Bob Berger said:In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Vandeman says...
Quoted message said:
Bob Berger said:In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Vandeman says...
>
>On 4 Mar 2007 08:55:37 -0800, Bob Berger <[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>>In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Vandeman says...
>>>
>>>On 3 Mar 2007 12:38:49 -0800, "Olebiker" <[email hidden]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mar 2, 11:13 pm, Mike Vandeman <[email hidden]> wrote:
>>>>> >>"... his dominance and his faculties for upsetting so much of the rest
>>>>> >>of life serve to rule him out of what we think of as 'natural'
>>>>> >>relationships of living things". Paul Errington, p.41.
>>>>>
>>>>> >That's merely Errington's opinion based on his observations. I don't
>>>>> >agree with him. Man's
>>>>> >superior reasoning abilities give him an advantage over other animals,
>>>>> >but do not take him out of the natural equation.
>>>>>
>>>>> So you have NO facts and NO expert opinion to back you up. Your
>>>>> opinion is worthless without EVIDENCE.
>>>>
>>>>I don't need to quote someone else to express my opinion based upon my
>>>>observation. The world did not develop in the absence of man. As man
>>>>developed, his dominance over the world, for better or worse,
>>>>increased. It is not realistic or intellectually honest to view man
>>>>as some extranatural being.
>>>
>>>I didn't say that, liar. But his presence outside his natural habitat
>>>IS unnatural. You are just trying to rationalize what is not
>>>rationalizable. Humans are an exotic invasive species. Get over it.
>>>Your opinion carries no weight whatsoever.
>>>
>>>>> >Don't get the terms "exotic" and "invasive" confused. A predator that
>>>>> >naturally expands his range into an area where he did not previously
>>>>> >exist may be invasive, but he is not exotic.
>>>>>
>>>>> You missed the point. It IS exotic. You can't become a native species
>>>>> the day you arrive! DUH!
>>>>
>>>>I know of no one else, and certainly no scientists, who would accept
>>>>your definition of what an exotic species is. Besides, there is
>>>>nothing magic in being a native species.
>>>
>>>I never said there is. But I have given that paper at several
>>>scientific conferences, and not one person objected to my definition.
>>>So you are just WRONG.
>>>
>>>>> Early man expanded his
>>>>>
>>>>> >range into North America, for example, in search of better food and
>>>>> >shelter - natural drives.
>>>>>
>>>>> >For a species to be considered exotic requires the intervention of
>>>>> >man, either intentionally or unintentionally. I know that you don't
>>>>> >accept that definition, but scientists do.
>>>>>
>>>>> It's a definition that makes no sense (HOW you arrive isn't relevant
>>>>> to your impacts). Humans also apply it inconsistently, because they
>>>>> exclude humans (without explicitly saying so).
>>>>
>>>>The definition of exotic says nothing about impacts, just how an
>>>>organism got here.
>>>
>>>As well as how long it has been there.
>>
>>One of the problems with your personal definition of exotic species is that, at
>>least relative to North America, not only are humans exotics, but so are very
>>many other larger mammals living here today; for example, the gray wolf.
>
>What's wrong with that?By being redefined so broadly (1,000,000 years in the new area before a species
is considered not an exotic) the term loses its ability to communicate to the
reader the condition it is customarily intended to describe. My suggestion would
have been for you to create a new term rather than redefine an existing one.Why?
Because it causes confusion. Others don't know that you're using a personal
definition, and thus are likely to missintrpret the implications what you're
saying.Quoted message said:My definition is reasonable and fills a void.
Is it reasonable? I'm not sure. What is the biological or environmental
justification for the 1,000,000 year value? Why is that better than, say,
100,000 years or 5,000,000 years?Also, it appears that your 1,000,000 year value operates as a binary switch;
less than that value: exotic, that value or more: not exotic. If so, is that
reasonable?Quoted message said:Quoted message said:>>Was the reintroduction to the Yellowstone area of the gray wolf by the NPS the
>>right thing to do considering that the gray wolf is an exotic in that region?
>
>"RE-introduction" tells me that it IS a native, but was just recently
>extirpated from the area. The same goes for the California Grizzly. It
>should be restored, as best we can (i.e., the closest relative).But the gray wolf (canis lupus), which is native to Eurasia, didn't enter North
America until 300,000 or less years ago. It is thus, by your definition of the
term (must be present in the new area for 1,000,000+ years), an exotic.You catch on quick.
Quoted message said:Why in this case should the gray wolf be considered native (not an exotic) to
the Yellowstone region?It's a matter of degree. They may want to restore an extirpated
species, in which case they have little choice but an exotic.This isn't a theoretical example. It happened. The gray wolf (canis lupus) was
an exotic species (by your definition) in the Yellowstone region. Humans
eradicated it. The NPS later reintroduced the exact same exotic species, canis
lupus. Why is that an acceptable action under your definition?I suggest that a binary switch "clock time in area" test isn't a good metric by
which to measure the exoticness of a species.
It's interesting that you haven't offered any reasonable alternative.
Nor any jiustification.
Quoted message said:Bob
Quoted message said:===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"😉. Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond
of!
===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"😉. Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!