Pleistocene rewilding

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Megafauna of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe

Pleistocene rewilding is the advocacy of the reintroduction of extant

rewilding
, which aims to restore functioning, self-sustaining ecosystems through practices that may include species reintroductions.

Towards the end of the

ungulates under control.[3]

Paul S. Martin (originator of the Pleistocene overkill hypothesis[4]) states that present ecological communities in North America do not function appropriately in the absence of megafauna, because much of the native flora and fauna evolved under the influence of large mammals.[5][6]

Ecological and evolutionary implications

Research shows that

collapse.[7][8] Most living megafauna are threatened or endangered; extant megafauna have a significant impact on the communities they occupy, which supports the idea that communities evolved in response to large mammals. Pleistocene rewilding could "serve as additional refugia to help preserve that evolutionary potential" of megafauna.[8] Reintroducing megafauna to North America could preserve current megafauna, while filling ecological niches that have been vacant since the Pleistocene.[9]

Climate implications

critically endangered
species globally.

By restoring large herbivores, greenhouse gas levels may be lowered.

nutrient cycling, which may increase local plant productivity, and maintain ecosystem productivity specifically in grassy biomes.[10][11] Megafauna also aid with carbon storage. The loss of megafauna that eat fruits may be responsible for up to a 10% reduction in carbon storage in tropical forests.[10]

Sergey Zimov, a Russian scientist and proponent of Pleistocene rewilding, argues that it could restore the mammoth steppe ecosystem and thus slow the melting of the Arctic permafrost and give the world more time to respond to climate change.[12] He holds that the mammoth steppe collapsed because of overhunting by humans rather than natural climate change, and has established Pleistocene Park in Siberia and Wild Field in European Russia to test grassland restoration through reintroducing mammoth steppe animals and proxies for them.[13][14]

saigas, wood bison, and Siberian tigers.This project remains controversial — a letter published in Conservation Biology
accused the Pleistocene camp of promoting "Frankenstein ecosystems", stating that 'the biggest problem is not the possibility of failing to restore lost interactions, but rather the risk of getting new, unwanted interactions instead.'

Criticism

The main criticism of the Pleistocene rewilding is that it is unrealistic to assume that communities today are functionally similar to their state 10,000 years ago. Opponents argue that there has been more than enough time for communities to evolve in the absence of megafauna, and thus the reintroduction of large mammals could thwart ecosystem dynamics and possibly cause collapse. Under this argument, the prospective taxa for reintroduction are considered exotic and could potentially harm natives of North America through invasion, disease, or other factors.[1]

Opponents of Pleistocene rewilding present an alternative conservation program, in which more recent North American natives will be reintroduced into parts of their native ranges where they became extinct during historical times.[1] Another method of Pleistocene rewilding is by using de-extinction, bringing extinct species back to life through cloning.[15]

Pleistocene rewilding on mainlands

Europe

This plan was considered by Josh Donlan and Jens-C. Svenning, and involves (as in rewilding North America) creating a Pleistocene habitat in portions of Europe. Svenning claims that "Pleistocene Rewilding can be taken for consideration outside of North America". [

eastern and southern Carpathians as particular targets.[16]

The proxies which may be used for this project(s) are:

Animals already introduced

European Bison

Animals with existing populations that are expanding

Extinct species with domestic descendants

Species still extant outside Europe

  • Asian black bear (Until the late Pleistocene, Europe had two subspecies of its own, Ursus thibetanus mediterraneus in western Europe and the Caucasus as well as Ursus thibetanus permjak in eastern Europe, especially the Ural mountains)
  • Asian elephant (Proxy for the extinct Straight-tusked elephant, also historically present in Turkey. The Randers Tropical Zoo in Denmark plans on using Asian elephants on a small scale local rewilding project)[21][22]
  • European cave lion
    .)
  • Dhole (Occurred during Late-Glacial Period)
  • Dromedary camel (could act as a proxy for the extinct European camels
    )
  • Hippopotamus (Occurred in Europe during the Pleistocene; suitable in warmer parts of Europe)
  • Onager (also recently extinct in Eastern Europe)
  • Persian leopard (Leopards thrived in Europe until the end of the Pleistocene and are still present in the Caucasus
    .)
  • Saiga antelope (present in Eastern Europe until recently)
  • Spotted hyena (Last occurrence during the Late-Glacial Period)
  • Merck's rhinoceros)[23]

Northern Siberia

reintroduction
program in Sakha Republic.

The aim of Siberian Pleistocene rewilding is to recreate the ancient

wisent were reintroduced. Reintroduction is also planned for yak, Bactrian camels, snow sheep, Saiga antelope, and Siberian tigers
.

The

Edmonton, Alberta to Yakutsk
. Now they live in the government-run Ust'-Buotama reserve.

Animals already introduced

  • Bactrian camel
  • Domestic Yak
    Six domestic yak were brought to Pleistocene Park in 2017. It turned out that two of the Yaks were pregnant so now there are eight Yak in Pleistocene Park.
  • Taimyr Peninsula and on Wrangel Island)[25]
  • Wood bison (As a proxy for the extinct Steppe bison)[26]
  • Yakutian horse (A group of these horses were brought to Pleistocene Park to replace the extinct horses)

Considered for reintroduction

Asia

Animals already introduced

Considered for reintroduction

North America

Prezwalski's horse
.

Possible animals for reintroduction

Pleistocene rewilding aims at the promotion of extant fauna and the reintroduction of extinct genera in the southwestern and central

shrub-land and provide the habitat required for the herbivores set for reintroduction. Other large tortoise species might later be introduced to fill the role of various species of Hesperotestudo
. However, to be successful, ecologists must first support fauna already present in the region.

