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87-449: Beefalo constitutes a hybrid offspring of domestic cattle ( Bos taurus ), usually a male in managed breeding programs , and the American bison ( Bison bison ), usually a female in managed breeding programs. The breed was created to combine the characteristics of both animals for beef production. Beefalo are primarily cattle in genetics and appearance, with the breed association defining

174-475: A synthetic population . In horticulture , the term stable hybrid is used to describe an annual plant that, if grown and bred in a small monoculture free of external pollen (e.g., an air-filtered greenhouse) produces offspring that are "true to type" with respect to phenotype; i.e., a true-breeding organism. Hybridization can occur in the hybrid zones where the geographical ranges of species, subspecies, or distinct genetic lineages overlap. For example,

261-460: A bactrian camel and a dromedary . There are many examples of felid hybrids , including the liger . The oldest-known animal hybrid bred by humans is the kunga equid hybrid produced as a draft animal and status symbol 4,500 years ago in Umm el-Marra , present-day Syria . The first known instance of hybrid speciation in marine mammals was discovered in 2014. The clymene dolphin ( Stenella clymene )

348-633: A hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties , subspecies , species or genera through sexual reproduction . Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera . Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance ), but can show hybrid vigor , sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of

435-555: A bear shot by a hunter in the Northwest Territories confirmed the existence of naturally occurring and fertile grizzly–polar bear hybrids . Hybridization between reproductively isolated species often results in hybrid offspring with lower fitness than either parental. However, hybrids are not, as might be expected, always intermediate between their parents (as if there were blending inheritance), but are sometimes stronger or perform better than either parental lineage or variety,

522-554: A co-founder of Garden City , Kansas, also worked to cross bison and cattle at a ranch near the future Grand Canyon National Park , with the hope the animals could survive the harsh winters. He called the result "cattalo" in 1888. Mossom Martin Boyd of Bobcaygeon , Ontario first started the practice in Canada, publishing about some of his outcomes in the Journal of Heredity. After his death in 1914,

609-508: A considerable seed yield advantage over open pollinated varieties. Hybrid seed dominates the commercial maize seed market in the United States, Canada and many other major maize-producing countries. In a hybrid, any trait that falls outside the range of parental variation (and is thus not simply intermediate between its parents) is considered heterotic. Positive heterosis produces more robust hybrids, they might be stronger or bigger; while

696-504: A cross between a female horse and a male donkey, and the hinny, a cross between a female donkey and a male horse. Pairs of complementary types like the mule and hinny are called reciprocal hybrids. Polar bears and brown bears are another case of a hybridizing species pairs, and introgression among non-sister species of bears appears to have shaped the Ursidae family tree. Among many other mammal crosses are hybrid camels , crosses between

783-501: A degree that none of the originally genetically distinct population remains. In agriculture and animal husbandry , the Green Revolution 's use of conventional hybridization increased yields by breeding high-yielding varieties . The replacement of locally indigenous breeds, compounded with unintentional cross-pollination and crossbreeding (genetic mixing), has reduced the gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds resulting in

870-602: A donkey as the father. A variety of mechanisms limit the success of hybridization, including the large genetic difference between most species. Barriers include morphological differences, differing times of fertility, mating behaviors and cues, and physiological rejection of sperm cells or the developing embryo. Some act before fertilization; others after it. In plants, some barriers to hybridization include blooming period differences, different pollinator vectors, inhibition of pollen tube growth, somatoplastic sterility, cytoplasmic-genic male sterility and structural differences of

957-477: A full Beefalo as one with three-eighths (37.5%) bison genetics, while animals with higher percentages of bison genetics are called "bison hybrids". Accidental crosses were noticed as long ago as 1749 in the Southern states of North America, during British colonization . Cattle and bison were first intentionally crossbred during the mid-19th century. One of the first efforts to cross-breed bison and domestic cattle

