After reading about Pleistocene rewilding, another idea has been introduced that considers moving species: assisted migration. Assisted migration moves species in response to climate changes. Around the world, changes include the amount of rain pouring in areas (increasing or decreasing), the timing of flowers blooming. The effect of climate changes will cause species will have to move to different places at different times they are used to, meaning species will have to adapt to these changes. As always, some will die and some will survive through the process of natural selection.

The author stated the first species to be extinct would be mountain species because of poleward changes, there would be less area on the mountain to live on. Some people will think to move the species to another mountaintop but there’s come the argument that they are invasive and that unknown results will come from it.

The two viewpoints as to if assisted migration are the following: Humans caused the climate change so by moving species and saving them from extinction are doing good. However, to conservationists, it is important that if a species is not native then it can’t live in that area. Baselines can’t be changed easily.

In an urban ecology, I believe assisted migration would be a good idea depending on certain circumstances. If a species was on the risk of extinction, easy to transport, and brings benefits to the city or the area, I believe it is reasonable to do it. Biodiversity does seem to be lacking in cities. While adding aesthetic value to the city, it will awesome attract more people to the city. However, what species to include is most important.

The truth of the matter is we don’t always know if a certain species will be able to grow in an area. Experiments can be run to see what is suitable where but according the book, some studies take years or decades to show results. That means certainty over whether it will work or not can only be implemented years later. To only get the truth years or decades later is too long to wait. We must make a choice as to whether or not assisted migration should be a course of action to take.

Assisted migration seems to me to be a useful method for the biodiversity of urban ecology. Although people might argue these species are invasive, there many species in New York City that were invasive before adapting to the climate. If there are some benefits, why not try this method?

One of the biggest threats to many species caused by human is global warming. It is a result of human burning fossil fuel, thus increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Certain species can only survive under specific range of temperatures. However, as the climate continues to increase, many species are facing potential possibilities of extinction.

At the beginning of the chapter five of the book Rambunctious Garden, Marris gives an example of how global warming affects certain species. As the climate keep getting warmer, American pikas have to move to the top of the mountains to stay cooler. However, for some of them who are already at the top of the mountain, they have nowhere to go. “The animal could never migrate on its own; the trip down to the lowlands to get to the next mountain would kill it (Marris 106).” Scientists feel that human have the responsibility to clean up the mess that they produced; therefore, they came up with the idea of assisted migration, which is basically moving species to a place before it gets too warm. As human are burning more fossil fuels to become powerful, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere raises dramatically, as a result; the temperature increases every years. It becomes harder for plants and other animals to live in this heated world. According to scientist many plants and animals can only live within certain range of temperature and climate patterns, therefore a lot of them are expected to move to other places. Assisted migration seems like a very good idea, it is somewhat similar to the concept of rewilding, which is the idea of reintroducing similar species into an area, and to restore ecosystem back to 10,000 years ago, before human intervention. Marris talks about two different type of migration. The first one is upward migration, which is simply moving species up to the top of the mountain, to help them stay cooler. “Many range shifts for individual species have already been documented. University of Exeter biologist Robert Jon Wilson found that in the Sierra de Guadarramas in central Spain butterfly ranges have shifted, on average, 200 meters uphill in the last thirty-five years (Marris 109).” Although research shows that species are already moving upward, the problem with that is when all the species are moving up, then there will be a great competition of food, space and air at the top of the mountain. Eventually some of the species live at the top of the mountain are going to be extinct. Not only there is upward migration, scientists also recorded the pole-ward migration. Data from the studies of butterflies suggests that these butterflies didn’t just move up, approximately 63 percent of them also move 20 to 150 miles north since 1900 (Marris 110).

Although assisted migration may temporarily save some endangered species from getting extinct, its long-term effect is still unpredictable. I don’t think assisted migration is a good idea to save the species from getting extinct because we have no idea how these species are going to behave in the new area. As some people argue, these species may become invasive ones, which may resulted in losing even more native species.

