Climate Concerns Push Scientists to Move Species to New Areas
2023-01-23
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1Scientists increasingly are aiming to move animals threatened by rising temperatures to new areas where they never lived before in an effort to save them.
2One example is a project in Hawaii that moved, or relocated, a seabird species from one island to another about 800 kilometers away.
3Traditionally, scientists have considered the idea of species relocations risky.
4This is because it can cause problems for existing native animals.
5But some scientists now believe such relocations are necessary to save threatened species.
6Moves have already been considered for several species, including birds, lizards, butterflies and even plants.
7The relocation in Hawaii involved the Tristram's storm petrel, a seabird that is native to low-lying islands in Hawaii and Japan.
8The project moved about 40 young birds from Hawaii's Tern Island to Oahu, one of the state's biggest islands.
9The Tristram's storm petrel is considered at risk of disappearing completely.
10Tern Island is currently just 1.8 meters above sea level.
11Scientists fear the island may disappear completely if the sea level there continues to rise.
12"Tern Island is washing away," said biologist Eric VanderWerf of the nonprofit group Pacific Rim Conservation.
13"Climate change is causing a greater need for this - for taking a species outside its known historical range."
14Scientists hope the relocated animals can someday be returned to their native environments if conditions change.
15A proposal by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden would change the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
16The law aims to protect rare animals and plants.
17The change would make it easier to move some of the most threatened species to places where they have not been known to exist before.
18As a reaction to that proposal, state wildlife officials and scientists have suggested moving populations of some species.
19These include the Key deer of southern Florida and the Karner blue butterfly from the Midwest and Northeast.
20In addition, officials are suggesting moving desert flowering plants in Nevada and California and the St. Croix ground lizard in the Virgin Islands.
21Republican lawmakers in western states - including Montana, New Mexico and Arizona - are against the proposal.
22They say moving species to new places could create environmental problems and result in an "invasive species."
23Federal officials are expected to finalize the proposal in June.
24Jason McLachlan is a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in the state of Indiana.
25He told The Associated Press he thinks the government proposal demonstrates an important change "in the way we think of species protection and conservation."
26McLachlan said the issue goes beyond endangered species.
27He thinks it also raises questions about what should be considered "native" now that changing temperatures are pushing some species to seek out higher areas or move toward the planet's North or South.
28He said comparable temperature changes in the past happened over thousands of years.
29But the current one is taking place over a shorter period and this has harmed ecosystems.
30"Eventually we're going to have to start thinking about it in ways that will make people...uncomfortable," McLachlan said.
31"To say this species is OK and this species is not OK, that's asking a lot of human beings."
32Pacific Rim Conservation's VanderWerf told the AP that to save storm petrels, scientists need to act before populations have crashed.
33"In 30 years, these birds will certainly be rare, if we don't do something about it," he said.
34James Watson is a scientist at the University of Queensland in Australia.
35He said, "Many, many species" must be moved or they could go out of existence.
36Watson added that increasing wildfires have forced some relocations of animals.
37"This kind of intensive management is necessary for us to have a reasonable shot at holding ... some species," said Don Lyons, with the National Audubon Society's Seabird Institute.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Scientists increasingly are aiming to move animals threatened by rising temperatures to new areas where they never lived before in an effort to save them. 2One example is a project in Hawaii that moved, or relocated, a seabird species from one island to another about 800 kilometers away. 3Traditionally, scientists have considered the idea of species relocations risky. This is because it can cause problems for existing native animals. 4But some scientists now believe such relocations are necessary to save threatened species. Moves have already been considered for several species, including birds, lizards, butterflies and even plants. 5The relocation in Hawaii involved the Tristram's storm petrel, a seabird that is native to low-lying islands in Hawaii and Japan. 6The project moved about 40 young birds from Hawaii's Tern Island to Oahu, one of the state's biggest islands. The Tristram's storm petrel is considered at risk of disappearing completely. 7Tern Island is currently just 1.8 meters above sea level. Scientists fear the island may disappear completely if the sea level there continues to rise. 8"Tern Island is washing away," said biologist Eric VanderWerf of the nonprofit group Pacific Rim Conservation. "Climate change is causing a greater need for this - for taking a species outside its known historical range." 9Scientists hope the relocated animals can someday be returned to their native environments if conditions change. 10A proposal by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden would change the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The law aims to protect rare animals and plants. The change would make it easier to move some of the most threatened species to places where they have not been known to exist before. 11As a reaction to that proposal, state wildlife officials and scientists have suggested moving populations of some species. These include the Key deer of southern Florida and the Karner blue butterfly from the Midwest and Northeast. In addition, officials are suggesting moving desert flowering plants in Nevada and California and the St. Croix ground lizard in the Virgin Islands. 12Republican lawmakers in western states - including Montana, New Mexico and Arizona - are against the proposal. They say moving species to new places could create environmental problems and result in an "invasive species." 13Federal officials are expected to finalize the proposal in June. Jason McLachlan is a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in the state of Indiana. He told The Associated Press he thinks the government proposal demonstrates an important change "in the way we think of species protection and conservation." 14McLachlan said the issue goes beyond endangered species. He thinks it also raises questions about what should be considered "native" now that changing temperatures are pushing some species to seek out higher areas or move toward the planet's North or South. 15He said comparable temperature changes in the past happened over thousands of years. But the current one is taking place over a shorter period and this has harmed ecosystems. "Eventually we're going to have to start thinking about it in ways that will make people...uncomfortable," McLachlan said. "To say this species is OK and this species is not OK, that's asking a lot of human beings." 16Pacific Rim Conservation's VanderWerf told the AP that to save storm petrels, scientists need to act before populations have crashed. "In 30 years, these birds will certainly be rare, if we don't do something about it," he said. 17James Watson is a scientist at the University of Queensland in Australia. He said, "Many, many species" must be moved or they could go out of existence. Watson added that increasing wildfires have forced some relocations of animals. 18"This kind of intensive management is necessary for us to have a reasonable shot at holding ... some species," said Don Lyons, with the National Audubon Society's Seabird Institute. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. 21_____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 24range - n. a group of different things of the same general type 25invasive - adj. moving into all areas of something and difficult to stop 26conservation - n. an organized effort that aims to protect animals, plants and natural resources 27ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 28uncomfortable - adj. not feeling comfortable and pleasant 29management - n. the control and organization of something 30_________________________________________________________________ 31What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. 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