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1044-548: A group of about 50 natural hybrids between Australian blacktip shark and the larger common blacktip shark was found by Australia's eastern coast in 2012. Russian sturgeon and American paddlefish were hybridized in captivity when sperm from the paddlefish and eggs from the sturgeon were combined, unexpectedly resulting in viable offspring. This hybrid is called a sturddlefish . The two genera Asymmetron and Branchiostoma are able to produce viable hybrid offspring, even if none have lived into adulthood so far, despite

1131-500: A hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics , attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes . In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridization, which include genetic and morphological differences, differing times of fertility, mating behaviors and cues, and physiological rejection of sperm cells or

1218-439: A long time, both intentionally for purposes such as biological control , and unintentionally, as with accidental escapes of individuals. Introductions can drastically affect populations, including through hybridization. There is a kind of continuum with three semi-distinct categories dealing with anthropogenic hybridization: hybridization without introgression, hybridization with widespread introgression (backcrossing with one of

1305-494: A mate among the species that raised it, instead of the species of its biological parents. Cagebird breeders sometimes breed bird hybrids known as mules between species of finch , such as goldfinch × canary . Among amphibians, Japanese giant salamanders and Chinese giant salamanders have created hybrids that threaten the survival of Japanese giant salamanders because of competition for similar resources in Japan. Among fish,

1392-432: A phenomenon called heterosis, hybrid vigour, or heterozygote advantage . This is most common with plant hybrids. A transgressive phenotype is a phenotype that displays more extreme characteristics than either of the parent lines. Plant breeders use several techniques to produce hybrids, including line breeding and the formation of complex hybrids. An economically important example is hybrid maize (corn), which provides

1479-432: A private herd on the nearby Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation . The Henry Mountains have some areas of Alpine meadows and grass prairie and this provides a nearly optimum environment for American bison. Bison are large herd animals that defend their young vigorously. American bison can run up to 35 miles per hour and are surprisingly agile, in addition to their notable strength and irritable temperament. However, in

1566-405: A species, such as between different breeds . Single cross hybrids result from the cross between two true-breeding organisms which produces an F1 hybrid (first filial generation). The cross between two different homozygous lines produces an F1 hybrid that is heterozygous ; having two alleles , one contributed by each parent and typically one is dominant and the other recessive . Typically,

1653-557: A type of 'Mountain bison' subspecies. It was determined by the study that the Wood Buffalo Park bison were actually crossbreeds between plains bison and wood bison, but that their predominant genetic makeup was truly that of the expected Wood Buffalo. However, the Yellowstone bison herd were pure plains bison, and not any of the other previously suggested subspecies. Since the Yellowstone herd are plains bison, that would indicate that

1740-464: Is [claimed] to be a great improvement on both of its progenitors, as it is more docile and a better milker than the Buffalo, but retains its hardihood, while the robe is finer, darker and more even, and the general shape of the animal is improved by the reduction of the hump and increased proportion of the hind-quarters. After seeing thousands of cattle die in a blizzard in 1886, Charles "Buffalo" Jones ,

1827-577: Is a hybrid of two Atlantic species, the spinner and striped dolphins . In 2019, scientists confirmed that a skull found 30 years earlier was a hybrid between the beluga whale and narwhal , dubbed the narluga . Hybridization between species is common in birds. Hybrid birds are purposefully bred by humans, but hybridization is also common in the wild. Waterfowl have a particularly high incidence of hybridization, with at least 60% of species known to produce hybrids with another species. Among ducks , mallards widely hybridize with many other species, and

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1914-407: Is a hybridization test widely used in genetics to determine whether two separately isolated mutants that have the same (or similar) phenotype are defective in the same gene or in different genes (see Complementation (genetics) article). If a hybrid organism containing the genomes of two different mutant parental organisms displays a wild type phenotype, it is ordinarily considered that

2001-571: Is a particularly common mechanism for speciation in plants, and is now known to be fundamental to the evolutionary history of plants. Plants frequently form polyploids , individuals with more than two copies of each chromosome. Whole genome doubling has occurred repeatedly in plant evolution. When two plant species hybridize, the hybrid may double its chromosome count by incorporating the entire nuclear genome of both parents, resulting in offspring that are reproductively incompatible with either parent because of different chromosome counts. Human impact on