The concept discussed in chapter 5 is assisted migration, which is exactly what it sounds like. It involves humans helping animals/plants migrate into lands better suited for their survival. Marris specifically focuses on those organisms that have been affected by man-driven climate change and need to find more suitable places to live. It is not a bad idea, to think of ourselves as superheroes and step in to help fix the problems we have caused.
The question I would like to ask most is, if this becomes an accepted practice, how much responsibility are we willing to take on? If climate change is to continue, weather will become more unpredictable and the world’s average temperature even warmer. Once we start assisted migration projects, would we not have to watch over them for years? And what happens to  those creatures that finally have no cooler place to go? Yes, it is true that humans have interrupted Nature’s ways and are only recently realizing a full load of regret. The idea that we should continue intervening to correct our past interventions seems off. They will only serve to further involve us in projects for which it will be difficult to take full responsibility. Trying to fix one thing will lead us to trying to fix another, and honestly the idea of widespread assisted migration reminded me of plastic surgery addicts and their horrific resulting faces.
Considering the fact that plants and animals alike have been moving on their own, inching into outer regions of their habitat, assisted migration would only be a “speeding up” of the same natural process. Or so Marris claims. The truth is, this is far from natural. It is physically impossible for us to pay attention to every species that needs moving. As a result, we will only focus on those that are of value to us. This is a guess on my part, but wouldn’t those who would have enough economic punch to easily carry out projects most likely be large companies and corporations? Corporations, which tend to favor short-term results and profit, are not likely to take care of preserving ecosystems or taking the care necessary in such intervention.
The problem with only moving specific species feels like another layer of trouble. Animals and plants don’t exist in isolated conditions. It simply isn’t enough to have the right abiotic conditions of temperature, precipitation, etc. to promise a healthy life (but not too thriving lest it become invasive). Natural wildlife is connected in a great web of interplay, some of which are not obvious to us.
Despite these arguments (among others…), I do think assisted migration may not be a bad idea under certain circumstances. It may not be feasible for some areas, but perhaps the NYmetro can benefit from the increased biodiversity. I am simply wary of the matters of who is taking the responsibility and making the decisions about the relocation of the organisms.

In chapter five of Rambunctious Garden, Emma Marris introduces the idea of assisted migration to her readers. Assisted migration is the idea of moving a species from one area to another for new hopes that they would strive in that area. This idea, unlike rewilding, has to do with the preservation of a species rather than an environment. Such idea was brought to action due to the climate changes and global warming situation. In the book, an example of the American pika was given. Because the temperature have been rising, the American pikas are forced to climb higher and higher into the mountain for their survival. But what happens when they reach the top, and cannot go and higher? They must simply hope for the best to survive the heat because that possesses a less of a risk than them going down the mountain to migrate to a different area. This is why the idea of assisted migration was brought up.

Although this seems like a good idea, because it seems like this is the only way humans can help these species when they were the one who caused this change, it can actually do more harm than good. One problem is the survival rate. How can we be certain that these species will live successfully in their new environment? What if they die out quicker in their new environment than at their old one? A lot of research would have to go into this, and even if there is a small change of dying out, it will still pose as a risk. Another problem is the possibly of the new species taking over the already inhabited species of the environment. The new species could pose as a threat to the ones already there, and squeeze them out. This would completely lose the point of the assisted migration in the first place for although they are helping one species, they are harming one or more others.

For assisted migration to be successful, positives MUST exceed the negatives substantially, and should only be performed if the chance of extinction of a species is high. The time, research, investment, and workload that would have to go in completely moving a whole species in an environment is an immense amount of work that must be carefully thought through before implementing. And because of the lack of information that we have, or can acquire, it will be risky as to say that our statistics and sources are accurate. The information that we have on the target species and the environment would have to be accurate and extensive as well.

Overall, I think, if implemented correctly and carefully, assisted migration would be a very great plan. However, as humans, the chance of failure holds us back from completely supporting this idea. But with the information, time, investment, and help, this idea can bring about to a whole new way of conserving species.

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.

Emma Marris discusses the topic of assisted migration in Chapter 5 of her book, “Rambunctious Garden.” Because of problems with climate change, many species will have difficulty adapting to the changing environments around them. This may cause extinction of the species since many animals are unable to migrate or relocate to a new ecosystem. There may be “barriers in the way” preventing them from moving, including seas and cities to block an animal’s migration path and even a road could be a hindrance to small animals (75). Some species might also not be capable of moving large distances in order to move to an environment better suited for them. Assisted migration may be a solution to such problems, and it involves humans transporting a species into a new area for them to continue to survive. As Sally Aitken, professor of forestry genetics says, “Assisted migration is going to be necessary to save some species” (94). Whether or not ecologists are willing to undertake assisted migration is another question. It is impossible to transport every single species in an area and there are several other problems associated with assisted migration. The species being moved might not be able to adapt to the other environment, perhaps because of an unobserved element such as “specific soil microbes or microclimatic condition” (77). The results are unpredictable and an assisted migration might not save the species. The relocated species could also potentially harm the new ecosystem by becoming an invasive species and pushing out the native ones (77). Another problem encountered by assisted migration is the high cost of transporting the species.

