Content deleted Content added
KolbertBot (talk | contribs) m Bot: HTTP→HTTPS |
→In Britain: Ditto Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
| (27 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Association dedicated to introducing non-native species}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
'''Acclimatisation societies''' were [[voluntary association]]s, founded in the 19th and 20th centuries, that encouraged the [[introduced species|introduction of non-native species]] in various places around the world, in the hope that they would [[acclimatise]] and [[adaptation|adapt]] to their new environments. The societies formed during the [[colonialism|colonial]] era, when Europeans began to settle in numbers in unfamiliar locations. One motivation for the activities of the acclimatisation societies was that introducing new [[species]] of [[plant]]s and [[animal]]s (mainly from Europe) would enrich the [[flora]] and [[fauna]] of target regions. The movement also sought to establish plants and animals that were familiar to Europeans, while also bringing exotic and useful foreign plants and animals to centres of European settlement.
A definition of acclimatisation was attempted by [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] in his entry in the 11th edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1911). Here Wallace tried to differentiate the idea from other terms like domestication and naturalization. He noted that a domesticated animal could live in environments controlled by humans. Naturalization, he suggested included the process of acclimatization which involved "gradual adjustment". The idea, at least in France, was associated with [[Lamarckism]] and Wallace noted that there were some like [[Charles Darwin]] who denied the possibility of forcing individual animals to adjust. Wallace however pointed out that there was the possibility that there were variations among individuals and that some could have the ability to adapt to new environments.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|author=Wallace, Alfred Russel|edition=11|volume=1|pages=114–121|year=1911|url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopdiabri01chis#page/114/mode/1up}}</ref>▼
It is now widely understood that introducing species to foreign environments is often harmful to [[indigenous (ecology)|native species]] and to their [[ecosystem]]s. For example, in Australia [[rabbits in Australia|the environment was seriously harmed by overgrazing by rabbits]]. In North America [[house sparrow#Introduction|house sparrows displaced and killed native birds]]. In New Zealand, introduced mammals such as [[Common brushtail possum in New Zealand|possum]]s and [[cats in New Zealand|cats]] became threats to indigenous plants, birds and lizards. Around the world, [[salamander]] populations are threatened by introduced [[mycosis|fungal infections]]. Consequently, the deliberate introduction of new species is now illegal in some countries.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Keller|first=Reuben P.|last2= Kumschick|first2= Sabrina |title= Invasive species have a massive impact, but wise policy can keep them out|url= http://theconversation.com/invasive-species-have-a-massive-impact-but-wise-policy-can-keep-them-out-79444 |access-date=25 November 2021|website=The Conversation|language=en}}</ref>
▲
== In France ==
[[File:Jardin d'Acclimatation.jpg|thumb|upright|The Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris in 1861]]
The first Acclimatisation society was ''La Societé Zoologique d'Acclimatation'' founded in [[Paris]] on 10 May 1854 by [[Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]]. It was essentially an offshoot of the Paris museum of natural history and the other staff included [[Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau|de Bréau]], [[Antoine César Becquerel]] and his son Alexandre. Saint-Hilaire believed in the Lamarckian idea that humans and animals could be forced to adapt to new environments. The Paris society established a branch in Algeria as well as the ''[[Jardin d'Acclimatation|Jardin d' Acclimatation]]'' in Paris in 1861 to showcase not just new animals and plants but also people from other lands.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Climates of Opinion: Acclimatization in Nineteenth-Century France and England |first=Warwick |last=Anderson |journal= Victorian Studies| volume=35| issue=2| year=1992 | pages=135–157}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Acclimatizing the World: A History of the Paradigmatic Colonial Science |first=Michael A. |last=Osborne |journal=Osiris |volume=15| year=2000| pages=135–151 |doi=10.1086/649323}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6580658w/f15.planchecontact |title= Guide du promeneur au Jardin zoologique d'acclimatation |author=Vavasseur, Pierre|year=1861|publisher=Jardin zoologique d'acclimatation |place=Paris}}</ref> Rewards in the form of medals were offered for anyone in the colonies to establish breeding animals. The rules were that at least six specimens had to be maintained with at least two instances of breeding in captivity.<ref name=bennett /> After Saint-Hilaire's death in 1861 the Society was headed by [[Édouard Drouyn de Lhuys]], foreign minister to Napoleon III and many of the functionaries were diplomats who established ties with officers in the colonies both French and foreign. Franco-British as well as Franco-Australian ties were involved in the movements of plants and animals. Australian acacias for instance were introduced in Algeria by the French and by the British in South Africa. [[Francis de Laporte de Castelnau|François Laporte]], naturalist and consul in Melbourne<ref>{{cite book|chapter =A collaborative dimension of the European empires|author=Osborne, Michael A.| title=International Science and National Scientific Identity. Australasian Studies in History and Philosophy of Science| volume=9| year=1991| pages=87–119| doi=10.1007/978-94-011-3786-7_6 |editor1=Home, R.W.|editor2=Hohlstedt, S.G.}}</ref> and [[Ferdinand von Mueller]] of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria were involved in the transfer of many plant species out of Australia. In some cases these movements were not direct but via Paris and Kew.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Carruthers, J.|author2=L. Robin|author3=J. P. Hattingh|author4=C. A. Kull|author5=H. Rangan| author6= B. W. van Wilgen|year= 2011| title=A native at home and abroad: the history, politics, ethics and aesthetics of Acacia.| journal=Diversity and Distributions| volume= 17 |issue=5 |pages=810–821|doi=10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00779.x}}</ref>▼
