In Chapter 5 of “Rambunctious Garden”, Emma Marris introduces the assisted migration to the readers. This assisted migration refers to a process when the humans boost up the migration of the animals (80). The natural migrations of the animals happen slowly, and for immediate effects, humans assist the migration of the animals. Climate change lays key role to the animal’s migration and since the changes are slow, it make the natural migration of the species slow as well. However, the species had to migrate due to urbanization in their natural habitat. Basically, what the ecologists and conservationists are trying to do is placing species in new natural habitat hoping it will adapt to the new environment and prosper.
So, the question is will the assisted migration work? I will say both yes and no but more to the no-side. The idea is feasible if the scientists do enough research and know the consequence of the assisted migration. If the assisted migration is carried out successfully, it will create ultimate way to preserve and conserve natural species. However, the consequence of the assisted migration is currently unknown.
It seems like there are more foreseeable negative consequence of assisted migration. I believe that the animals are capable to find new habitat by themselves. The birds change their migration sites when they know there usual site is unbearable for them. In Puth&Burns article, the authors agreed that the urbanization had so many consequences upon us. I think that current ecosystem cannot bear any failed conservationist project. We must be careful because the assisted migration will change the natural ecosystem of introduced site. “Organisms could die, because you don’t know exactly what they need to live-some specific microbes or microclimatic condition’”(77) Additionally, if the species failed to adapt to the introduction site due to food, climate, or other traits, it will create more problems in the ecosystem such as emergence of invasive species.
Humans cannot change the Earth. There are more regulation and consequences to change current ecosystem. As I always say, the most important thing is to avoid anymore further damage to the ecosystem such as extinction of species. The Earth and species will recover someday if humans do not damage it furthermore.