While there may be some problems and difficulties with assisted migration, it can also be a useful tool for urban ecosystems. As Marris points out, “Surely assisted migration of these ecosystems would just be a continuation of the care our species has put into them for thousands of years” (87). Since humans have already been interfering with ecosystems, assisting the migration of several species in order to save them sounds reasonable, especially in urban ecosystems, where the number of species is declining.
“Most of those that did report data over time showed declines in species richness [in the Metropolitan New York area],” explained Linda Puth and Catherine Burns in their paper, “New York’s Nature: a review of the status and trends in species richness across the metropolitan region.” There is a large downtrend in the variety of species of many animals, most often in a native species (Puth, Burns 21). Assisted migration could help restore the species richness in an area by bringing a species to a certain area where it will prosper. Thus assisted migration may be a helpful tool in saving species by improving their living conditions, yet there are also several risks involved that should also be taken into consideration.

Following the concept of “rewilding,” Marris brings forth another controversial conservation idea: assisted migration. While rewilding attempts to recreate environments without human impact, assisted migration tries to help species shift to from rapidly warming places, mainly as a result of global warming, to more suitable climates. An argument for assisted migration is that global warming is changing the climate faster than species can migrate and adapt, thus causing them to die out quickly. Although assisted migration involves human inference, it seems like a plausible way to help prevent species from going extinct. In New York City and other cities, where there seems to be a loss of species diversity, assisted migration may be helpful in slowing or reversing this process.

The most appealing factor that distinguished assisted migration from rewilding is that in most cases, assisted migration is more like a guiding hand that is speeding up what is already occurring naturally. A prime example of this type of assisted migration is in British Columbia, where they are “systematically moving its trees” (Marris 91). A large population of pine beetles is decimating trees in an area the size of Greece in British Columbia. The large population is attributed to the milder winters that allow more of the beetle population to survive. Whereas rewilding might have simply began planting seeds far away from where the trees were originally, the assisted migration team here plants seeds within a certain range of its origin to help shift the population. As of right now, no tree species are planted “outside of that species’ historical range” (Marris 92). In this case, scientists are not transplanting species to unknown places, just encouraging species to grow in places where it might not have grown in for a while. Scientists are not changing how a species would behave, they are simply encouraging some behaviors over others.

Assisted migration would be quite useful in increasing species diversity in urban areas since species richness seems to be decreasing in cities. According to the article by Puth and Burns, only six studies with historical data showed species richness over time while seventeen showed a decrease in species richness out of a total of twenty-six studies with historical data. The decrease may be caused by native species in urban areas migrating away from the city and a lack of new species migrating into the city. Urban areas may not be an ideal place for a species to migrate to since it may be vastly different from its origin. Since “a single road will be an effective barrier to a little species,” it is possible that the high concentration of roads and buildings can act as a barrier to species (Marris 75). Cities may almost act like roadblocks to species in their migration. Assisted migration may be helpful in encouraging migrating species to stay in urban areas and increase species richness. Though assisted migration can be difficult in predicting the outcome of changing an ecosystem, it is positive since it is not trying to completely change nature.

Assisted migration is the moving of one species to another environment to ensure their survival as a species. Unlike rewilding, assisted migration saves the species rather than the location. Both of these methods have very different objectives. However, like any solution, there are always complications with executing these projects.

The goal of many of these projects involve saving something that was harmed by human interaction. In assisted migration, humans “guide” these animals to a better location to thrive. Migration is when a specie move to a different location due to climate changes. Sometimes species may not necessarily know when or where to migrate to because of all the damage that humans have caused. Many other problems can arise from assisted migration. Animals are not guaranteed survival at the location they are “guided” to. Since they are almost brought there, the environment may not contain all the necessities for this particular species to live. Some people believe that if a species were supposed to die out, then they should have rather than preserving them. The problem can also arise that the new species will alter the current environment that they are brought to.

