What does conserving an endangered species look like when its habitat is disappearing? This was the subject of a story I just listened to on NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/09/09/1198656904/endangered-species-and-climate-change
The story examined the endangered but recovering Key deer, a dwarf sub-species of white-tailed deer found only on the small islands of the Florida Keys. Because of their low elevation, which averages around 5-15ft above sea level, any encroachment of ocean water would spell disaster for anything that lives on these islands, including humans!
Human-caused climate change or global warming is the culprit. It is important for us to to accept that the oceans are expanding and will submerge many coastal areas, including our beloved Keys. This fact is irrefutable, and given our current technology, not something we can realistically avoid. Even if we were to cease fossil fuel emissions at this very moment, we've already set into motion sea level rise that will continue for centuries, if not millennia. I know this is a hard pill for us to stomach, but it is as true and predictable as tomorrow's sunrise.
There is, however, dispute about how quickly this will happen, but the fact that the sea has already risen around 6.5 inches since 1950 should be alarming, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. We should at least be having these uncomfortable discussions.
The ethical question raised in the interview was whether humans should take it upon themselves to save a doomed species like the Key Deer or let it go extinct.
Extinction has been happening since the dawn of life on Earth, and it is neither good nor bad. Yet it is as vital and intrinsic to our planet as evolution itself, and there is no denying large or mass extinction events have paved the way for new life forms to radiate and dominate the Earth. Would human evolution even be possible without the mass die-off of the dinosaurs that occurred 65 million years ago?
At no point in our Earth's inconceivably long history has another species been able to prevent the extinction of another.
But we humans have attained this power. We may even be on the cusp of resurrecting long-extinct species like wooly mammoths! Think about the possible future we could inhabit... Jurassic Park comes to mind!
But we could help the key deer by moving it to a more suitable habitat. However, as pointed out in the article, the Key deer's unique genetics will likely be diluted by hybridization with the more common forms of white-tailed deer present on the mainland. This may even happen naturally as it is conceivable that some key deer could theoretically swim across the shallow straits and naturally "migrate" to higher ground. Possible, but unlikely.
The fact that the key deer is "cute" and appeals to our bias toward beauty will certainly help it weather this storm. If we find value in a species, we are far more likely to put in the time and resources to help preserve it. Perhaps we will move these deer into a state of semi-domestication. I could foresee game parks or hunting estates breeding populations of miniature deer to provide for the recreation of affluent visitors. Perhaps the Key deer could become a new exotic pet for human enjoyment. Humm??
In conclusion, I'm not so much worried about species like the key deer. Their appeal to humans is obvious, but many organisms won't be so lucky! Many that are small or unappealing in some way will likely perish because we simply have to prioritize.
So, what are we to do? I for one, want us to do as much as we can with the powers of our species to save and preserve life. Biodiversity enriches our lives and can be beneficial to us in ways we currently don't understand. Therefore, I'm a strong proponent of moving climate-threatened species to new lands and giving them at least a small possibility of continued survival. But this will require a shift in our attitudes toward conservation. We must set aside the old ideas of traditional in-situ conservation and embrace more radical measures like assisted migration and gene editing because time is of the essence. Otherwise, we will lose countless ecosystems and species in the coming decades and centuries.
Do you feel we should intervene by moving species or whole food webs to new climates?
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