2088-559: Is a separate genus from domestic cattle ( Bos primigenius ), they clearly have a lot of genetic compatibility, and American bison can interbreed freely with cattle. Moreover, when they do interbreed, the crossbreeds tend to look very much like purebred bison, so appearance is unreliable as a means of determining what is a purebred bison and what is a crossbred cow. Many ranchers have deliberately cross bred their cattle with bison, and it would also be expected that there could be some natural hybridization in areas where cattle and bison occur in

2175-659: Is also more occasionally done in the livestock and pet trades; some well-known wild × domestic hybrids are beefalo and wolfdogs . Human selective breeding of domesticated animals and plants has also resulted in the development of distinct breeds (usually called cultivars in reference to plants); crossbreeds between them (without any wild stock ) are sometimes also imprecisely referred to as "hybrids". Hybrid humans existed in prehistory. For example, Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans are thought to have interbred as recently as 40,000 years ago. Mythological hybrids appear in human culture in forms as diverse as

2262-451: Is always sterile worker ants (and because ants are haplodiploid , unfertilized eggs become males). Without mating with males of the other species, the queens are unable to produce workers, and will fail to establish a colony of their own. Plant species hybridize more readily than animal species, and the resulting hybrids are fertile more often. Many plant species are the result of hybridization, combined with polyploidy , which duplicates

2349-547: Is derived from Latin hybrida , used for crosses such as of a tame sow and a wild boar. The term came into popular use in English in the 19th century, though examples of its use have been found from the early 17th century. Conspicuous hybrids are popularly named with portmanteau words , starting in the 1920s with the breeding of tiger–lion hybrids ( liger and tigon ). From the point of view of animal and plant breeders, there are several kinds of hybrid formed from crosses within

2436-623: Is maintained by the state as a multi-purpose herd. One reason for the existence of the herd is an attempt to help repopulate bison into some of their previous natural range. But a second purpose is for management as a big game herd, and hunting is allowed under limited conditions. The Antelope Island bison herd , also managed by the state of Utah, has some cattle genes present. However, the Henry Mountains bison herd has been shown to be purebred Bison bison based on genetic testing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. This 2015 study also showed that

2523-403: Is open or semi-open grasslands, as well as sagebrush, semi-arid lands and scrublands. Some lightly wooded areas are known historically to have supported bison. Bison will graze in hilly or mountainous areas where the slopes are not steep. Though not particularly known as high altitude animals, bison in the Henry Mountains herd are found throughout the Henry Mountains area, on public lands, including

2610-427: Is that hybrid individuals can form a "bridge" transmitting potentially helpful genes from one species to another when the hybrid backcrosses with one of its parent species, a process called introgression . Hybrids can also cause speciation , either because the hybrids are genetically incompatible with their parents and not each other, or because the hybrids occupy a different niche than either parent. Hybridization

2697-515: Is the proper time to give up on a population that is becoming a hybrid swarm, or to try and save the still existing pure individuals. Once a population becomes a complete mixture, the goal becomes to conserve those hybrids to avoid their loss. Conservationists treat each case on its merits, depending on detecting hybrids within the population. It is nearly impossible to formulate a uniform hybridization policy, because hybridization can occur beneficially when it occurs "naturally", and when hybrid swarms are

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2784-638: The Minotaur , blends of animals, humans and mythical beasts such as centaurs and sphinxes , and the Nephilim of the Biblical apocrypha described as the wicked sons of fallen angels and attractive women. Hybridization between species plays an important role in evolution, though there is much debate about its significance. Roughly 25% of plants and 10% of animals are known to form hybrids with at least one other species. One example of an adaptive benefit to hybridization

2871-670: The Wind Cave bison herd that roams Wind Cave National Park , South Dakota ; and the Henry Mountains herd in the Henry Mountains of Utah. Dr. Dirk Van Vuren, formerly of the University of Kansas, however, points out that "The bison today that carry cattle DNA look exactly like bison, function exactly like bison and in fact are bison. For conservation groups, the interest is that they are not totally pure." Although popular with tourists and hunters, escaped beefalo have been destroying parts of