Therefore, assisted migration is an extremely complicated issue. Ecologists believe that they should only help animals that are extremely close to extinction. Time, money, and effort is always an issue. Trying to save many species can result in a lot of time and money used. Most of these times, these projects are not always successful. Assisted migration can provide benefits. It would allow a particular species to survival when they would have otherwise perished. I still believe that such an idea is not going to be successful. Moving many animals at once may cause them to be confused. They may not recognize the environment introduced to them since they aren’t used being around species that may have not been there before. It is also difficult to decide and choose where to move these animals.

Many people believe that since humans have caused many changes in nature, that we should be the ones to try and save it. Assisted migration may not be the best idea for this. A lot of species would need to be migrated if they were drastic climate changes in an area. I believe that all animals should continue to live the way they do. Humans will always be changing the Earth. There can be no guarantees that the time, money and effort put into such a project would come out beneficial. Therefore, I think that there is no use in trying something that will only affect such a small part of nature.

Assisted migration is when species are moved from where they presently live to a new habitat in the hopes that the species will thrive there. This concept is similar to rewilding, but they both have different goals. I think that assisted migration would be a good tool to use for conservation if it were regulated, such as with the guide that Parmesan and Possingham provided, which was that “species should be moved if they are at high risk to extinction from climate change, if they can be feasibly transported, and if ‘the benefits of translocation outweigh the biological and socioeconomic costs and constraints.’” (82) It should only be used when it necessary to help save the species, and not just for experimentation.

Assisted migration sounds like a useful tool because it is intended to save species that are losing their homes due to climate change. Take for example, the American Pika. Pikas curl up and die after a few hours in 78 °F heat. As the global climate becomes warmer, pikas have move higher up in order to live, but as you move higher up on a mountain, there is less and less space. Some pikas already live at the top of some mountains, and have no nowhere to go. If pikas and other species in the same situation could possibly be saved by human transportation to another habitat, then it is worth a shot. Critics argue that because you would be moving the species to a completely different environment, there could be negative effects because you do not know, and cannot control what will happen. One possible effect is that the transported species could die because they do not have what they need to live. However, my thought is that if species are already being threatened by global climate change and may die anyways, it is better to try to do something to save them then to just watch and do nothing. A large part is because humans are the ones who caused the climate change, so we should not just sit back and do nothing.

As mentioned in the chapter, climate change pits two common assumptions against each other. One is that if humans caused climate change, then they should do whatever they could to ensure that species survive the climate change. The other assumption is that ecosystems have a correct baseline that they should be returned too, which means that species cannot be moved from one area to another, because it would violate the baseline. I agree with the first assumption, but not really the second one. I don’t really agree with idea that ecosystems have a correct baseline that it should be returned to. Ecosystems constantly change, so how can a “correct baseline” be determined? It is also more difficult and risky to try to recreate something from so long. I think that is it more important to focus on protecting the native species that we have left and ensuring that they do not become extinct rather than trying to create something of the past.

Assisted migration is essentially moving a species to a new environment in response to the climate changes happening all over the world. Many of these climate changes are caused by “anthropogenic emissions of gases including carbon dioxide and methane and of industrial gases like hydrofluorocarbons” (Marris, 74). With all of this emission happening, the world has become a much hotter place and some places even changed their rain patterns. This directly affects species that cannot survive in warm temperature. Through assisted migration, ecologists want to move these struggling species into a new environment where these species can survive. In other words, if the species can only survive in the cold, the ecologists can move it north.

It seems that assisted migration is a controversial topic to some people. People argue that the organisms could die upon moving to the new environment because the new environment could be lacking “some specific soil microbes or microclimatic condition” (77). Other people say it may create an invasive species and take over the native species. There are even people who say that these species can adapt to the new environment instead of continuing to live in the same environment. While many people do not want assisted migration, Marris actually points out that humans are already doing it unintentionally. According to the Marris’s researchers, the “commercial movements [of plants] may help these species adapts as the climate changes” (83). In addition, the species that we are moving may have been “moved” already. According to Marris, it is completely possible that Garry oak savannas in Canada are a human production. Despite it being a human production, “people are worried that it is unnatural to save them by having humans move them north” (87). In addition, people seem to be very picky with assisted migration. People only seem to assist those species that are considered important. It is very unlikely for people to move “all the beetles and microbes [which is] the vast majority of biodiversity” (89).

