Species across the world are suffering losses as a result of Earth's changing climate, and possibly the only way to help them recover is via controversial methods, according to a new study.
Professor Philip Seddon of the University of Otago and his team explore the debated "conservation translocation" method, in which plants and animals are moved and released to re-establish new populations and combat biodiversity loss.
The researchers write that the traditional goals of "having self-sustaining wildlife populations within pristine landscapes untouched by human influence" are "increasingly unobtainable."
They instead suggest that creating "wildness" rather than restoring "wilderness" is the most practical way to move forward in rebuilding populations. This process may involve translocations to restore ecological processes, such as predator-prey interactions, within landscapes shared by humans and wildlife.
Currently the most widely used and seemingly more supported approach is simply reintroducing a species back to its native habitat, but unfortunately it has proved to be mostly ineffective.
"Also, such reintroductions are often biased towards 'charismatic' animals, such as large mammals, regardless of how endangered they are compared to other species," Seddon said in a press release.
Seddon and colleagues believe that the benefits of intervening using conservation translocation outweigh the possible ecological costs.
Experts continue to express concerns about certain controversial methods, such as "conservation introduction," meaning species are brought into areas outside of their historic range for conservation benefit.
It also included the contentious practice of ecological replacement, where a substitute species is brought in to take the place of a near-extinct species.
"Examples include the release of exotic species of giant tortoise to restore the grazing functions and seed dispersal lost through tortoise extinctions on islands in the Indian Ocean," Seddon explained.
Assisted colonization is also included in this controversial category. Species are moved outside their range to prevent extinction due to threats in their native habitat. Such has been done with the kakapo bird, brought to a predator-free area for its survival.
Though these types of translocation have good intentions, they still present many challenges.
Seddon concludes with this thought: "The prospect of bringing back extinct species through advanced technologies creates a further conundrum. If potential de-extinction of multiple species does become a reality, which species should be resurrected, and which habitats should they be introduced to?"
Researchers may have to find the answer to this question soon, because they may have to resort to such controversial restoration methods given that the world may be on the brink of another mass extinction event.
The study's findings were published in the journal Science.
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