2958-464: The sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (female) and the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus (male). When two distinct types of organisms breed with each other, the resulting hybrids typically have intermediate traits (e.g., one plant parent has red flowers, the other has white, and the hybrid, pink flowers). Commonly, hybrids also combine traits seen only separately in one parent or

3045-438: The "suture region". It is at these regions that the subspecies were formed. Other hybrid zones have formed between described species of plants and animals. From the point of view of genetics, several different kinds of hybrid can be distinguished. A genetic hybrid carries two different alleles of the same gene , where for instance one allele may code for a lighter coat colour than the other. A structural hybrid results from

3132-695: The American Beefalo World Registry. Until November 2008, there were two Beefalo associations, the American Beefalo World Registry and American Beefalo International. These organizations jointly formed the American Beefalo Association, Inc., which currently operates as the registering body for Beefalo in the United States. Most current bison herds are "genetically polluted" , meaning that they are partly crossbred with cattle. There are only four genetically unmixed American bison herds left, and only two that are also free of brucellosis :

3219-474: The Canadian government continued experiments in crossbreeding up to 1964, with little success. For example, in 1936 the Canadian government had successfully cross-bred only 30 cattalos. It was found early on that crossing a male bison with a domestic cow would produce few offspring, but that crossing a domestic bull with a bison cow apparently solved the problem. The female offspring proved fertile, but rarely so for

3306-503: The F1 generation is also phenotypically homogeneous, producing offspring that are all similar to each other. Double cross hybrids result from the cross between two different F1 hybrids (i.e., there are four unrelated grandparents). Three-way cross hybrids result from the cross between an F1 hybrid and an inbred line. Triple cross hybrids result from the crossing of two different three-way cross hybrids. Top cross (or "topcross") hybrids result from

3393-456: The Henry Mountain herd are also plains bison. There remain various questions and concerns regarding future management of the Henry Mountain bison herd. Several private groups, as well as governmental entities in the United States and Canada are making efforts to return bison to much of their previous natural range. Some private groups have purchased large tracts of lands, and some lands are in

3480-403: The Henry Mountains bison herd is free of brucellosis , a bacterial disease that was imported with non-native domestic cattle to North America. Officially, the "American Buffalo" is classified by the United States government as a type of cattle, and the government allows private herds to be managed as such. This is a reflection of the characteristics that bison share with cattle. Though the bison

3567-484: The Henry Mountains may also help limit the number of bison in the herd, but this is not considered to have a significant effect on bison numbers. At the same time, unlike the population of bison in the Yellowstone Park bison herd, the Henry Mountain bison are relatively free of disease, especially brucellosis . Each year in late autumn, a small number of bison hunting permits are issued by the state of Utah. The herd

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3654-426: The Henry Mountains there are no significant apex predators , except for human beings. In the past, there were apex predators in these regions, but the predators have also been eliminated for the most part, because of their suspected history of predation upon open range cattle and sheep, as well as concerns in the past about the potential danger of human interactions. Significant apex predators that could help control

3741-755: The Yellowstone bison herd, the Henry Mountains bison herd which was started with bison taken from Yellowstone Park, the Wind Cave bison herd and the Wood Buffalo National Park bison herd and subsidiary herds started from it, in Canada. A landmark study of bison genetics that was performed by James Derr of the Texas A&;M University corroborated this. The Derr study was undertaken in an attempt to determine what genetic problems bison might face as they repopulate former areas, and it noted that bison seem to be doing quite well, despite their apparent genetic bottleneck . One possible explanation for this might be

3828-514: The advent of nuclear microsatellite DNA testing, the number of herds that contained cattle genes has increased. Though approximately 500,000 bison exist on private ranches and in public herds, some people estimate that perhaps only 15,000 to 25,000 of these bison are pure and are not actually bison-cattle hybrids. "DNA from domestic cattle (Bos taurus) has been detected in nearly all bison herds examined to date." Significant public bison herds that do not appear to have hybridized domestic cattle genes are

