 |
|
Bison Wallow |
|
|
Click on the image for a larger version
|
|
Bison Wallow |
|
American Bison, Bison bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming |
Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
| Explanation: We've
all seen the "buffalo" (more appropriately named North
American bison) ... But did you know that one of their "key
ecological functions" is in the creation
and maintenance of pools and small ponds, when they wallow along the edges
of lakes and wetlands, as shown here? And that many other species --
plants and animals -- come to inhabit these wallow pools?
There are few other large mammal species that occur within the bison's range that also perform this function ... perhaps including Rocky Mountain elk. Bison have been largely eradicated from the Western U.S. since historic times, so one has to wonder what effect their loss has had on such ecological linkages to other species. Further, the bison's grazing and soil-trampling in vast herds likely had other ecological effects on their ecosystem ... what has been the ramifications of the loss of those ecological functions as well? One paper suggests that extirpation of bison in western Canada may have led to expansion of aspen forests there. Just as the ocean-going salmon have been central to the culture of many Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest U.S. and western Canada, so too was the bison central to the inland, plains-dwelling native tribes. The bison's near-demise likely also signaled a great decline and loss of native cultural functions as well. So here stands a vestige of a great symbol of both ecological and cultural function. What will be its future, and that of the ecosystems and cultures it supported? For information: Campbell, C., I. D. Campbell, C. B. Blyth, and J. H. McAndrews. 1994. Bison extirpation may have caused aspen expansion in western Canada. Ecography 17(4):360-362. |
Next week's picture: Springtails of the Soil
Member Theme of Taos-Telecommunity