free-ranging bison ; Fences ; How many bison? ; How many herds and bison ranges? ; Habitat quality ; Roundups and culling ; Cattle introgression ; Predators ; Disease management ; Public hunting for population constrol ; Legal status of bison ; Adaptive management) -- Epilogue (Land, the bottom line ; Public awareness ; Professional indiffernece ; Looking ahead
Beschreibung:	XVIII, 238 S. Ill., graph. Darst., Kt. 23 cm
ISBN:	1591521238 9781591521235