American Acclimatization Society

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A flock of starlings in Denmark. Flocks of this size and larger are common in North America following the successful introduction of the species in the 19th century.

The American Acclimatization Society was a group founded in New York City in 1871 dedicated to introducing European flora and fauna into North America for both economic and cultural reasons. The group's charter explained its goal was to introduce "such foreign varieties of the animal and vegetable kingdom as may be useful or interesting." Like other acclimatisation societies, the American Acclimatization Society's efforts impacted the natural history of North America, particularly due to its success in introducing invasive bird species.[1]

Background

In 1854, the Société zoologique d'acclimatation was founded in Paris by French naturalist

French government to introduce, and when necessary selectively breed, foreign animals both to provide meat and to control pests. The group inspired the formation of similar groups around the world, particularly in countries that had been colonized by Europeans.[2] Wildlife scientist John Marzluff writes that the motives of the 19th-century acclimatization enthusiasts were largely cultural: "Western European settlers introduced many species throughout the world because they wanted birds from their homelands in their new environs."[3]

Founding

Even before the American society's founding, wealthy New York residents and naturalists had deliberately sought to introduce foreign animals. In 1864 the commissioners of

European robins and tits—"birds which were useful to the farmer and contributed to the beauty of the groves and fields"—in the city.[5]

Notable members

By 1877 New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin was the chairman of the society. Another notable member of the society was wealthy silk merchant Alfred Edwards, who constructed bird boxes around Manhattan to help house sparrows to breed.

Some accounts of Schieffelin's efforts claim that he had resolved that as an aesthetic goal, the organization should introduce every bird species mentioned in the Bard's works. However, multiple historians have disputed this claim, as no contemporary source corroborates this claim of a link to Shakespeare.[6][7] The American poet William Cullen Bryant admired Schieffelin's efforts and wrote his poem The Olde-World Sparrow ("A winged settler has taken his place/With Teutons and Men of the Celtic race") after spending an evening with Schieffelin, who had just released a shipment of sparrows into his yard.[8] Schieffelin himself is seen by modern biologists as "an eccentric at best, a lunatic at worst."[9]

Impact and the starlings

Starlings had been introduced in the United States by the mid-1870s.

List of the world's 100 worst invasive species.[11]

Largely because of the spread of the European starling, a 2007 article in the San Francisco Chronicle (deriding the introduction of fallow deer to the Point Reyes National Seashore) called the society "the canonic cautionary tale of biological pollution."[12]

See also

References

  1. Discover Magazine
    . January 2001.
  2. ^ "Society for Acclimatization Part 1 - History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in the United States 1766-1900". www.soyinfocenter.com.
  3. ISBN 978-0-387-73412-5
    . Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "City and Suburban News". The New York Times. 13 March 1877. A meeting of the American Acclimatization Society will be held at tile rooms of the New-York Aquarium, Broadway and Thirty-Fifth-street, tomorrow evening.
  5. ^ "American Acclimatization Society" (PDF). The New York Times. November 15, 1877.
  6. ^ Tenner, Edward (1997). Why Things Bite Back. New York, New York: Vintage Books. pp. 152–155.
  7. ^
    ISSN 2201-1919
    . Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  8. ^ Tinkering With Eden pg. 138, Kim Todd, W.W. Norton & Company.
  9. ^ Tinkering With Eden pg. 137, Kim Todd, W.W. Norton & Company.
  10. ^ Mirsky, Steve (May 23, 2008). "Shakespeare to Blame for Introduction of European Starlings to U.S." Scientific American Magazine. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  11. IUCN
    . Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  12. ^ Slobig, Zachary (May 6, 2007). "Easy Target / There's a plan afoot to eradicate the white fallow deer in Point Reyes -- but could there be another way to keep rangers, ranchers, animal lovers, Hindus and venison diners on the same side?". SFGate. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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