3915-430: The animals and help reduce the excess population. In 2009, 146 public once-in-a-lifetime Henry Mountain bison hunting permits were issued. In recent years, each bison permit that has been issued by the state of Utah has had 100 applicants. A population objective of 325 bison by 2012 was set by Utah wildlife biologists for the Henry Mountain herd. Since the bison reproduce easily and the herds have been larger than this in

4002-421: The bison population would include brown bears , grizzly bears and wolves . Some people suggest that the Henry Mountains could support a population of these predators if they were re-introduced. Other large mammals found in the Henry Mountains include elk , moose , coyotes , mountain lions , bobcats , mule deer , pronghorn , and bighorn sheep . Competitive pressure from the other large grazing mammals in

4089-511: The butterfly Limenitis arthemis has two major subspecies in North America, L. a. arthemis (the white admiral) and L. a. astyanax (the red-spotted purple). The white admiral has a bright, white band on its wings, while the red-spotted purple has cooler blue-green shades. Hybridization occurs between a narrow area across New England, southern Ontario, and the Great Lakes,

4176-426: The chromosomes. A few animal species are the result of hybridization. The Lonicera fly is a natural hybrid. The American red wolf appears to be a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote , although its taxonomic status has been a subject of controversy. The European edible frog is a semi-permanent hybrid between pool frogs and marsh frogs ; its population requires the continued presence of at least one of

4263-539: The chromosomes. Chromosome duplication allows orderly meiosis and so viable seed can be produced. Plant hybrids are generally given names that include an "×" (not in italics), such as Platanus × hispanica for the London plane, a natural hybrid of P. orientalis (oriental plane) and P. occidentalis (American sycamore). The parent's names may be kept in their entirety, as seen in Prunus persica × Prunus americana , with

4350-481: The common pheasant and hen golden pheasant ( Chrysolophus pictus ). Spurs are absent in hybrids of the former type, although present in both parents. Hybridization is greatly influenced by human impact on the environment, through effects such as habitat fragmentation and species introductions. Such impacts make it difficult to conserve the genetics of populations undergoing introgressive hybridization . Humans have introduced species worldwide to environments for

4437-400: The crossing of a top quality or pure-bred male and a lower quality female, intended to improve the quality of the offspring, on average. Population hybrids result from the crossing of plants or animals in one population with those of another population. These include interspecific hybrids or crosses between different breeds. In biology, the result of crossing of two populations is called

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4524-463: The desert life. The herd thrived in the new locale and quickly grew to about 80 animals. Today, the herd consists of between 300-400 animals, which is regarded as the maximum the range will support. Recently, the herd is competing with livestock for summer range forage. This has created the potential for conflict between cattle ranchers and sportsmen who consider the Henry Mountains prime bison hunting country. Special licenses are issued annually to hunt

4611-405: The desert lowlands and the mountainous regions to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) altitude. They are particularly prominent in the midlevel grassy areas. The American bison once numbered in the millions, perhaps between 25 million and 60 million by some estimates, and they were possibly the most numerous large land animal on earth. However, they were hunted to near extinction throughout North America by

4698-444: The developing embryo . Some act before fertilization and others after it. Similar barriers exist in plants, with differences in flowering times, pollen vectors, inhibition of pollen tube growth, somatoplastic sterility, cytoplasmic-genic male sterility and the structure of the chromosomes. A few animal species and many plant species, however, are the result of hybrid speciation , including important crop plants such as wheat , where

4785-407: The diverse Heliconius butterflies , but that is disputed. The two closely related harvester ant species Pogonomyrmex barbatus and Pogonomyrmex rugosus have evolved to depend on hybridization. When a queen fertilizes her eggs with sperm from males of her own species, the offspring is always new queens. And when she fertilizes the eggs with sperm from males of the other species, the offspring

