Reflection on conservation of species populations


Picture from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/31/new-species-to-look-out-for-in-the-uk-in-2022-aoe

Humanity is currently accelerating the loss of biodiversity at a rate never seen before leading the academic community to discuss the potential entering into a anthropogenic induced "sixth mass extinction" (Ceballos 2015).

With such a phenomenon unwinding before us, new strategies are researched as pathways for the restoration of biodiversity (Drayton and Primack 2012). Reintroduction (often called relocation) is an increasingly more common practice, however, it encounters opposition and remains controversial for reasons related to preservation of ecological systems, loss of genetic variability, success rate of-transplantation, etc. (Drayton and Primack 2012). 


It is difficult to generalize on successful methodologies for species reintroduction as species specific characteristics (such as genetic diversity or life cycles) might make one strategy more successful than the other (Vasseur 2013). Moreover, it is important to consider the reasons for the translocation of species which must be clarified to be able to define the criteria and to ethically justify this approach (Vasseur 2013). 


Specifically for plant species reintroduction, the following parameters have been identified for positively influencing the outcomes: working in protected sites, using seedlings, increasing the number of reintroduced individuals, mixing material from diverse populations, using transplants from stable source populations, site preparation or management effort and knowledge of the genetic variation of the target species (Godefroid 2011).


When talking about animal species, to achieve successful species reintroduction there is a need of more precise quantitative evaluations and assessments of milestones in order to provide defensible estimates of biological success (Muths 2014). One common practice is to utilize captive-bred individuals for supplementation which would however require further investigation into the adoption of correct strategies for a positive outcome, for example tackling the high mortality rate deriving from the exposure to parasite load (Faria 2010).


Population models can be a great tool in predicting the potential reintroduction impacts of an extinct or new species in a specific ecosystem as they would assess the future dynamics and effects of one species towards the others (Baker 2019).


Reintroduction of species can also be viewed from the perspective of a One Plan Approach integrating in-situ and ex-situ strategies for effective conservation action (Schwartz 2017). This would require Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) to predict extinction risk under current conditions and assess differing management strategies (Schwartz 2017). With an integration of data management in a centralized database we would be able to create a holistic overview of all conservation processes in order to be able to facilitate adaptive management through a strong evidence baseline (Schwartz 2017).


In such way we would be able as well to limit the negative aspects of independent in-situ and ex-situ practices, such as deriving from areas with high environmental and societal pressures for the former, and restrictions on costs, risks and research for the latter (Zegeye 2017). The integrated ex-situ and in-situ strategies targeted at specific species and based on strong data assumptions would allow an improved selection of conservation actions.

 

References:


Gerardo Ceballos et al., (2015), Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction, Sci. Adv.1

Drayton, B., and Primack, R.B. (2012) Success Rates for Reintroductions of Eight Perennial Plant Species after 15 Years, Restoration Ecology, 20: 299-303

Vasseur, L. (2013), Reintroduction of species at risk: learning from the past to plan for the future, Botany, 91(5)

Sandrine Godefroid et al., (2011), How successful are plant species reintroductions?, Biological Conservation 144(2)

Baker, C. M., et al. (2019), A novel approach to assessing the ecosystem-wide impacts of reintroductions, Ecological Applications, 29(1), 1–12

Erin Muths, (2014), Animal reintroductions: An innovative assessment of survival, Biological Conservation 172

Schwartz, K.R., et al, (2017), Integrating in-situ and ex-situ data management processes for biodiversity conservation, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 5 

Zegeye, H., (2017), In situ and ex situ conservation: Complementary approaches for maintaining biodiversity, IJRES 4 

Patricia Faria, (2010), Optimal release strategies for captive-bred animals in reintroduction programs: Experimental infections using the guppy as a model organism, Biological Conservation 143(1)


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