Since the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, debate has raged over whether horses and burros are restored North American natives. Fossil, genetic and archeological evidence supports these species as native. Also, objective evaluations of their respective ecological niches and the mutual symbioses of post-gastric digesting, semi-nomadic equids support wild horses and burros as restorers of certain extensive North American ecosystems. A Reserve Design strategy is proposed to establish naturally self-stabilizing equine populations that are allowed to harmoniously adapt over generations within their bounded and complete habitats. These populations should meet rigid standards for viability based on IUCN SSC assessments (2,500 individuals). Basic requirements are described for successful Reserve Design including viable habitat as well as specific regions of North America where this could be implemented.
| Published in | American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12 |
| Page(s) | 5-23 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Equidae, Wild Horses and Wild Burros, Horse and Burro Evolution, Horse and Burro Ecology, North American Native Fauna and Ecosystems, Reserve Design, Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
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APA Style
Craig C. Downer. (2014). The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America. American Journal of Life Sciences, 2(1), 5-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12
ACS Style
Craig C. Downer. The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America. Am. J. Life Sci. 2014, 2(1), 5-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12
AMA Style
Craig C. Downer. The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America. Am J Life Sci. 2014;2(1):5-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12,
author = {Craig C. Downer},
title = {The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America},
journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
volume = {2},
number = {1},
pages = {5-23},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20140201.12},
abstract = {Since the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, debate has raged over whether horses and burros are restored North American natives. Fossil, genetic and archeological evidence supports these species as native. Also, objective evaluations of their respective ecological niches and the mutual symbioses of post-gastric digesting, semi-nomadic equids support wild horses and burros as restorers of certain extensive North American ecosystems. A Reserve Design strategy is proposed to establish naturally self-stabilizing equine populations that are allowed to harmoniously adapt over generations within their bounded and complete habitats. These populations should meet rigid standards for viability based on IUCN SSC assessments (2,500 individuals). Basic requirements are described for successful Reserve Design including viable habitat as well as specific regions of North America where this could be implemented.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Horse and Burro as Positively Contributing Returned Natives in North America AU - Craig C. Downer Y1 - 2014/01/30 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12 T2 - American Journal of Life Sciences JF - American Journal of Life Sciences JO - American Journal of Life Sciences SP - 5 EP - 23 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5737 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20140201.12 AB - Since the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, debate has raged over whether horses and burros are restored North American natives. Fossil, genetic and archeological evidence supports these species as native. Also, objective evaluations of their respective ecological niches and the mutual symbioses of post-gastric digesting, semi-nomadic equids support wild horses and burros as restorers of certain extensive North American ecosystems. A Reserve Design strategy is proposed to establish naturally self-stabilizing equine populations that are allowed to harmoniously adapt over generations within their bounded and complete habitats. These populations should meet rigid standards for viability based on IUCN SSC assessments (2,500 individuals). Basic requirements are described for successful Reserve Design including viable habitat as well as specific regions of North America where this could be implemented. VL - 2 IS - 1 ER -
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