Assisted migration can be applied in urban ecology. According to Puth and Burns, there were fewer studies that report species richness in New York’s metropolitan region. They also described that“[most] studies that report trends in species richness [declined]” (17). Furthermore, some of the studies that report an “increasing or stable species richness reflected increases in exotic species” (18). Puth and Burns concluded that there was still an overall decrease in species richness in New York’s metropolitan region. This essentially means that there are fewer unique species in the area. Most of the declines were reported to be from anthropogenic causes including habitat loss and invasive species.  Assisted migration can prevent some of the extinction of these species. However, it is rather unpredictable how much assisted migration can save these species. People can also use assisted migration to move species into the urban environment. Perhaps some species are better adapted to the urban environment and they can live with humans in peace. Assisted migration definitely has potential, but it should not be overused since the effect of assisted migration is still rather unpredictable.

Assisted migration is a bit similar rewilding. In rewilding, species are moved to another environment to rebuild the nature that once used to be there. In assisted migration, organisms are moved to another area to ensure they survive and do not become extinct from climate change. The importance of rewilding is to save the environment, whereas the importance of assisted migration is to rescue species from extinction. To say one method is better than the other is difficult, as both methods have different goals. However, the two methods do aim to stop the ecosystem from deteriorating any further. Also, the two methods have similar concerns. For both methods, scientists worry that by moving species to a new area, they will turn into invasive species. If organisms turned into invasive species, then the method at hand would be too risky to implement as it puts the ecosystem in danger of becoming more out of balance. A concern raised in assisted migration, which may apply to rewilding, is that if species are moved to another environment, the new area may not have the necessities -“specific soil microbes or microclimatic conditions”- for the organisms to sruvive. Although research is done on the animals, there are so many variables out there that scientists can only do so much to identify what specific animals need to survive in a new environment.

According to research there are two types of migration. One type is migration towards peaks of mountains. Certain species can only handle certain temperatures, such as the American pika. This animal cannot survive in high temperatures, so as climate changes lean towards the heat the American pika will have to move up the mountain where it is cooler. Increasing heat from climate change means that animals from the bottom of the mountain will have to move up to live in comfort and survive. The more species climb up to the apex of the mountain, the less space there will be. Thus, there is more competition in the mountain, which would lead to extinction for some animals. To protect species from going extinct, some ecologists consider assisted migration because of the second type of migration: pole-wards migration. Pole-ward migration is the action of organisms to move towards the northern poles due to climate change. For example, beech trees are normally from the southern end of Canada to northern Florida; however, beech trees are now moving north into Canada because of the cool temperatures fit for beech trees. An ecologist, Parmesan, estimates that “the average species’s range…moves 3.8 miles towards the pole every decade.” Pole-ward migration is not as severe as mountain migration because there is a higher chance of extinction for mountain species due to mountain migration. Even if organisms move closer to the poles, mountain organisms are unable to move away from the mountains. For example, the American pika can only move up the mountain since it cannot survive in high temperatures and the temperature at the bottom of the mountain is too high for it to survive. Thus, it is trapped to stay on the mountain and climb up unless someone were help it migrate. Assisted migration does not seem like a bad idea as a method to prevent species from going extinct, even though there are chances of the species to go extinct in a new area or for the species to turn invasive.

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.

At this point in time, one of the issues that plague conservationists is global warming.  As a result of global warming, earth’s climate temperatures are warmer than usual.  While humans don’t find an issue with this, other species on planet earth could possibly become extinct because of it.  For example, Chapter five in Emma Marris’ Rambunctious Garden, opens with the example of the “American pika…which curl up and die after a few hours in 78-degree Fahrenheit heat (73).  To avoid the rising temperatures the pika move to higher altitudes, but if they move to lower altitudes they risk death.  To help them with their transition conservationists recommend the idea of assisted migration.

Assisted migration is the process where humans take species and move them to new locations.  The purpose of doing this is help animals like the American Pika that have limited options in where they could live or transition to.  Once humans move the species and find a suitable place for them the belief is that the animals will be able to move slightly more freely and be able to survive and cope with the surrounding issues of global warming.

