WILDLIFE: Are wild horses native to the U.S.?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Buck

Both images are via Jeffrey K. Edwards on Flickr and can be found here and here.

The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is being challenged on its view that wild horses aren’t native to the United States. The argument rests on biology and not history. It is being argued that the wild horses, currently roaming the West, are genetically the same horses that roamed the West thousands of years before. Therefore, proponents of this view argue that wild horses should be managed as native wildlife and not as “‘feral weeds’ [or] barnyard escapees.”

According to one advocate of this view, “‘The Spanish [merely brought] them home.’” More via the San Francisco Chronicle:

The group In Defense of Animals and others are pressing a case in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that maintains wild horses roamed the West about 1.5 million years ago and didn’t disappear until as recently as 7,600 years ago. More importantly, they say, a growing stockpile of DNA evidence shows conclusively that today’s horses are genetically linked to those ancient ancestors.

The new way of thinking could carry significant ramifications across hundreds millions of acres in the West where the U.S. Bureau of Land Management divides up livestock grazing allotments based partly on the belief the horses are no more native to those lands than are the cattle brought to North America centuries ago.

Rachel Fazio, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told a three-judge appellate panel in San Francisco earlier this year that the horses are “an integral part of the environment.”

“As much as the BLM would like to see them as not, they are actually a native species. They are tied to this land,” she said. “There would not be a horse but for North America. Every single evolutionary iteration of the horse is found here and only here.”

Judge Mary Schroeder, former chief of the circuit, asked: “Just like polar bears?”

“Yes,” Fazio answered, “they belong there.”

. . .

“This isn’t about history, it’s about biology,’ Kirkpatrick said. “The Spanish were bringing them home.”

. . .

Kirkpatrick said Europe’s domestication of the horse over about 6,000 years may have changed the nuclear makeup of some genes but “it remains the same species and retains the same social organization and social behaviors that evolved over 1.4 million years.”

Continue reading this article at the San Francisco Chronicle. More on the research that suggests wild horses should be managed as native wildlife via Jay F. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. and Patricia M. Fazio, Ph.D. (emphasis added):

A study conducted at the Ancient Biomolecules Centre of Oxford University (Weinstock et al. 2005) also corroborates the conclusions of Forstén (1992). Despite a great deal of variability in the size of the Pleistocene equids from differing locations (mostly ecomorphotypes), the DNA evidence strongly suggests that all of the large and small caballine samples belonged to the same species. The author states, “The presence of a morphologically variable caballine species widely distributed both north and south of the North American ice sheets raises the tantalizing possibility that, in spite of many taxa named on morphological grounds, most or even all North American caballines were members of the same species.”

In another study, Kruger et al. (2005), using microsatellite data, confirms the work of Forstén (1992) but gives a wider range for the emergence of the caballoid horse, of 0.86 to 2.3 million years ago. At the latest, however, that still places the caballoid horse in North America 860,000 years ago. 5 The work of Hofreiter et al. (2001), examining the genetics of the so-called E. lambei from the permafrost of Alaska, found that the variation was within that of modern horses, which translates into E. lambei actually being E. caballus, genetically. The molecular biology evidence is incontrovertible and indisputable, but it is also supported by the interpretation of the fossil record, as well.

Finally, very recent work (Orlando et al. 2009) that examined the evolutionary history of a variety of non‐caballine equids across four continents, found evidence for taxonomic “oversplitting” from species to generic levels. This overspitting was based primarily on late‐Pleistocene fossil remains without the benefit of molecular data. A co‐author of this study, Dr. Alan Cooper, of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, stated, “Overall, the new genetic results suggest that we have underestimated how much a single species can vary over time and space, and mistakenly assumed more diversity among extinct species of megafauna.”

The fact that horses were domesticated before they were reintroduced matters little from a biological viewpoint. They are the same species that originated here, and whether or not they were domesticated is quite irrelevant. Domestication altered little biology, and we can see that in the phenomenon called “going wild,” where wild horses revert to ancient behavioral patterns. Feist and McCullough (1976) dubbed this “social conservation” in his paper on behavior patterns and communication in the Pryor Mountain wild horses. The reemergence of primitive behaviors, resembling those of the plains zebra, indicated to him the shallowness of domestication in horses.

The issue of feralization and the use of the word “feral” is a human construct that has little biological meaning except in transitory behavior, usually forced on the animal in some manner. Consider this parallel. E. Przewalskii (Mongolian wild horse) disappeared from Mongolia a hundred years ago. It has survived since then in zoos. That is not domestication in the classic sense, but it is captivity, with keepers providing food and veterinarians providing health care. Then they were released during the 1990s and now repopulate their native range in Mongolia. Are they a reintroduced native species or not? And what is the difference between them and E. caballus in North America, except for the time frame and degree of captivity?

