I need help.......

[RENE BOUTIN]

and what harm does that do to nature ,it might change something in your books
that`s about it.

Kenelm Philip wrote:

> > Can you present us with a math based model that describes the assumptions
> > that would have to be made for this type of harm to realized?
>
>         There is one type of 'harm' that does not need a mathematical
> model, other than some very general statements. What happens when a widely
> dispersing species is being raised and released in an area at or near its
> extreme limit of dispersion--when a biological survey is being carried out
> in that same area? There is a significant chance of false positives for
> the occurrence of that species--since the number released may be larger
> (even _much_ larger) than the number that would disperse naturally to the
> region.
>
>         For a specific case, consider the Painted Lady in Interior Alaska.
> This species is known to reach Alaska occasionally--I have a small series
> of very worn specimens from the north shore of the Kenai Peninsula--but
> there were no records from Interior Alaska until 1986, when I obtained a
> (suspiciously) fresh specimen from the summit of Ester Dome, near Fairbanks.
> It is not impossible that this was a natural occurrence--but at about the
> same time I became aware that Painted Ladies were being raised by a number
> of classes in Fairbanks elementary schools--and in all cases the adults
> were then released outdoors in late spring. Ester Dome is a known site
> for hiltopping in the Fairbanks area, and thus can act to concentrate
> species that are very thin on the ground. I would guess (and I admit it's
> only a guess) that it is far more probable that this specimen was raised
> and released in Fairbanks than that it flew here under its own power.
> At any rate, the specimen cannot be used to prove natural dispersal to
> Interior Alaska--and nor can subsequent specimens unless the numbers are
> very large (which is unlikely).
>
>         Oh well, at least the schools aren't releasing Monarchs. At this
> time, there is no record of a Monarch from Alaska. Many people in both
> Alaska and the Yukon claim to have seen Monarchs--there is even a 'Monarch
> Road' in Fairbanks--but upon questioning they all turn out to have seen
> (Canadian) Tiger Swallowtails. But it's presumably only a matter of time
> before a locally-released Monarch is captured somewhere in Alaska...
>
>                                                         Ken Philip
> fnkwp at uaf.edu