4872-413: The doubling of chromosome sets, causing immediate genetic isolation. Hybridization may be important in speciation in some plant groups. However, homoploid hybrid speciation (not increasing the number of sets of chromosomes) may be rare: by 1997, only eight natural examples had been fully described. Experimental studies suggest that hybridization offers a rapid route to speciation, a prediction confirmed by

4959-458: The ecosystem, as well as ancient stone ruins, in the Grand Canyon and threatening native species. By 2015, numbers were growing by 50% per year and the there were at least 600 animals roaming the park. Grand Canyon National Park was reporting an accident a day due to tourist interactions with beefalo. In 2018, the park began trapping the animals and giving them to Native American tribes outside

5046-611: The environment has resulted in an increase in the interbreeding between regional species, and the proliferation of introduced species worldwide has also resulted in an increase in hybridization. This has been referred to as genetic pollution out of concern that it may threaten many species with extinction. Similarly, genetic erosion from monoculture in crop plants may be damaging the gene pools of many species for future breeding. The conservation impacts of hybridization between species are highly debated. While hybridization could potentially threaten rare species or lineages by "swamping"

5133-429: The fact that early generation hybrids and ancient hybrid species have matching genomes, meaning that once hybridization has occurred, the new hybrid genome can remain stable. Many hybrid zones are known where the ranges of two species meet, and hybrids are continually produced in great numbers. These hybrid zones are useful as biological model systems for studying the mechanisms of speciation. Recently DNA analysis of

5220-521: The female parent's name given first, or if not known, the parent's names given alphabetically. Henry Mountains bison herd The bison in the Henry Mountains herd is one of two herds maintained by the state of Utah . The other is the Antelope Island bison herd . The Henry Mountains Bison Herd has recently extended into the mountains of the Book Cliffs , and this may become a third bison herd for

5307-560: The fusion of gametes that have differing structure in at least one chromosome, as a result of structural abnormalities . A numerical hybrid results from the fusion of gametes having different haploid numbers of chromosomes . A permanent hybrid results when only the heterozygous genotype occurs, as in Oenothera lamarckiana , because all homozygous combinations are lethal. In the early history of genetics, Hugo de Vries supposed these were caused by mutation . Genetic complementation

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5394-507: The genetic relationships between ducks are further complicated by the widespread gene flow between wild and domestic mallards. One of the most common interspecific hybrids in geese occurs between Greylag and Canada geese ( Anser anser x Branta canadensis ). One potential mechanism for the occurrence of hybrids in these geese is interspecific nest parasitism , where an egg is laid in the nest of another species to be raised by non-biological parents. The chick imprints upon and eventually seeks

5481-630: The genetically "pure" individuals with hybrids, hybridization could also save a rare lineage from extinction by introducing genetic diversity. It has been proposed that hybridization could be a useful tool to conserve biodiversity by allowing organisms to adapt, and that efforts to preserve the separateness of a "pure" lineage could harm conservation by lowering the organisms' genetic diversity and adaptive potential, particularly in species with low populations. While endangered species are often protected by law, hybrids are often excluded from protection, resulting in challenges to conservation. The term hybrid

5568-401: The hybrids are more fit and have breeding advantages over the indigenous ecotype or species. These hybridization events can result from the introduction of non-native genotypes by humans or through habitat modification, bringing previously isolated species into contact. Genetic mixing can be especially detrimental for rare species in isolated habitats, ultimately affecting the population to such

5655-469: The late 1880s. The Henry Mountain bison herd was started with animals transplanted from the Yellowstone bison herd , which was likely the last free-ranging bison herd in the United States and the only location where they did not go locally extinct in the United States. The original 18 animals of the Henry Mountains herd were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park in 1941. They were released not into

5742-400: The loss of genetic diversity . Since the indigenous breeds are often well-adapted to local extremes in climate and have immunity to local pathogens, this can be a significant genetic erosion of the gene pool for future breeding. Therefore, commercial plant geneticists strive to breed "widely adapted" cultivars to counteract this tendency. Familiar examples of equid hybrids are the mule,

