2009/04/07

Conservation delimma

Dr. Donald Strong from UC Davis gave a very interesting talk on an invasive plant for our department seminar today. In addition to the ecology and evolution of this plant species, I found the implication on conservation very thought provoking.

So you have a new invasive species coming in and taking over everything, needless to say, many other species in the ecosystem are affected by these drastic changes. Now the problem is this: there are two endangered species of birds involved, one being harmed and the other being helped by these changes. You get rid of the invasive plant, one of the birds goes back to its old miserable way of life; you let the invasive plant goes unchecked, the other bird is going to suffer. It is like asking whether you are going to save your son or daughter. No really an easy question and probably have no good answer.

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