In recent decades, climate change has become a dramatic problem that has scientists and ecologists in panic. Global temperatures are fluctuating and increasing in severity due to human activity. The results of the climate change on species and ecosystems are the primary source of concern for most ecologists; animals such as the American pika and several tree species are some examples of species that may die out due to changes in climate that they require to survive. The concept of “assisted migration” emerged in order to preserve such species. Assisted migration is basically the idea where animals and plants would be moved to places where they would continue to live as Earth’s climate grows warmer. By doing this, people can help plants and animals that are not mobile enough to migrate upwards towards a better climate.
The process itself is not a far-fetched idea. It is relatively easy to move animals (aside from transportation laws) and simple to plant tress further north, but costly to implement. I feel that it might be a useful scientific tool in terms of preserving life, but the process itself does not seem to have any other scientific merit. Assisted migration may actually be detrimental to the goals of several scientists, ecologists, and conservationists. The limitations of assisted migration are lack of support from the majority of the scientific community and that there is little data on how species will interact with the new ecosystems. Many people believe that it goes against conservationism and the idea of the baseline and this method promotes human intervention. Potentially, assisted migration can cause more harm to an ecosystem compared to its benefits. Also, if it fails, then money would be wasted.
Overall, I feel like assisted migration is not the best idea. Since Earth’s climate is rapidly changing, would the process of assisted migration have to be repeated several times for a single species? There is also the issue of animals becoming invasive species if they adapt too well into the new ecosystem. The main problem is that there is not enough data or tests to determine the results of assisted migration. If, in the future, assisted migration is throughly tested and researched for minimal negative consequences, then I think assisted migration would be a useful scientific tool.
It might be very useful in regards to urban cities/environments, such as New York City metro area, where species richness is declining in several habitats. Since urbanization is reducing species richness, it might be beneficial to assist in the migration of several city species. On the other hand, there is always possibility that some species (like the exotic species that have increased in species richness) could be migrated into urban areas if the conditions are optimal for its survival. Assisted migration is an interesting concept that needs to be further developed, but can be a useful tool in specific environments.