Similar to rewilding, assisted migration involves the relocation of species, which means assisted migration shares some of the issue as rewilding.  By introducing new species into an ecosystem, the future of the environment cannot be fully determined.  There could be variable non accounted for, which could end up altering the new location the species has been moved to.  “Simberloff said there are just too many unknowns.  ‘I would want to know a lot more about pathogens and insects before [he] moved things…there is very little evidence that it is going to help” (93).  Dov Sax states “the thought of planting a couple of hectares of trees far to the north where people currently harvest-that sounds a little scary to me” (93).  With his apprehension to plant trees, one could assume that he would be completely against moving animal species around at this time.

Another issue with assisted migration is that it seems like a short-term resolution.  Since assisted migration doesn’t seek to remedy the issue of global warming temperatures will continue to increase over time, which could cause the temperature of the new ecosystem to be unfavorable to the new species and possibly the species already living there.    With this predicament, the once relocated species will have to be moved once again and the processes that ecologists went through in their initial movement will have to be repeated.

The continuous movement of species could result in the need of high funds.  As a result, with the already low funding in conservation movements, “the benefits of translocation [must] outweigh the biological and socioeconomic costs and constraints” for assisted migration to be a plausible treatment.  “Even assisted migration friendly ecologists are worried about going too fast” (93).  Even though assisted migration has good intentions behind it, it might not be a plausible solution to the issues we are currently facing with global climate change.

In Chapter 5 of Rambunctious Gardens, Marris introduces assisted migration to us. Anthropogenic climate change, caused by human emissions of gases, “is the biggest single thumbprint humans have put on this planet” (74). Therefore, species are expected to (and have already began to) move, as they cannot handle the escalating temperatures. Marris defines assisted migration as human intervention in helping species respond to climate change. Previously, species would “move around slowly, in geological timescales,” (80) but anthropogenic change is much more rapid that assistance is necessary.

To put this into perspective, Camille Parmesan “estimated that the average species’s range…moves 3.8 miles toward the pole every decade…spring events are occurring 2.3 days earlier per decade” (76-77). Assisted migration is an answer to prevention of early extinction, particularly the mountain species, such as the introductory example of the American pika. The Puth and Burns article on New York’s Nature may be an indication of this, presenting that 65% of long-term records “documented declines in species richness; this percentage rose to 77% when only studies describing native species were included.” The cause of this, as postulated by authors of the records, were a variety of “mainly anthropogenic causes, including development, exotic species, changes in land use, chemical contamination and recreational use of natural areas” (16). Several authors provided the following general rules for assisted migration: at a high risk of extinction, can be feasibly transported, and if the benefits outweigh the costs.

Two of the main arguments against assisted migration are the possibility of the organism dying or becoming invasive. In Marris’ words, “What is interesting about climate change is that it pits two common assumptions against each other: the pristineness myth and the myth of a correct baseline for each area” (77). As stated, the main argument for assisted migration is preventing early extinction. “Opponents are more worried about the integrity of coevolved ecosystems” (78). As is the problem with rewilding, the outcomes can be very unpredictable. Moving a single species can disrupt an entire ecosystem, as species rely on each other. The example that Marris provides begins with butterflies: they can move easily across a landscape, but they only lay their egg specific plants, which depend on insect or bird pollinators. Problems arise when pollinators migrate before the plant species, who may be “too slow to outrun climate change” (76), can. In other words, “though one species may be going extinct, the measures that could save it might endanger other ecosystems, might threaten the existence of the baselines that guide conservation efforts, and might piss off other conservationists” (81).

As with my stance on rewilding, I feel that the concept of assisted migration is a romantic one at most. I am not a firm believer in the future of it because of the unpredictable and possible negativities. I understand the reasoning behind why there are supporters who advocate for it. However, I am very much against assisting migration for commercial purposes rather than for nature’s sake. Further, there is a very selective group of species that assisted migration would work for, making it selective. That still leaves many other species vulnerable to extinction left behind.

Since the Industrial Revolution there has been a rise in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, which in turn causes global warming. One of the more obvious affects of global warming is climate change. In Chapter 5, Marris discusses the affect of climate change on various species in different ecosystems across North America. For example, she mentions how the “pika,” a small mammal that lives in the West, is slowly dying because according to an experiment conducted in the 1970’s these mammals are not able to survive in temperatures over seventy-eight degrees (Marris 73). With global warming, the temperature of the Earth is steadily increasing and a major concern for scientists is how to protect species like the “pika” from extinction. Over time the population of species who need to live in cooler conditions will decrease because given the cone shape of mountains, the higher up the species goes the less land they will be able to occupy. Consequently, scientists and conservationists introduced the idea of “assisted migration” as a way to “save biodiversity under threat from climate change…” (88).