5829-483: The males. Although the cattalo performed well, the mating problems meant the breeder had to maintain a herd of wild and difficult-to-handle bison cows. In 1965, Jim Burnett of Montana produced a hybrid bull that was fertile. Soon after, Cory Skowronek of California formed the World Beefalo Association and began marketing the hybrids as a new breed. The new name, Beefalo, was meant to separate this hybrid from

5916-575: The mountains, but the arid desert of Robbers Roost , approximately 50 miles northeast of their eventual home. In 1942, another five bulls were added to the herd. That same year, the herd moved to the comparatively verdant grassland of the Henrys and across the Dirty Devil River to the Burr Desert at the north end of the mountain range. In 1963, the herd moved again, this time into the mountains, abandoning

6003-452: The number of chromosomes has been doubled. A form of often intentional human-mediated hybridization is the crossing of wild and domesticated species. This is common in both traditional horticulture and modern agriculture ; many commercially useful fruits, flowers, garden herbs, and trees have been produced by hybridization. One such flower, Oenothera lamarckiana , was central to early genetics research into mutationism and polyploidy. It

6090-420: The only remaining evidence of prior species, they need to be conserved as well. Regionally developed ecotypes can be threatened with extinction when new alleles or genes are introduced that alter that ecotype. This is sometimes called genetic mixing. Hybridization and introgression, which can happen in natural and hybrid populations, of new genetic material can lead to the replacement of local genotypes if

6177-438: The other (e.g., a bird hybrid might combine the yellow head of one parent with the orange belly of the other). Interspecific hybrids are bred by mating individuals from two species, normally from within the same genus. The offspring display traits and characteristics of both parents, but are often sterile , preventing gene flow between the species. Sterility is often attributed to the different number of chromosomes between

6264-573: The parent species), and hybrid swarms (highly variable populations with much interbreeding as well as backcrossing with the parent species). Depending on where a population falls along this continuum, the management plans for that population will change. Hybridization is currently an area of great discussion within wildlife management and habitat management. Global climate change is creating other changes such as difference in population distributions which are indirect causes for an increase in anthropogenic hybridization. Conservationists disagree on when

6351-532: The parent species. Cave paintings indicate that the European bison is a natural hybrid of the aurochs and the steppe bison . Plant hybridization is more commonplace compared to animal hybridization. Many crop species are hybrids, including notably the polyploid wheats : some have four sets of chromosomes (tetraploid) or six (hexaploid), while other wheat species have (like most eukaryotic organisms) two sets ( diploid ), so hybridization events likely involved

6438-506: The parents' common ancestor living tens of millions of years ago. Among insects, so-called killer bees were accidentally created during an attempt to breed a strain of bees that would both produce more honey and be better adapted to tropical conditions. It was done by crossing a European honey bee and an African bee . The Colias eurytheme and C. philodice butterflies have retained enough genetic compatibility to produce viable hybrid offspring. Hybrid speciation may have produced

6525-411: The past, a decision was made to reduce the size of the herd. To achieve this objective, and increase overall genetic diversity, breeding animals are being transplanted to other locations from the herd. In 2009, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials transplanted 31 bison from the Henry Mountains to the Book Cliffs in eastern Utah. The new group joined 14 animals previously released in 2008 from

6612-637: The point of view of taxonomy , hybrids differ according to their parentage. Hybrids between different subspecies (such as between the dog and Eurasian wolf ) are called intra-specific hybrids. Interspecific hybrids are the offspring from interspecies mating ; these sometimes result in hybrid speciation. Intergeneric hybrids result from matings between different genera, such as between sheep and goats . Interfamilial hybrids, such as between chickens and guineafowl or pheasants , are reliably described but extremely rare. Interordinal hybrids (between different orders) are few, but have been engineered between

6699-455: The problems associated with the old cattalo hybrids. The breed was eventually set at being genetically at least five-eighths Bos taurus and at most three-eighths Bison bison . A United States Department of Agriculture study found Beefalo meat, like bison meat, to be lower in fat and cholesterol than standard beef cattle. In 1983, the three main Beefalo registration groups reorganized under

