Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes
The North American prairie was historically occupied by a wide assemblage of herbivores such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), deer (Odocoileus spp.) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) as well as a complementary suite of predators such as wolves (Canis lupus) and bears (Ursus spp.). M...
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ftmontanastunojs:oai:ojs.arc.lib.montana.edu:article/639 2024-09-15T18:01:25+00:00 Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes Aune, Keith E. 2016-12-31 application/pdf https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639 eng eng Intermountain Journal of Science https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639/489 https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639 Copyright (c) 2016 Intermountain Journal of Sciences Intermountain Journal of Sciences; Vol. 22 No. 4 December (2016); 93 1081-3519 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Non-peer-reviewed Abstract 2016 ftmontanastunojs 2024-07-10T03:16:13Z The North American prairie was historically occupied by a wide assemblage of herbivores such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), deer (Odocoileus spp.) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) as well as a complementary suite of predators such as wolves (Canis lupus) and bears (Ursus spp.). Most prominent on the prairie grasslands was the enormous populations of bison that served as a keystone herbivore shaping the structure and composition of the prairie plant communities. In archeological sites throughout the plains bison remains dominate the faunal record (Fischer and Roll, 1999) and there is little doubt the modern version of this grazing bovid was ecologically important for 12,000 years. There is also little doubt that this large grazing bovid was of cultural significance to American Indian populations thriving on this ocean of grass for as long. In recent decades there has been a significant shift in thinking about the relative abundance, ecological role and cultural importance of bison on prairie landscapes of North America. With the decimation of bison in the late 19th century and the introduction of cattle the role of the most numerous native herbivore was diminished and replaced by a domestic bovid (Isenberg 2000). The disappearance of bison inspired much of our modern conservation ideals however bison were virtually absent as a free-ranging species as the conservation movement matured. Most early conservation thought and modern wildlife management theory developed after this grazing bovid was nearly extinct. Hence, the modern conservationists developed a keen sense for managing and restoring large numbers of cervid-like wildlife but had little experience with the most important native grazer present on the prairies for 12,000 years. Most prairie grasslands in North America have been managed during modern times to sustain bird populations and vast herds of free-roaming cervid- like animals such as mule deer, pronghorn and elk. Predators were mostly removed in the 19th Century to protect the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Bison bison bison Plains Bison Montana State University Library Open Journal Systems |
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English |
description |
The North American prairie was historically occupied by a wide assemblage of herbivores such as bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), deer (Odocoileus spp.) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) as well as a complementary suite of predators such as wolves (Canis lupus) and bears (Ursus spp.). Most prominent on the prairie grasslands was the enormous populations of bison that served as a keystone herbivore shaping the structure and composition of the prairie plant communities. In archeological sites throughout the plains bison remains dominate the faunal record (Fischer and Roll, 1999) and there is little doubt the modern version of this grazing bovid was ecologically important for 12,000 years. There is also little doubt that this large grazing bovid was of cultural significance to American Indian populations thriving on this ocean of grass for as long. In recent decades there has been a significant shift in thinking about the relative abundance, ecological role and cultural importance of bison on prairie landscapes of North America. With the decimation of bison in the late 19th century and the introduction of cattle the role of the most numerous native herbivore was diminished and replaced by a domestic bovid (Isenberg 2000). The disappearance of bison inspired much of our modern conservation ideals however bison were virtually absent as a free-ranging species as the conservation movement matured. Most early conservation thought and modern wildlife management theory developed after this grazing bovid was nearly extinct. Hence, the modern conservationists developed a keen sense for managing and restoring large numbers of cervid-like wildlife but had little experience with the most important native grazer present on the prairies for 12,000 years. Most prairie grasslands in North America have been managed during modern times to sustain bird populations and vast herds of free-roaming cervid- like animals such as mule deer, pronghorn and elk. Predators were mostly removed in the 19th Century to protect the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aune, Keith E. |
spellingShingle |
Aune, Keith E. Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
author_facet |
Aune, Keith E. |
author_sort |
Aune, Keith E. |
title |
Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
title_short |
Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
title_full |
Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
title_fullStr |
Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cultivating an Ecological and Cultural Paradigm Shift to Restore Bison on Large Prairie Landscapes |
title_sort |
cultivating an ecological and cultural paradigm shift to restore bison on large prairie landscapes |
publisher |
Intermountain Journal of Science |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639 |
genre |
Canis lupus Bison bison bison Plains Bison |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Bison bison bison Plains Bison |
op_source |
Intermountain Journal of Sciences; Vol. 22 No. 4 December (2016); 93 1081-3519 |
op_relation |
https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639/489 https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/IJS/article/view/639 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2016 Intermountain Journal of Sciences |
_version_ |
1810438576158015488 |