The pronghorn, which is extant in most of the west after almost becoming extinct, is crucial to the revival of the ancient ecosystem. Pronghorns are native to the region, which once supported large numbers of the species and extinct relatives of the same family. It would occupy the Great Plains and other arid regions of the west and southwest.

The plains bison and the wood bison numbered in the millions during the Pleistocene and most of the Holocene, until European settlers drove them to near-extinction in the late 19th century. The plains bison has made a recovery in many regions of its former range, and is involved in several local rewilding projects across the Midwestern United States.

Distributions of some of today's arctic species and their relatives were much broader during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene; reindeer reached as far as southern United States, and close relatives of muskox (Bootherium and Euceratherium) extended to southern United States and Mexico. Hence reindeer and muskox might be able to inhabit northern portions of central North America.

Bighorn sheep and mountain goats are already present in the surrounding mountainous areas and therefore should not pose a problem in rewilding more mountainous areas. Mountain goats are already being introduced to areas formerly occupied by Oreamnos haringtoni, a more southern relative that went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene. Reintroducing extant species of deer to the more forested areas of the region would be beneficial for the ecosystems they occupy, providing rich nutrients for the forested regions and helping to maintain them. These species include elk, white-tailed and mule deer.

Herbivorous species considered beneficial for the regional ecosystems include the collared peccary, a species of pig-like ungulate that was abundant in the Pleistocene. Although this species (along with the flat-headed and long-nosed peccaries) is extinct in many regions of North America, their relatives survive in Central and South America and the collared peccary can still be found in southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Chacoan peccary, which is morphologically very similar to the flat-headed peccary, might be able to replace it in areas of the Great Plains and the South.

Horses originated in North America and spread to Asia via the Ice Age

wolves.[34]

Alongside the wild horse, camels evolved in the drier regions of North America. Although camelids are extinct in North America, they have survived in South America until today: the

wolves and lions.[40] The main predator of guanacos and vicuñas is the cougar.[41]

The mountain tapir

During the Pleistocene, a species of

Predators of mountain tapirs include cougars, bears, and, less commonly, jaguars.[42]
Good introduction areas might include forested ecosystems of the west and east coasts, and the more scrub-like or wetland ecosystem of the south.

During the Pleistocene, large populations of

American mastodon. The mastodons all became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era, as did the mammoths of North America. However, an extant relative of the mammoth is the Asian elephant. It now resides only in tropical southeastern Asia, but the fossil record shows that it was much more widespread, living in temperate northern China as well as the Middle East (an area bearing an ecological similarity to the southern and central United States). The Asian elephant is possibly a good candidate for Pleistocene rewilding in North America. Asian elephants would do well in the environments previously occupied by the Columbian mammoth. African elephants
have also been suggested for introduction into North America.

Several species of capybaras were present in North America until the late Pleistocene. Today, feral population(s) of capybara inhabit Florida[43] while breeding has not been confirmed yet. These feral animals potentially fill ecological niches of extinct capybaras,[44] and further surveys are recommended.

Pleistocene America boasted a wide variety of dangerous carnivores (most of which are extinct today), such as the

African lion could act as a proxy for the Pleistocene American lion, they could be introduced to keep the numbers of American bison
, equids, and camelids in check.

South America

Pleistocene rewilding of parts of Brazil and other parts of the Americas was proposed by Brazilian ecologist

extinct megafauna) to private lands in the Brazilian Cerrado and other parts of the Americas. Paul S. Martin made a similar argument in favour of taxon reaplacement, suggesting that the megafauna of North America which became extinct after the arrival of humans (e.g., mastodons, mammoths, ground sloths, and smilodons) could be replaced with species which have similar ecological roles.[46]

Pleistocene rewilding on island landmasses

Megafauna that arose on insular landmasses were especially vulnerable to human influence because they evolved in isolation from other landmasses, and thus were not subjected to the same selection pressures that surviving fauna were subject to, and many forms of insular megafauna were wiped out after the arrival of humans. Therefore, scientists have suggested introducing closely related taxa to replace the extinct taxa. This is being done on several islands, with replacing closely related or ecologically functional giant tortoises to replace extinct giant tortoises.[47]

For example, the

Makauwahi Cave Reserve in Hawaii, exotic tortoises are being used as a replacement for the extinct moa-nalo,[51] a large flightless duck hunted to extinction by the first Polynesians to reach Hawaii. The grazing habits of these tortoises control and reduce the spread of invasive plants, and promote the growth of native flora.[52]

Australia

Animals already introduced

Expanding populations

Extant outside Australia

  • Western long-beaked echidna (specimen collected in the early 20th century in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, a possible relic population continues to exist there)
  • Dwarf cassowary
  • Northern cassowary
  • Komodo dragon (also potentially serves as proxy for Megalania)
  • New Zealand pigeon
    (endemic race was exterminated on Lord Howe Island)
  • New Zealand kaka
    (proxy for the Norfolk kaka that was exterminated on Norfolk Island)

Considered for reintroduction

Introduced species as alternative proxy for extinct fauna

There have been discussions that introduced exotic faunas, most notably the

Dromedary camel as proxy for Diprotodon and Palorchestes, may fill empty niches of extinct faunas hence some promote conservation of these animals rather than eradication.[44][56][57][58]

British Isles

See also: Rewilding Britain

Animals already introduced (including semi-wild animals)

See also: Deer of Great Britain

Considered for reintroduction

Japan

Animals already introduced

Considered for reintroduction

  • Dugong (to save functionally extinct, northernmost population)[72]
  • Bungo-ōno, but it is a highly controversial topic)[73][74]
    。

Madagascar

Animals already introduced

Maritime Southeast Asia

Considered for reintroduction

Sri Lanka

Considered for reintroduction

Wrangel Island

Animals already introduced

See also

References

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External links

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