6786-465: The same range. Since cattle and bison eat similar food and tolerate similar conditions, they have often been in the same range together in the past, and opportunity for crossbreeding may sometimes have been common. In recent decades, tests were developed to determine the source of mitochondrial DNA in cattle and bison, and it was found that most private herds were actually crossbred with cattle, and even most state and federal herds had some cattle DNA. With

6873-456: The small amount of domestic cattle genes that are now in most bison populations, though this is not the only possible explanation for bison success. In the study cattle genes were also found in small amounts throughout most herds. "The hybridization experiments conducted by some of the owners of the five foundation herds of the late 1800s, have left a legacy of a small amount of cattle genetics in many of our existing bison herds." Derr states "All of

6960-651: The state owned bison herds tested (except for possibly one) contain animals with domestic cattle mtDNA." It appears that the one state herd that had no cattle genes was the Henry Mountains bison herd. However, the extension of this herd into the Book Cliffs involved mixing the founders with additional bison from another source, so it is not known if the Book Cliff extension of the herd is also free of cattle hybridization. A separate study by Wilson and Strobeck, published in Genome ,

7047-403: The state. The Henry Mountains bison herd is located mostly with the 2 million acres (8,100 km ) of land on or around the Henry Mountains of south-central Utah. An ongoing attempt is being made to expand the herd to include areas in the mountains of the Book Cliffs which are farther north. American bison ( Bison bison ) live in river valleys, prairies, and plains. Typical habitat

7134-718: The state. In addition, volunteer hunters were enlisted to cull the herds, with a goal of reducing the population to 200 animals. As of 2022, the herd was down to 216 individuals, with only 4 having been taken by hunters. The term "cattalo", a portmanteau of cattle and buffalo , is defined by United States law as a cross of bison and cattle which have a bison appearance. In some American states, cattalo are regulated as "exotic animals", along with pure bison and deer . However, in most states, bison and hybrids which are raised solely for livestock purposes similar to cattle, are considered domestic animals like cattle, and do not require special permits. Hybrid (biology) In biology ,

7221-470: The term negative heterosis refers to weaker or smaller hybrids. Heterosis is common in both animal and plant hybrids. For example, hybrids between a lion and a tigress (" ligers ") are much larger than either of the two progenitors, while " tigons " (lioness × tiger) are smaller. Similarly, the hybrids between the common pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ) and domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus ) are larger than either of their parents, as are those produced between

7308-400: The two parental mutant organisms are defective in different genes. If the hybrid organism displays a distinctly mutant phenotype, the two mutant parental organisms are considered to be defective in the same gene. However, in some cases the hybrid organism may display a phenotype that is only weakly (or partially) wild-type, and this may reflect intragenic (interallelic) complementation. From

7395-462: The two species. For example, donkeys have 62 chromosomes , horses have 64 chromosomes, and mules or hinnies have 63 chromosomes. Mules, hinnies, and other normally sterile interspecific hybrids cannot produce viable gametes, because differences in chromosome structure prevent appropriate pairing and segregation during meiosis , meiosis is disrupted, and viable sperm and eggs are not formed. However, fertility in female mules has been reported with

7482-422: Was done to define the relationships between different herds of bison in the United States and Canada, and to determine whether the bison at Wood Buffalo National Park and the Yellowstone bison herd were possibly separate subspecies, and not plains bison ( Bison bison bison ). Some scientists had previously suggested that the Yellowstone bison were either of the athabascae ( wood bison ) subspecies, or that they were

7569-539: Was in 1815 by Robert Wickliffe of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Wickliffe's experiments continued for up to 30 years. Another early deliberate attempt to cross-breed bison with cattle was made by Colonel Samuel Bedson, warden of Stoney Mountain Penitentiary , Winnipeg, in 1880. Bedson bought eight bison from a captive herd of James McKay and inter-bred them with Durham cattle . The hybrids raised by Bedson were described by naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton : The hybrid animal

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