The key element in describing an animal as a native species is (1) where it originated; and (2) whether or not it co‐evolved with its habitat. Clearly, E. caballus did both, here in North American. There might be arguments about “breeds,” but there are no scientific grounds for arguments about “species.”

The non‐native, feral, and exotic designations given by agencies are not merely reflections of their failure to understand modern science but also a reflection of their desire to preserve old ways of thinking to keep alive the conflict between a species (wild horses), with no economic value anymore (by law), and the economic value of commercial livestock.

Native status for wild horses would place these animals, under law, within a new category for management considerations. As a form of wildlife, embedded with wildness, ancient behavioral patterns, and the morphology and biology of a sensitive prey species, they may finally be released from the “livestock‐gone‐loose” appellation.

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The author or licensor of these images does not endorse my work or me, and their image is protected under an attribution license.

VIDEO: Japan “tsunami dog” Ban reunited with owner after surviving at sea

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Buck

A joyful reunion between a woman and her best friend:

More via Voice of America:

A dog rescued from the sea atop the floating debris of a house has been re-united with her owner, three weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.

Images on Japan’s NHK TV showed the medium-sized brown dog, named “Ban,” wagging her tail in the arms of her owner Monday at an animal shelter in the quake-battered region of Miyagi.

Ban was plucked off the wreckage of a house drifting almost two kilometers off the shore last week by a Japanese helicopter rescue crew.

The dog’s owner, whose name was not made public, saw the rescue on television and rushed to claim her pet.

Thousands of people are still missing three weeks after the disaster, which left more than 12,000 dead and orphaned dozens of pets.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Study finds that polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, presumably in search for dwindling sea ice

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Buck

Polar bear images via Dave Hogg and ucumari on Flickr

Scientists believe that polar bears are having to swim greater distances to search for Arctic sea ice. Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt for seals. However, their icy habitat is disappearing due to anthropogenic climate change. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey tracked a polar bear and determined that it swam continuously for over nine days. More via the BBC:

Scientists studying bears around the Beaufort sea, north of Alaska, claim this endurance feat could be a result of climate change.

Polar bears are known to swim between land and sea ice floes to hunt seals.

But the researchers say that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and future generations.

. . .

“This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C,” says research zoologist George M. Durner.

“We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. It is truly an amazing feat.”

Although bears have been observed in open water in the past, this is the first time one’s entire journey has been followed.

By fitting a GPS collar to a female bear, researchers were able to accurately plot its movements for two months as it sought out hunting grounds.

The scientists were able to determine when the bear was in the water by the collar data and a temperature logger implanted beneath the bear’s skin.

The study shows that this epic journey came at a very high cost to the bear.

“This individual lost 22% of her body fat in two months and her yearling cub,” says Mr Durner.
“It was simply more energetically costly for the yearling than the adult to make this long distance swim,” he explains.

Arctic sea ice is expected to continue to decline. The Washington Post reports that “the U.S. military anticipates the Arctic will become ‘ice-free’ for several summer weeks by 2030, possibly as early as 2013.” Furthermore, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, “Arctic sea ice extent for December 2010 was the lowest in the satellite record for that month. These low ice conditions are linked to a strong negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation.” In addition to climate change, the Arctic Oscillation also has an effect on Arctic sea ice extent. According to NASA, the Arctic Oscillation “likely triggered a phase of accelerated melt that continued into the next decade thanks to unusually warm Arctic air temperatures.” More on the Arctic Oscillation via NASA:

The overall configuration of warmer-than-normal temperatures in the north and cooler-than-normal temperatures in the south probably results from a climate pattern known as the Arctic Oscillation (AO).

The AO is a pattern of differences in air pressure between the Arctic and mid-latitudes. When the AO is in “positive” phase, air pressure over the Arctic is low, pressure over the mid-latitudes is high, and prevailing winds confine extremely cold air to the Arctic. But when the AO is in “negative” phase, the pressure gradient weakens. The air pressure over the Arctic is not quite so low, and air pressure at mid-latitudes is not as high. In this negative phase, the AO enables Arctic air to slide south and warm air to slip north.

The AO went into negative phase in the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2009–2010. The AO was in negative mode again in the winter of 2010–2011, affecting temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere as early as December 2010.

Natural variability and rising temperatures linked to global warming both appear to have played a role in this decline. The Arctic Oscillation’s strongly positive mode through the mid-1990s flushed thicker, older ice out of the Arctic, replacing multiyear ice with first-year ice that is more prone to melting. After the mid-1990s, the AO assumed a more neutral phase, but sea ice failed to recover. Instead, a pattern of steep Arctic sea ice decline began in 2002. The AO likely triggered a phase of accelerated melt that continued into the next decade thanks to unusually warm Arctic air temperatures.

. . .

