are reintroductions a good idea?

[birdbrain]

I am currently undertaking a third year undergrad project on reintroduction programmes in the u.k. The problem is, the more I research, the more depressed I get! Are they really a drain on resources and time which would be better spent on holding on to the species we have left? Any thoughts gratefully received......

[Rhiaden]

They are conceptually a good idea, however, once the original species has been removed from the ecosystem, the system adapts to the removal, and overtime changes, predators that are lost are replaced etc.

 

If it is a reintroduction after a short time, it is more viable in my opinion, however, when speaking of reintroductions after decades or centuries, you are effectively introducing a foreign species.

 

Short term reintroduction can also fail, it depends on how swiftly the ecosystem responds to the change. If the species that was removed is a key part of the chain, especially at the base or top of the local food chain, then the system will replace them rapidly. Middle tier species may take longer to be replaced as there are likely to be others in the system that can move in.

 

A key example of short term loss appearing irrepairable is cod on the grand banks in Alaska. The species collapsed due to overfishing in the late 80s, early 90s if I recall, and although a moratorium was imposed on fishing to allow the stocks to recover, as yet, the levels have not started to increase again. Of course, there are always many reasons for lack of recovery.

 

One suggested reason is that what is now occurring is that fish that were previously the prey, are now feeding on the cod while they are still at the egg or early juvenile stage, therefore restricting the growth of the population. Previously, the numbers of this species would have been kept low due to predation from the cod, however, with the removal of the adult cod population, the prey population was able to grow, and the hunter is now the hunted, as the saying goes.

 

 

From a personal view, I would love to see reintroduction, for nostalgic purposes, but, for the reasons given above, and also because of the implications of introducing what has become a foreign species into a population, I am much more in favour of preventing the eradication in the first place.

[pioneer]

Part of the problem is genetic based evolution is too slow with respect to suddent changes in the environment. What would need to happen is the brain needs to take over to alter breeding behavior as one possible solution. The CPU of the brain is more in tune with the needs of real time, while monkey see and monkey do, will help others to learn.

 

Fish move like synchhronized swimmers in schools depending on signals from each other. But if they depend too much on waiting for the DNA to change, it could mean extinction. The DNA alone is not enough, when the other critters use their brains. The eggs eaters were smart with this eating behavior quickly learned by their team mates who see eating signals from others.

Edited November 12, 2010 by pioneer

[StringJunky]

If the potential extinction of a species is the consequence of human activity then I think we should endeavour to reintroduce it because there's a good probability we can correct the problem but if it's a consequence of some long term natural environmental /climatic change then it's probably pointless because, obviously, essential sustaining factors have diminished too much.

 

A case in point: The English Burbot has been extinct for about 40 years (this was the last confirmed sighting) and is a candidate for reintroduction using European stock. I can't find the article I'm referring to here but the Keeper of Fish at the Natural History Museum (retired consultant expert on fish) more or less poo pooed the idea arguing that the British climate was getting to warm and therefore they couldn't breed to self-sustaining levels...they need colder water than is available today here. Since I read that article The Dept For Environment Food and Rural Affairs scientists now agree with him apparently and do not support the idea but there are still some quarters that wish it to proceed.

 

My thinking here is against reintroduction to UK for the reasons already mentioned (makes sense to me) and also that particular species exists plentifully elsewhere in Europe. I don't see the point of artificially maintaining a species in a given locality, which would be the case with Burbot here in the long term due to ongoing climatic adversity, unless that particular species faces extinction on a global scale and its genome disappear forever....

Edited November 12, 2010 by StringJunky