Why it does not pay to be late
- John Teravskis (Mr. T)
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
In reality, native and non-native can be subjective and ambiguous categories. For example, if you move to another location such as Northern California, at what point do you become a native of Northern California? In a year, 2 years, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 years? Or perhaps never. But if you have lived in one place for 20 plus years, I would think that most people around you would view you as a local or native to that location. Are honey bees native to California? Most people would answer yes. But, while there are bees native to California, the honeybee is a more recent import from Europe. However, from a Biblical worldview, the origin of all land animals can be traced back to Noah's ark and in obedience to God's command (Genesis 8:15-17) they are spreading out and propagating around the world since the time of the flood. Some species of plants and animals happened to have arrived at certain locations earlier than others. So why are they highly regarded natives and the late-comers are considered as unwelcomed non-native interlopers? But wait long enough and the late-comers may become natives or, perhaps, even endemic. There is one thing true about plants and animals - they are on the move. They might not move quickly, but the move persistently, because that is the way God designed them and their design allows them to obey His command to fill the earth and to multiply. Animals move about in search for new homes, food sources, mates, to flee danger, or to migrate. Plants propagate through the dispersal of seeds, tendrils, roots, and being carried by water, wind, animals, or humans. Sometimes a species of plant or animal can find a new home and thrive and even take over. In such cases, it is often referred to as an invasive species. Invasive species have been known to alter the balance in the ecosystem and out-compete other previous species. But does that make them an illegitimate part of the ecosystem or God's creation?
Let's consider the case of the relatively recent arrival of Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "lake trout are native to northern North America, from Alaska to Nova Scotia and throughout the Great Lakes. They were introduced in some states west of the Rocky Mountains, where they are not native." For many years, it was assumed that lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) were also illegally introduced to Yellowstone Lake by fishing enthusiasts who wanted to have a bigger species of trout to catch in the lake. Therefore, the National Park Service and the United States Geological Service (USGS) have spent $2 - $3 million per year attempting to eradicate the newcomer. While it may be there was some human involvement with the arrival of lake trout to Yellowstone, the recent development of a technique called environmental DNA testing is changing the understanding about the origins of the lake trout. According to the USGS, "Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is released from an organism into the environment. Sources of eDNA include secreted feces, mucous, and gametes; shed skin and hair; and carcasses. eDNA can be detected in cellular or extracellular (dissolved DNA) form. In aquatic environments, eDNA is diluted and distributed by currents and other hydrological processes, but it only lasts about 7–21 days, depending on environmental conditions." This new testing technique is providing good evidence that the Yellowstone Lake Trout are arriving on their own.
Yellowstone National Park sits predominately in a historic volcanic caldera. Yellowstone Lake is located to the east of the continental divide. Therefore, creeks entering the lake originate from watersheds also located east of the divide and the lake's discharge (Yellowstone River) ultimately flows to the Atlantic Ocean. However, something interesting happens southeast of the lake along the continental divide.
According to the USGS, there is a high alpine meadow called the Two Ocean Pass located in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. In fact, it doesn’t look much like a pass at all because the profile of the pass is so low that when the meadow is flooded in the spring during a wet year, a fish can swim from the Pacific watershed into the Atlantic watershed (or vice versa)! This is how the Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) is believed to have originally arrived and made its home in Yellowstone Lake following the end of the post-flood ice age. As the glacial ice receded, fish could not swim upstream in the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake due to the natural barrier of the Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River. Thus, cutthroat trout likely arrived to the lake by swimming across Two Ocean Pass. They were the only trout species living in the lake for two to three thousand years and, because of their isolation, they became endemic to the region by developing some unique physical characteristics. But eDNA testing is providing evidence that the cutthroat are not the only trout to have taken advantage of this point of entry. Field testing data from this area is also currently pointing to the presence of lake trout. Now there is good evidence that lake trout were introduced to lakes west of the Rocky Mountains by humans; however, they are native to the watersheds east of the Rockies. The eDNA testing is showing that species of fish and other organisms have natural access to the Yellowstone ecosystem via the connection point at Two Oceans Pass.
So is the lake trout a non-native any more so than the cutthroat to Yellowstone Lake, or is it just a late arrival? When the cutthroat arrived, would it have been considered an invasive species and did it reduce or eliminate another species as its food source? If so, it didn't have to worry because there was no National Park Service to eradicate it like the newer arrival. But are not these species of fish just doing what God had commanded them to do by abounding on the earth, and being fruitful and multiplying? Furthermore, it is interesting to note that scientists holding to the concept of evolution in which life is supposed to be constantly changing will so determinedly fight change should a new species arrive in an ecosystem that they do not want to have altered. A proper Biblical perspective of creation is that all of creation (including species of trout) obey God's commands so we shouldn't be surprised to find them filling the earth as He commanded them approximately 4,500 years ago.
For more information on native, non-native, and endemic species, see my recent addition to the Faith & Science Intersect website ...