However, this proposal is rather idealistic because there are many species that suffer from climate change and with “assisted migration” there is always the risk that the species might become invasive. Ecologist Hellmann has conducted a research experiment in British Columbia to determine whether or not the Garry oak will migrate further north in response to climate change (85). In conclusion, Hellmann was concerned about the extent to which assisted migration could protect biodiversity from climate change. She believes that people are only going to want to save the “important” species i.e. timber and wood, but other species like microbes or beetles will be left to fend for themselves. Ultimately, the determining factor behind what species to assist will be based on finance because there is a lack of funds for assisted migration. The only other way to get funds is through private corporations, which will most likely want to profit from the experiment.

Assisted migration for some species would be useful in an urban setting. More specifically, species such as trees or other small, harmless organisms would be valuable in cities. Given the large population of cities like New York City, if there are small and harmless organisms that need to be in a colder climate, it would be beneficial to move them to an urban area. Through educating communities about climate change and its affect on biodiversity, people will be more receptive towards those organisms. With the current green movement people in general would like to live closer to nature. However, one limitation of assisted migration in urban areas is the lack of space for organisms to live. If these organisms originally come from a wide, open area it would take time for it to adjust to the smaller space. Furthermore, as Marris pointed out in the chapter, there is also the possibility that this new species might become invasive and cause another species to go extinct as a result of its migration. In an urban setting there needs to be a specific plot of land set aside for the new species that closely resembles its previous ecosystem to make its transition easier. Then, slowly the species will be able to adapt to the new ecosystem and thrive there.

Chapter 5 of “Rambunctious Garden” looks into the topic of assisted migration. Assisted migration is when humans move a species that is close to extinction in its current environment to a new environment, in hopes that it will thrive there. The book uses the example of the pika and the Florida torreya to illustrate how beneficial assisted migration can be.

The pika is a small mammal that lives on mountains. Pikas live on mountains because they can only survive in cold climates. Spending just a short amount of time in warm weather can kill a pika. Human use of fossil fuels has increased climate change, which has made many environments hotter than they usually are. As the pikas climate gets hotter, it has to move higher up the mountain to live in a cool environment. However, the top of a mountain has less space than the bottom so there might not be enough room for the pika to survive on the mountaintop. In addition, a pika cannot survive a trip down the mountain and up a higher mountain nearby.

Marris also discusses how assisted migration can benefit the Florida torreya tree. This tree is found on the east coast of the Unite States, starting if Florida. However as Florida gets warmer and drier, it is harder and harder for this tree to survive there. To prevent the species from going extinct, conservationists want to spread its seeds further up North, to places like North Carolina. In the northern part of the Unite States, the tree can grow and thrive in the climate.

Not everyone agrees that assisted migration is a good thing. The ones that support it argue that since humans are responsible for the climate change that is threating many species, it is their duty to assist them and find them better places to live. Opponents argue that introducing species to new environments is a recipe for disaster as they can become invasive and dramatically alter the environment that they are introduced into.

Assisted migration should be an option that conservationists use, but not often. While the move will hopefully help the species, conservationists are taking a huge risk when they move the species to a new place. In addition, if people want to create a pristine wilderness area, this tactic defeats the whole purpose as it involves a lot of human intervention. The best strategy would be to focus on finding alternative sources of energy for humans to use. That way we would reduce our burning of fossil fuels and slow the heating of the earth, which would allow many species to survive in their native environment, without the need for being transported to a new one.

