The once common Atlantic cod
In wildlife conservation, people tend to pay closer attention to the disappearing creatures. There is a sense of urgency, and rightfully so, to save the few, but new research indicates that it is the common things that need protecting. For if they go, all the ways that they influence the nature of the world will be so disturbed that even the rare will have nowhere left to go. Let’s face it. If things get so bad that even common critters aren’t around anymore, we’re in deep doo-doo.
The research, led by Kerstin Johannesson with the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, looked specifically at marine systems. Johannesson found that a vast number of species in the oceans are so rare, it’s difficult to find even a few individuals anymore. “Committing most resources to saving individual species is not just an expensive business – it would also risk destroying the foundation for ecosystems,” states a press release on the study.
Common species, found Johannesson, create habitat for other species, so by protecting them, it’s possible to protect the rare animals as well. Johannesson uses the once common cod in the fjords of the Bohuslän coast as an example of this phenomenon. Their numbers have virtually disappeared.
“Without the big predatory fish, the sea-grass meadows become clogged, with the result that the shallow bays no longer act as larders and nurseries for inshore fish,” Johannesson stated in a press release.
I don’t know if Johannesson’s conservation strategy is the right way to go, moreso than concentrating on endangered species, but who’s to say that we shouldn’t really implement both tactics? Regardless, I have no doubt that we need to understand better the value of the common creatures. After all preventative conservation, sure does sound a heck of a lot smarter and potentially easier than waiting to clean up a mess.
What are your thoughts?
Lead Researcher:
Kerstin Johannesson of the University of Gothenburg
Contact:
Kerstin Johannesson, Kerstin.Johannesson@marecol.gu.se, 465-266-8611
The Nature Files 
April 19th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
interesting! We already loose 150-200 species every day. I believe we should do whatever we can to change this trend.
April 21st, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I think she’s onto something. Protecting common species could have additional benefits that we haven’t considered yet. But I’d caution valuing one “category” of species over another. They all contribute to biodiversity in ways that we don’t completely understand…
April 21st, 2011 at 4:43 pm
[…] you don’t live in tiger or polar bear habitats — where it would at least be possible for you to run into them during your daily life — you would miss them if they disappeared from our planet. But will you mourn the extinction of […]
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:22 am
Endangered animals are part of our life, so we have to protect them.
most of the peoples are not care about this!!