Saving Species As World Warms May Mean Moving Them To New Locales

When species are stranded in ever-shrinking habitats by climate change, humans may need to step in and move them to safety, an international team of researchers says in a study in Science. The scientists from Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. outlined a series of escalating steps that could be taken to prevent species from going extinct in the face of rapid warming. These include the creation of more parks and protected areas, the removal of species to zoos, and preserving species in gene or seed banks. But if these steps prove to be inadequate, the scientists argue that translocating species is a serious option. While noting that heedless translocation of species has created many problems in the past, including the introduction of invasive species, the scientists maintain that so-called “assisted colonization” within a country or certain regions can be accomplished without creating significant ecological disturbance.