Assisted Migration is a hot topic of debate in the ecological community. The two sides can’t seem to agree on whether or not the moving of species to more desirable environments is a worthwhile venture. There are some clear positives to such a procedure. According to Marris, with the shifts in climate due to human induced factors such as carbon dioxide output, ecosystems are experiencing great changes that deeply affect the survival of its inhabitants. For example, if temperatures change significantly in the small pocket of land where T. Taxifolia (a type of pine tree) grows, this endangered species could face extinction. The idea behind Assisted Migration, is to move species like T. Taxifolia, that are in danger of suffering due to climate change, to areas that better suit their environmental needs. If the process to assist these species is a success, the positives are that a species is saved from possible extinction and the diversity of the ecosystem it was moved to increases. There are some dangers in this process that also need to be addressed. A worst-case scenario would be that the species being moved becomes an invasive species in its new ecosystem and hinders the development of the species already established there. To prevent such difficulties, extensive research needs to be done on the species and its needs as well as the new ecosystem in order to determine whether or not the outcome will be an encouraging one. Rushing into an Assisted Migration is apt to result in negative results and the subsequent damaging of both the species being moved and the species surrounding it. In my opinion, Assisted Migration is a promising practice that needs to be researched extensively before putting it into action. While it may result in saving a species, it also has the potential to wreak havoc on an ecosystem if conducted incorrectly.

This concept of sufficient research comes into play when talking about Assisted Migration involving urban ecosystems, in particular New York City. The Puth and Burns article focused on a study of available research on biological diversity in New York City and the surrounding areas. This information is key to determining whether or not Assisted Migration is something that can potentially benefit species as well as the ecosystems of the city. The article’s data specifically states the number of ecological studies based on habitat type and taxonomic group. This is key to determining if there is currently sufficient data on whatever species is being introduced and the environment it is being introduced to. For example, there were 48 studies on mammals but only 3 on reptiles. This shows that there is either a very weak population of reptiles around the city or there is a lack of research about them. In either case, if the goal is to incorporate a reptile into the city’s landscape, more research is required to ensure the endeavor is a safe one for all species involved. The Puth and Burns article is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Assisted Migration in New York City.

In a similar vein to rewilding, assisted migration aims to introduce plant and animal species to non-native ecosystems. The potential need of assisted migration stems mainly from climate changes caused by human activity. Carbon dioxide emissions in particular have increased dramatically since the Middle Ages (Marris 74). In conjunction with other gases such as methane and hydrocarbons, the atmosphere has been altered “such that it now retains more heat” (Marris 74).

The changes to the atmosphere play a crucial role in determining species’ need to move. Changes in temperature, for example, have already prompted some species to migrate to new areas while others try to adapt to the changes. For those species that have not yet migrated, either because they cannot relocate themselves or can still survive in the altered yet continuously altering climate, the option exists to proactively relocate such species to more suitable environment in the hopes of stabilizing the species’ population in the new geographical location.

While the notion has the best of intentions, assisted migration is not necessary. One of the arguments supporting assisted migration is the fact that “species richness shows declines” in the New York metropolitan area, as concluded from research done by Puth and Burns for Diversity and Distributions. However, assisted migration carries more risk than potential reward. There is no concrete evidence that moving certain species to certain new locations will ensure their well-being and survival. In the best-case scenario, the species will interact positively with its environment and the ecosystem will stabilize, successfully saving the migrated species. Ecologists opposed to the idea argue, “’organisms could die, because you don’t know exactly what they need to live-some specific microbes or microclimatic condition’” (Marris 77). The temperature of an area alone does not define the climatic conditions in which species live.

If a species’ living conditions is absolutely unbearable, it might find a way to a more suitable environment, just as birds often migrate south to warmer weather during the winter. For those species that are not as mobile, they may have the ability to adapt to the climate changes. However, prematurely moving them from their native ecosystems may jeopardize their abilities to adapt. Furthermore, that species may be vital to the balance of the native ecosystem and thus, removing it could disrupt the balance of the native ecosystem.

Another hesitation to assisted migration is the possibility of creating a “dreaded ‘invasive’ species that takes over and pushes out native species” (Marris 77). What if the assisted migration disrupts its new ecosystem enough that the native species cannot compensate for the new inhabitant? Scientists can only speculate how the ecosystem will react, effectively making assisted migration just a game of chance. Taking all of this into account, it is safer to just leave the species where they are and allow them to, hopefully, adapt to their environments while humans focus more on limiting the negative consequences of their actions.

Humans cannot save every plant or animal. Unfortunately, human activity has created a ripple effect on the Earth’s ecosystem that is now negatively affecting species around the world, directly and indirectly. However, there are too many variables in assisted migration that scientists cannot control, which may allow assisted migration to go awry. As a method of correcting the wrongs that human activity has done to the Earth and its ecosystems, assisted migration can have similar detrimental effects on the environment as human activity has already done, and two wrongs will not make a right.