Prioritizing revived species: what are the conservation management implications of de‐extinction?

Iacona, Gwenllian D.; Maloney, Richard F.; Chades, Iandine; Bennett, Joseph; Seddon, Philip J.; Possingham, Hugh P.

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12720

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…While this possibility is still being investigated, there is a body of scholars who believe that the ability to do this could be a reality within the next few decades (Diehm ; Iacona et al. ; Shapiro ). Although it would be impossible to create their exact genetic replicas, extinct species are being looked at for what is often termed “de‐extinction.” The ethics behind de‐extinction is being vigorously debated at the general theoretical scale (Diehm ; Martinelli, Oksanen, and Siipi ; Minteer ; Oksanen ; Oksanen and Siipi ).…”

Section: Tracking and Recovering Lost Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perhaps one of the most dramatic mitigation impacts that aDNA could have is reviving extinct species (Diehm 2015;Edwards 2015;Shapiro 2015;Sinding and Gilbert 2016). While this possibility is still being investigated, there is a body of scholars who believe that the ability to do this could be a reality within the next few decades (Diehm 2015;Iacona et al 2017;Shapiro 2017). Although it would be impossible to create their exact genetic replicas, extinct species are being looked at for what is often termed "de-extinction."…”

Section: "De-extinction" and Reclaiming Of Lost Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient DNA as a Tool for Navigating the Anthropocene

Hambrecht¹

2017

Culture Agric Food & Envi

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Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has led to significant breakthroughs in our understanding of the origin of our own species as well as that of many commensal and wild species. New approaches in aDNA research promise to make it a major tool for adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of the rapidly changing climates of the Anthropocene. This article reviews a number of these new lines of research and their current and potential future contributions to responding to climate change, particularly in two areas: the generation of deeper baseline data on ecological and environmental change, and the tracking and recovery of lost genetic diversity to strengthen the resilience of living species. The article argues that aDNA analysis is creating a powerful new pathway for archeology to engage with the challenges of the Anthropocene.

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Section: Tracking and Recovering Lost Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: "De-extinction" and Reclaiming Of Lost Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient DNA as a Tool for Navigating the Anthropocene

Hambrecht¹

2017

Culture Agric Food & Envi

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“…This should be considered especially if one believes that there can exist a trade-off (e.g. economic) between de-extinction and other conservation approaches (see Iacona et al 2016).…”

Section: A Conservation Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

De‐extinction and evolution

et al. 2016

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Summary1. De-extinction, the process of resurrecting extinct species, is in an early stage of scientific implementation. However, its potential to contribute effectively to biodiversity conservation remains unexplored, especially from an evolutionary perspective. 2. We review and discuss the application of the existing evolutionary conservation framework to potential de-extinction projects. We aim to understand how evolutionary processes can influence the dynamics of resurrected populations and to place de-extinction within micro-and macro-evolutionary conservation perspectives. 3. In programmes aiming to revive long-extinct species, the most important constraints to the short-term viability of any resurrected population are (i) their intrinsically low evolutionary resilience and (ii) their poor eco-evolutionary experience, in relation to the absence of (co)adaption to biotic and abiotic changes in the recipient environment. 4. Assuming that some populations of resurrected species can persist locally, they have the potential to bring substantial benefits to biodiversity if the time since initial extinction is short relative to evolutionary dynamics. The restoration of lost genetic information could lead, along with the reinstatement of lost ecological functions, to the restoration of some evolutionary patrimony and processes, such as adaptation and diversification. 5. However, substantial evolutionary costs might occur, including unintended eco-evolutionary changes in the local system and unintended spread of the species. Further, evolutionary benefits are limited because (i) the use of resurrected populations as 'evolutionary proxies' of extinct species is meaningless; (ii) their phylogenetic originality is likely to be limited by the selection of inappropriate candidate species and the fact that the original species might be those for which de-extinction is the most difficult to achieve practically; (iii) the resurrection of a few extinct species does not have the potential to conserve as much evolutionary history as traditional conservation strategies, such as the reduction of ongoing species declines and extinction debts. 6. De-extinction is a stimulating idea, which is not intrinsically antagonistic to the conservation of evolutionary processes. However, poor choice of candidate species, and most importantly, too long time scales between a species' extinction and its resurrection are associated with low expected evolutionary benefits and likely unacceptable eco-evolutionary risks.

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“…Namely, conservation geneticists routinely partner with conservation practitioners to develop management strategies that seek to maintain the EVOLUTIONARY POTENTIAL (see Glossary of Terms; Box 2) of translocated populations by minimising INBREEDING to avoid INBREEDING DEPRESSION and minimising the loss of GENETIC DIVERSITY via GENETIC DRIFT (Weeks et al 2011(Weeks et al , 2015Groombridge et al 2012;Jamieson & Lacy 2012;Keller et al 2012). Given that any successfully translocated populations of functional proxies are likely to be categorised as threatened (critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable) due to small population size or restricted range (IUCN/ SSC 2016), or at least managed as such Iacona et al 2017), it is logical to apply conservation genetic principles to increase the probability of their longterm persistence in the wild (Robert et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, our intention is not to advocate for 'hard and fast' rules, but to highlight that an extensive body of literature exists for maintaining genetically viable populations that is also relevant to the use of functional proxies as a conservation tool. Moreover, beyond identifying appropriate candidate species (Seddon, Moehrenschlager & Ewen 2014a;McCauley et al 2017;Wood, Perry & Wilmshurst 2017) and prioritising the use of limited resources (Donlan 2014;Bennett et al 2017;Iacona et al 2017), we posit that conservation genetic principles will need to be integral to the decisionmaking process around the creation and maintenance of functional proxies for the ecological benefit of de-extinction to be realised.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximising evolutionary potential in functional proxies for extinct species: a conservation genetic perspective on de‐extinction

2017

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Summary 1.De-extinction sensu stricto is the resurrection of phenotypic traits once possessed by extinct species to create extant functional proxies. To realise the ecological benefit of de-extinction, self-sustaining (genetically viable) populations of functional proxies are required. 2. It is often implied, yet rarely stated, that the genetic challenges associated with the survival and recovery of extant threatened species in an effort to conserve biodiversity are also relevant to the use of functional proxies of extinct species as a conversation tool. 3. Here, we highlight the importance of prioritising evolutionary potential À the capacity to evolve (adapt) in response to environmental change À in populations of functional proxies. 4. We use conservation genetic principles to describe impediments to the creation and maintenance of evolutionary potential as a series of potentially unavoidable genetic bottlenecks (preextinction, resurrection, captive, translocation). 5. To give any successfully translocated populations of functional proxies the best chance to survive beyond the first few generations in the wild, we advocate the use of a holistic framework that includes the creation of sufficiently large, genetically diverse populations that harbour the ability to adapt to a changing environment.

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Prioritizing revived species: what are the conservation management implications of de‐extinction?

Cited by 19 publications

References 56 publications

Ancient DNA as a Tool for Navigating the Anthropocene

Ancient DNA as a Tool for Navigating the Anthropocene

De‐extinction and evolution

Maximising evolutionary potential in functional proxies for extinct species: a conservation genetic perspective on de‐extinction

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