Projected effects of declining sea ice include loss of habitat for seals and polar bears, as well as movement of polar bears onto land where bear-human encounters may increase. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic who rely on Arctic animals for food have already described changes in the health and numbers of polar bears.

As sea ice retreats from coastlines, wind-driven waves—combined with permafrost thaw—can lead to rapid coastal erosion. Alaskan and Siberian coastlines have already experienced coastal erosion.

Other potential impacts of Arctic sea ice loss include changed weather patterns: less precipitation in the American West, a weaker storm track that has shifted south over the Atlantic, or (according to one simulation) an intensified storm track.

Some researchers have hypothesized that melting sea ice could interfere with ocean circulation. In the Arctic, ocean circulation is driven by the sinking of dense, salty water. A cap of freshwater resulting from rapid, extensive sea ice melt could interfere with ocean circulation at high latitudes. Although a study published in 2005 suggested that the Atlantic meridional (north-south) overturning circulation had slowed by about 30 percent between 1957 and 2004, that conclusion was not based on comprehensive measurements. Subsequent modeling analyses indicated that the freshwater from melting sea ice was not likely to affect ocean circulation for decades.

Recently, a study determined “that water flowing from the Atlantic Ocean into the Arctic is warmer than it’s been in 2,000 years.” Via the Montreal Gazette:

Annual average air temperatures have climbed almost three degrees Celsius at the Eureka weather station in the Canada’s High Arctic since 1972, a trend seen across much of the North, which is breaking records again this winter. In December sea ice extent was the lowest on record since 1979, and temperatures were above average in much of the Arctic.

To understand what is happening scientists say they need a better read on the long-term natural variation in the currents flowing north.

Few records go back more than 150 years, so Spielhagen’s team pulled up sediments up from the sea floor, which contain the remains of organisms that have been living and dying in the water over the eons. By studying the tiny-shelled organisms called foraminifera, which grow best under specific conditions, they could chart temperatures going back 2,000 years.

Their sampling site was 1,500 metres below the water surface and under the path of Atlantic water flowing to the Arctic Ocean.

They report the water has warmed about 2 C since late 1800s. The top couple of centimetres of sediment, representing the last 10 to 20 years, corresponds with a summer temperature of 6 C, which matches what is now seen in the northbound current.

The scientists say the data indicates that the modern warming is not just the latest natural variation or swing.

. . .

He and his colleagues conclude the warm water flowing north is “most likely another key element in the transition toward” an Arctic that will eventually see sea ice melt away every summer.

Image via USGS

FISHERIES: Fishers claim crabs contaminated by oil pollution

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Buck

Video: Seafood dealer says load of crabs “contaminated with oil”

In addition to claims that their crab catch was contaminated from oil pollution, fishers claim that government scientists failed to collect samples of their catch. More via WALB-TV:

Fishermen in coastal Louisiana say hundreds of crabs caught near Saint Bernard Parish were full of oil, rendering their day’s catch useless. Now they’re calling for testing to see if those crabs were contaminated from BP oil.

Tuesday was supposed to be a very productive day for B&K Crabbing, but when one of the fishermen brought his catch back to the dock, seafood dealer Kevin Heier says he knew something wasn’t right.

“We dumped them in ice water, picked the box up, dumped them on the table, and the smell like to knocked us down,” Heier said. “[We] emptied the box of crabs and the water that was coming off the crabs on the table was just like a sheen.”

Heier believes the crabs were contaminated with oil.

“It’s something I’ve never seen before in my life,” Heier said. “I was in total shock. Mr. Bruce, he’s 70 years old, he’s been doing this for 60 years, something he’s never seen either.”

Dealers Bruce Guerra and Heier immediately realized no one would want to buy their catch. Their next move was trying to contact Wildlife and Fisheries.

“We got a biologist that was supposed to come here, about an hour passed and he never showed up,” Heier said. “So we called the biologist and said ‘What happened?’ and he said ‘My superior stopped me from coming.’”

More than 24 hours later, Heier says the catch can’t be tested because the crabs have all died. Crabbers will have to return and try for another harvest from the same area. Ideally, some of the crabs will live long enough to serve as viable samples.

“We’ve got to get to the bottom line and find out the root cause of this, what’s the problem,” Heier said. “It’s like we can’t get help from nobody.”

Guerra added, “It ain’t over with. Just like BP, Alaska, 17 years this went on. They’re here four and a half months and want to pull out, you know, like nothing’s wrong.”

The oil spill isn’t finished, and it’s effects will continue for years. The image below shows one of three fish kills reported from Plaquemines Parish. At first glance, the image looks like an old road, but “it’s a Louisiana waterway, [and] its surface [is] completely covered with dead sea life — a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel.” Some claim that the fish kill isn’t connected to the oil spill, but fishers argue that these type of fish kills are unprecedented.