Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype
The proposal that the "hybrid bison" of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) be exterminated and replaced with "wood bison" has no taxonomic justification. The subspecies Bison bison athabascae Rhoads 1897 is based on the inadequate descriptions and taxonomically invalid criteria -...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
1991
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/64606 2023-05-15T14:19:12+02:00 Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype Geist, Valerius 1991-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606/48520 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606 ARCTIC; Vol. 44 No. 4 (1991): December: 267–373; 283-300 1923-1245 0004-0843 Animal anatomy Animal integumentary systems Animal taxonomy North American bison Steppe bison Elk Island National Park Alberta Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary N.W.T Wood Buffalo National Park Alberta/N.W.T Nyarling River region info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 1991 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:21:48Z The proposal that the "hybrid bison" of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) be exterminated and replaced with "wood bison" has no taxonomic justification. The subspecies Bison bison athabascae Rhoads 1897 is based on the inadequate descriptions and taxonomically invalid criteria - i.e., body size and morphometrics. Its accepted pelage features are based on studies of the same herd of Nyarling River (NR) bison from Elk Island National Park (EINP). These pelage features, assumed to be genetically fixed, are ecotypic confinement effects, which NR bison share with EINP bull elk and moose. In bison the display hair acts analogous to deer antlers, which reflect their bearers' access to high-quality food during their growth. NR bison in captivity, in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary (MBS), and the original wood bison are "northern plains bison." Nor are WBNP bison distinguishable from MBS bison. A "wood bison" phenotype was also described as diagnostic for southern plains bison (B.b. bison Linnaeus 1958); the northern plains bison was named B.b. montanae Krumbiegel 1980. Consequently, B.b. athabascae = B.b. bison, as the latter has priority. Yet captive and introduced NR athabascae = montanae. Some WBNP bison resemble B. priscus, supporting the view that B. bison evolved as a hybrid between American and Siberian large-horned bison. Hybridization in large mammals need not be a tragedy for conservation.Key words: wood bison, plains bison, taxonomy, phenotype plasticity, ecotype, display organs, morphometry, subspecies, conservation Mots clés: bison des bois, bison des plaines, taxonomie, plasticité des phénotypes, écotype, organes de parade, morphométrie, sous-espèce, conservation Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bison bison athabascae Wood Bison Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park Bison bison bison Plains Bison University of Calgary Journal Hosting Nyarling River ENVELOPE(-113.387,-113.387,60.691,60.691) Wood Buffalo ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) ARCTIC 44 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal anatomy Animal integumentary systems Animal taxonomy North American bison Steppe bison Elk Island National Park Alberta Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary N.W.T Wood Buffalo National Park Alberta/N.W.T Nyarling River region |
spellingShingle |
Animal anatomy Animal integumentary systems Animal taxonomy North American bison Steppe bison Elk Island National Park Alberta Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary N.W.T Wood Buffalo National Park Alberta/N.W.T Nyarling River region Geist, Valerius Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
topic_facet |
Animal anatomy Animal integumentary systems Animal taxonomy North American bison Steppe bison Elk Island National Park Alberta Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary N.W.T Wood Buffalo National Park Alberta/N.W.T Nyarling River region |
description |
The proposal that the "hybrid bison" of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) be exterminated and replaced with "wood bison" has no taxonomic justification. The subspecies Bison bison athabascae Rhoads 1897 is based on the inadequate descriptions and taxonomically invalid criteria - i.e., body size and morphometrics. Its accepted pelage features are based on studies of the same herd of Nyarling River (NR) bison from Elk Island National Park (EINP). These pelage features, assumed to be genetically fixed, are ecotypic confinement effects, which NR bison share with EINP bull elk and moose. In bison the display hair acts analogous to deer antlers, which reflect their bearers' access to high-quality food during their growth. NR bison in captivity, in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary (MBS), and the original wood bison are "northern plains bison." Nor are WBNP bison distinguishable from MBS bison. A "wood bison" phenotype was also described as diagnostic for southern plains bison (B.b. bison Linnaeus 1958); the northern plains bison was named B.b. montanae Krumbiegel 1980. Consequently, B.b. athabascae = B.b. bison, as the latter has priority. Yet captive and introduced NR athabascae = montanae. Some WBNP bison resemble B. priscus, supporting the view that B. bison evolved as a hybrid between American and Siberian large-horned bison. Hybridization in large mammals need not be a tragedy for conservation.Key words: wood bison, plains bison, taxonomy, phenotype plasticity, ecotype, display organs, morphometry, subspecies, conservation Mots clés: bison des bois, bison des plaines, taxonomie, plasticité des phénotypes, écotype, organes de parade, morphométrie, sous-espèce, conservation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Geist, Valerius |
author_facet |
Geist, Valerius |
author_sort |
Geist, Valerius |
title |
Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
title_short |
Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
title_full |
Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
title_fullStr |
Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
title_full_unstemmed |
Phantom Subspecies: The Wood Bison, Bison bison "athabascae" Rhoads 1897 Is Not a Valid Taxon, but an Ecotype |
title_sort |
phantom subspecies: the wood bison, bison bison "athabascae" rhoads 1897 is not a valid taxon, but an ecotype |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
1991 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-113.387,-113.387,60.691,60.691) ENVELOPE(-112.007,-112.007,57.664,57.664) |
geographic |
Nyarling River Wood Buffalo |
geographic_facet |
Nyarling River Wood Buffalo |
genre |
Arctic Bison bison athabascae Wood Bison Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park Bison bison bison Plains Bison |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bison bison athabascae Wood Bison Wood Buffalo Wood Buffalo National Park Bison bison bison Plains Bison |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 44 No. 4 (1991): December: 267–373; 283-300 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606/48520 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64606 |
container_title |
ARCTIC |
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44 |
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4 |
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1766290806535094272 |