The first acclimatisation society was ''La Societé Zoologique d'Acclimatation'', founded in [[Paris]] by [[Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]], on 10 May 1854. It was essentially an offshoot of the [[National Museum of Natural History, France|National Museum of Natural History]] in Paris, and the other staff included [[Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau|Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages]], [[Antoine César Becquerel]] and his son Alexandre. Saint-Hilaire subscribed to the Lamarckian idea that humans and animals could be forced to adapt to new environments. The French society established a branch in Algeria, as well as the ''[[Jardin d'Acclimatation|Jardin d' Acclimatation]]'' in Paris in 1861, to showcase not just new animals and plants but also people from other lands.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Climates of Opinion: Acclimatization in Nineteenth-Century France and England |first=Warwick |last=Anderson |journal= Victorian Studies| volume=35| issue=2| year=1992 | pages=135–157|pmid=11612782 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Acclimatizing the World: A History of the Paradigmatic Colonial Science |first=Michael A. |last=Osborne |journal=Osiris |volume=15| year=2000| pages=135–151 |doi=10.1086/649323|pmid=11971295 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6580658w/f15.planchecontact |title= Guide du promeneur au Jardin zoologique d'acclimatation |author=Vavasseur, Pierre|year=1861|publisher=Jardin zoologique d'acclimatation |place=Paris}}</ref>
▲
== In Britain ==
[[File:Acclimatisation society UK 1861.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Members of the British Society in 1861]]
The British acclimatisation society originated from an idea proposed by the management of ''The Field'' journal. A meeting was held on January 21, 1859, at the [[London Tavern]] on Bishopsgate Street. The attendees included Professor [[Richard Owen]] at the head of the table and the servings included a large pike, American partridges, a young bean goose and an African eland. At the meeting [[David William Mitchell|Mitchell]] and others suggested that many of these exotic animals could live in the British wilderness. Professor Owen wrote in the newspapers later on the taste of the eland and the need for animal introductions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Life of Frank Buckland|author=Bompas, George C.|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifefrankbuckla01bompgoog#page/n108/mode/2up|pages=99–102|year=1885|publisher=Smith, Elder, & Co.|place=London}}</ref> On June 26, 1860, another meeting was held and the Acclimatisation Society was formally founded in London and a year later the Secretary to the Society, [[Francis Trevelyan Buckland|Frank Buckland]], a popular naturalist known for his taste in exotic meats, noted the "success" of the Society in introducing peafowl, common pheasant, swan, starling and linnet into Australia through the efforts of [[Edward Wilson (journalist)|Edward Wilson]]. One of the supporters of the Society was Miss [[Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts|Burdett Coutts]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Buckland, F.T.|year=1861|title=First Annual Report of the Society for the Acclimatisation of animals, birds, fishes, insects and vegetables within the United Kingdom|url=https://archive.org/stream/cihm_22920#page/n7/mode/2up}}</ref> Other such societies spread quickly around the world, particularly to European colonies in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. In many instances they existed both as societies for the study of natural history as well as to improve the success rate of introduced species. In 1850, English sparrows were introduced into America and [[Eugene Schieffelin]] introduced starlings in 1890 as part of a plan to introduce all the birds mentioned in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].<ref name=jwh>{{cite journal|title=Remaking the land: The Acclimatization Movement and Anglo Ideas of Nature|last=Dunlap| first=Thomas R.|journal=Journal of World History|volume= 8| issue=2| pages=303–319|year=1997| doi=10.1353/jwh.2005.0062}}</ref>▼
The British acclimatisation society originated from an idea proposed by the management of ''[[The Field (magazine)|The Field]]'' magazine. A meeting was held on 21 January 1859, at the [[London Tavern]] on Bishopsgate Street. The attendees included [[Richard Owen]] at the head of the table, and the servings included a large [[northern pike|pike]], American [[partridge]]s, a young [[bean goose]] and an African [[common eland|eland]]. At the meeting, [[David William Mitchell|Mitchell]] and others suggested that many of those exotic animals could live in the British wilderness. A few days later, Owen wrote to ''[[The Times]]'', praising the taste of the eland and advocating animal introductions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Life of Frank Buckland|author=Bompas, George C.|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifefrankbuckla01bompgoog#page/n108/mode/2up|pages=99–102|year=1885|publisher=Smith, Elder, & Co.|place=London}}</ref>
▲
== Australia and New Zealand ==
The appeal of acclimatisation societies in colonies, particularly Australia and New Zealand,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Acclimatisation Societies and their Activities| url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/A/AcclimatisationOfAnimals/AcclimatisationSocietiesAndTheirActivities/en| encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of New Zealand| year=1966| author=A. H. McLintock}}</ref> was the belief that the local fauna was in some way deficient or impoverished. There was also an element of nostalgia in the desire of European colonists to see familiar species.<ref>{{cite book| author=Wilson, Kerry-Jayne| year=2004| title=The Flight of the Huia| publisher=Canterbury University Press|place=Christchurch| isbn=0-908812-52-3}}</ref> An Australian settler, J. Martin, complained in 1830 that the "trees retained their leaves and shed their bark instead, the [[Black swan|swans were black]], the [[White-bellied sea eagle|eagles white]], the [[Stingless bee|bees were stingless]], some [[Pouch (marsupial)|mammals had pockets]], others [[Monotreme|laid eggs]], it was warmest on the hills..." It was there that the desire to make the land feel more like England was strongest.
