Two papers on a couple of high-profile rewilding-related cases in Spain showing the importance of historical ecology in informing conservation. Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain 🌍 🧪 #bioinvasions conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... - ThreadSky

pablo-ecology.bsky.social • 98 days ago

Two papers on a couple of high-profile rewilding-related cases in Spain showing the importance of historical ecology in informing conservation. Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain 🌍 🧪 #bioinvasions https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.13221

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theresahenke.bsky.social•92 days ago

A few years ago, European bison was reintroduced in the area I grew up in in Germany. It was not a very well thought through process and caused a lot of issues socially :(

nestorfdez.bsky.social•93 days ago

There are different perspectives on what should be the goals of rewilding. A focus on degraded ecological processes and restoring ecological complexity is key (the bison paper does not pay sufficient attention to such discussion). https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2017.0433

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•93 days ago

Thanks - it's good to see a consistent and comprehensive set of criteria. How do you reconcile the release of species whose past status in an area is unclear with the 'harmful invasive species' pressure/state variable?

nestorfdez.bsky.social•93 days ago

I guess you refer to the very specific case of bison in Iberian Peninsula. I don't think that calling it a 'harmful invasive species' resolves the debate -I doubt such an argument can be sustained. A different discussion is if the action is justified from a conservation / restoration perspectives

nestorfdez.bsky.social•93 days ago

I wrote about the need for a pragmatic use of rewilding a while ago: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12374

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•93 days ago

I agree with you! In particular, '[...] rewilding is not a synonym of stunning introductions: translocations in rewilding need to be considered as a supporting tool rather than as a final goal, and should be primarily guided by the ecological roles of species in communities and ecosystems [...]'

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•93 days ago

I am not referring to any case in particular. The paper you linked includes 'harmful invasive species' as a criterion, and there are rewilding projects that involve releasing species whose native status is unclear

olliewearn.bsky.social•98 days ago

Having visited the Prehistoric Park in Taverga, I'm interested to read this!

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

I am a tad sceptical of rewilding because there seems to be a gulf between theory and practice, and it is sometimes used as an excuse to release stuff. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320723004238

theorecol.bsky.social•98 days ago

One might argue that this gulf applies to much applied conservation, which has only recently embraced evidence-based planning (tho' this might not = theory).
But watch this space! (i.e., a draft paper coming from this programme, hopefully submitted early next year).

https://www.icms.org.uk/RewildingMathematics

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•97 days ago

Sounds great - I look forward to reading your paper!

olliewearn.bsky.social•98 days ago

I don't have access - do you have a pdf?

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

Yes, I can send you a pdf

olliewearn.bsky.social•98 days ago

Yeah I've heard things have become heated in Argentina. But perhaps less the case elsewhere?

Personally, I'm rather enchanted with the bold vision & ambition of rewilding, the whole-systems thinking, & the focus on processes (the 'story') rather than what species are present per se (the 'actors').

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

I really like the ideas and objectives! However, my impression is that it is often used as an excuse to release charismatic animals based on rather flimsy evidence.

olliewearn.bsky.social•98 days ago

Whilst I don’t know the specifics of the case around the guanacos/Argentina, I think we’re definitely in agreement that sound evidence and proper consultation (amongst other things) are critical for any releases/reintroductions!

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

E.g., https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.13031

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

Moreover, finding adequate analogous species that perform ecological functions similar to extinct species is challenging and can lead to perverse outcomes https://theconversation.com/despite-the-myth-deer-are-not-an-ecological-substitute-for-moa-and-should-be-part-of-nzs-predator-free-plan-187840

jurassicparks.bsky.social•96 days ago

Curious about Argentina. I saw some rewilded areas but didn’t stay long enough to hear about how people felt. Any more info you might have?

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•96 days ago

My impression is that it's quite controversial, perhaps even fueled by some 'green colonialism' undertones https://agendarweb.com.ar/2023/07/13/la-ong-rewilding-fundacion-tompkins-amenaza-judicialmente-a-cientificos-argentinos/

jurassicparks.bsky.social•96 days ago

Wow. Very interesting. Thank you!

lamosena.bsky.social•98 days ago

An excuse to release animals under weak or very weak ecological and ethical arguments, only to financially profit from tourism. It boils down to this in many "rewilding"?? initiatives.

whiterabbit36.bsky.social•98 days ago

Hace unos años hicimos una revisión sistemática de los fósiles de una montonera de sitios con posibilidades de tener bonasus por encargo del Ministerio. Habría sido una buena oportunidad para aportar esos datos (personalmente habría estado encantado).

whiterabbit36.bsky.social•98 days ago

En cualquier caso una buena propuesta multidisciplinar. Muy interesante!!

pablo-ecology.bsky.social•98 days ago

Until when did beavers historically inhabit the Iberian Peninsula? The importance of consulting primary sources to avoid errors in historical ecology 🧪🌍 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2023.2297908

agrimonyspikes.bsky.social•97 days ago

#conservationscience

xabiervp.bsky.social•98 days ago

📌

elsapopartero.bsky.social•97 days ago

This article is well documented and robust, but it's wrong in its initial assumption. Rewilding projects in Spain doesn't try to restore the ecological role of B. priscus, but B. schoetensacki. In this latter case, its introduction in the IP makes complete sense.

elsapopartero.bsky.social•97 days ago

A different topic is that there's no any real rewilding project in the IP, as all of them are enclosed.

miluelbarbaro.bsky.social•98 days ago

I hope they never will. Honestly, the people who wants to see bisons roaming in the Iberian peninsula should put their efforts on preseving the species where actually is, and help them to recover and expand on their own

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