Historic Perspective on Wildlife in North America

• Understanding “why” sometimes requires perspective

• Vicariance Biogeography (sec. 20.3 of text)

• Climate change & associated shifts in habitat

• Human impact

Example of Vicariance Biogeography

Panamanian Land Bridge formed ~ 2.5 mya

1) Species of all types, sizes, from all regions & habitats

2) Magnitude of human-caused extinction

3) Time scale of species losses

4) Size and growth rate of human population

Prehistoric vs. Current Extinctions

History of Wildlife Conservation in the US

Periods/ eras:

• Pre-European settlement

• Abundance & Overexploitation

• Protection & Game Management

• Environment Awareness

• 1990s onwards …

Pre-European Settlement(<1600)

• Native American dependence on wildlife

• Evidence of habitat modification & semi-domestication

• Co-existence

Abundance & Overexploitation(1600-1900)

• Wildlife perceived as unlimited resource

• Market hunting decimated many species

• Bounties on predators common

Heath Hen

Great Auk

Carolina Parakeet

Abundance & Overexploitation(1600-1900)

• Overuse coincided with westward expansion

• Extinction of many common species

• Beginning of conservation laws for game species

Protection & Game Management (1900-1960s)

• Extirpation (& near-extirpation) of previously common species

• Recognition of overexploitation

• End market hunting

• Laws to control harvest

Protection & Game Management (1900-1960s) continued ….

• Establishment of state fish & game departments

• Wildlife Conservation as a Science (Leopold wrote “Game Management” in 1933)

• Conservation focus on game species

Environmental Awareness(> mid-1960s)

• Greater public interest in wildlife conservation & environmental issues

• View of “wildlife” expands to include nongame species and non-consumptive uses

• Focus on species reintroduction (ESA) & restoration of ecosystems

• Wildlife as a part of biodiversity (1990’s)

Biodiversity in the US