Acclimatisation Society of Victoria was established in 1861. Speaking at the Society, [[George Bennett (naturalist)|George Bennett]] pointed out how it was important to have such an organisation, citing the example of the Earl of Knowsley who had been conducting successful experiments in private whose results had been lost with his death.<ref name=bennett>{{cite book|title=Acclimatisation: its eminent adaptation to Australia|author=Bennett, George|publisher=William Goodhugh & Co.|place=Melbournce|year=1862|url=https://archive.org/stream/acclimatisation00unkngoog#page/n6/mode/2up}}</ref> A major proponent of importing and exporting trees and plants was [[Ferdinand von Mueller]].<ref>{{cite book| title= Forest Culture and Eucalyptus Trees|author=Cooper, Ellwood| publisher=Cubery and Company| place=San Francisco| year=1876|pages=9–84|url=https://archive.org/stream/forestcultureeuc00coopuoft#page/10/mode/2up}}</ref> Introductions of commercially valuable species or game species were also made. In some instances the results were disastrous, such as the economic and ecological effects of [[Rabbits in Australia|introducing rabbits to Australia]] or [[Common brushtail possum in New Zealand|possums to New Zealand]]. The disastrous effects were rapidly felt and a Rabbit Nuisance Act was passed in 1876 in New Zealand. To make matters worse, the suggestion was made that weasels and stoats could control the rabbits. Despite warnings from [[Alfred Newton]] and others, these predators were introduced and [[Herbert Guthrie-Smith]] declared it as an "attempt to correct a blunder by a crime."<ref name=jwh />▼
▲The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria was established in 1861. Speaking
In 1893, [[Theodore Sherman Palmer|T.S. Palmer]] of California wrote on the dangers of animal introduction.<ref>{{cite book|author=Palmer, T.S. |year=1893|title= The Dangers of Introducing Noxious Animals and Birds.|publisher=Department of Agriculture|url=https://archive.org/stream/dangerofintroduc00palmrich#page/86/mode/2up}}</ref> In 1906, the editors of the Avicultural Magazine were decidedly against the idea of bird introductions.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Foreign birds for London Parks |pages=48–50 |year= 1906| journal=Avicultural Magazine| volume=5| issue=1 |url=https://archive.org/stream/aviculturalmaga02socigoog#page/n74/mode/2up/}}</ref> The emergence of the field of [[ecology]] transformed expert and public opinion on introductions and gave way to new rules. Quarantine regulations began to be set up instead. Beginning in New Zealand, some of the acclimatisation societies transformed themselves into fish and game organizations.<ref name=jwh />▼
▲In 1893, [[Theodore Sherman Palmer|T. S. Palmer]] of California wrote
==See also==
Line 36 ⟶ 37:
*[[American Acclimatization Society]]
*[[Queensland Acclimatisation Society]]
*[[Adelaide Zoo#History|South Australian Acclimatization and Zoological Society]]
==References==
Line 42 ⟶ 44:
==External links==
*[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13718574.800-review-moving-tales-of-fauna-and-flora-.html ''New Scientist'' review of ''They Dined on Eland: The Story of the Acclimatisation Societies'' by Christopher Lever,(1993)]
*[
* {{cite book |title=[[s:Acclimatisation: its eminent adaptation to Australia|Acclimatisation: its eminent adaptation to Australia]] |date=1862 |publisher=Acclimatisation Society of Victoria |location=Melbourne |edition=1 |language=English|first1=George |last1=Bennett |author1-link=George Bennett (naturalist)}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Environmental organizations]]▼
[[Category:Defunct organizations]]
| |||