"Maybe it's time to coin a new term," said Stanley Temple a long-time conservation biologist who played key roles in preventing species such as the Peregrine Falcon and Whooping Crane from going extinct. We were already well into the 'Why & Why Not' portion of TEDxDeExtinction on Friday, March 15, and it was clear that Temple, the man who occupied Aldo Leopold's chair at the University of Wisconsin for 32 years, has deep reservations about reversing extinction through genetic engineering. But he also clearly believes that conservation biologists need to be part of developments as the quest to revive extinct species inevitably moves forward. Thus his proposed new term: "Resurrection Ecology."
After listening to 6 hours of TEDxDeExtinction presentations last Friday, my head was spinning with gripping stories of charismatic and extinct species such as the Thylacine (a meat-eating marsupial-its name means dog-headed, pouched one), the biological, ethical and political dilemmas of "bringing back" species, and descriptions of the genetic techniques underway to make this is a reality. Several themes threaded throughout the event. Here are two of them that are closely intertwined: 1. A strong concern that revival of extinct species could make current efforts to save endangered species even harder, and 2. The potential for gene technology to help save today's endangered species. To the first theme: "We've got our hands full" trying to save what's still here now, said Stanley Temple. Temple, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, is worried that de-extinction efforts could destabilize already difficult conservation efforts. We already have a tendency to rely on technological "fixes", he said. If extinction isn't forever, then the attitude could become, 'let it go extinct, we can always bring it back later.' To read the rest of this EcoTone post see: http://www.esa.org/esablog/research/conservation/reviving-extinct-genetic-diversity-resurrection-ecology/ Nadine Lymn ESA Director of Public Affairs Washington DC 20036 (202) 833-8773 x205 https://twitter.com/esa_org https://www.facebook.com/esa.org
