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Origin matters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

MARCEL REJMÁNEK*
Affiliation:
Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
DANIEL SIMBERLOFF
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
*
*Correspondence: Professor Marcel Rejmánek Tel: +1 530 752 1092 e-mail: mrejmanek@ucdavis.edu

Summary

Van der Wal et al. (2015) (henceforth VdW) attempted to evaluate the degree to which the geographical origin of a species shapes people's attitudes towards conservation management decisions. Based on questionnaire surveys of the general public and experts from Scotland and Canada, the authors perceive “widespread use of the label ‘non-native’ as a proxy for harmfulness” and a species' origin as being used as shorthand for “harmfulness” (pp. 349 & 352). However, the authors cited by VdW do not take such a categorical view. Invasions of non-native species are also often just symptoms, not causes of human-created environmental changes. VdW focus on well-known species with long introduction histories for which the potential abundance and impact can plausibly be judged by experts and the public alike. However, when a decision is to be made regarding whether a non-native taxon that is not yet present in the local biota should be introduced, or whether a recently established and geographically restricted but spreading non-native taxon should be controlled, the taxon's origin should be a primary component in the decision-making process.

Type
Comment
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2016 

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