The ongoing global biodiversity crisis not only involves biological extinctions, but also the loss of experience and the gradual fading of cultural knowledge and collective memory of species. We refer to this phenomenon as ‘societal extinction of species’ and apply it to both extinct and extant taxa. We describe the underlying concepts as well as the mechanisms and factors that affect this process, discuss its main implications, and identify mitigation measures. Societal extinction is cognitively intractable, but it is tied to biological extinction and thus has important consequences for conservation policy and management. It affects societal perceptions of the severity of anthropogenic impacts and of true extinction rates, erodes societal support for conservation efforts, and causes the loss of cultural heritage.

Societal extinction of species / Jarić, Ivan; Roll, Uri; Bonaiuto, Marino; Brook, Barry W.; Courchamp, Franck; Firth, Josh A.; Gaston, Kevin J.; Heger, Tina; Jeschke, Jonathan M.; Ladle, Richard J.; Meinard, Yves; Roberts, David L.; Sherren, Kate; Soga, Masashi; Soriano-Redondo, Andrea; Veríssimo, Diogo; Correia, Ricardo A.. - In: TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. - ISSN 0169-5347. - 37:5(2022), pp. 411-419. [10.1016/j.tree.2021.12.011]

Societal extinction of species

Bonaiuto, Marino;
2022

Abstract

The ongoing global biodiversity crisis not only involves biological extinctions, but also the loss of experience and the gradual fading of cultural knowledge and collective memory of species. We refer to this phenomenon as ‘societal extinction of species’ and apply it to both extinct and extant taxa. We describe the underlying concepts as well as the mechanisms and factors that affect this process, discuss its main implications, and identify mitigation measures. Societal extinction is cognitively intractable, but it is tied to biological extinction and thus has important consequences for conservation policy and management. It affects societal perceptions of the severity of anthropogenic impacts and of true extinction rates, erodes societal support for conservation efforts, and causes the loss of cultural heritage.
2022
collective attention; memory; experience; conservation; education and marketing
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Societal extinction of species / Jarić, Ivan; Roll, Uri; Bonaiuto, Marino; Brook, Barry W.; Courchamp, Franck; Firth, Josh A.; Gaston, Kevin J.; Heger, Tina; Jeschke, Jonathan M.; Ladle, Richard J.; Meinard, Yves; Roberts, David L.; Sherren, Kate; Soga, Masashi; Soriano-Redondo, Andrea; Veríssimo, Diogo; Correia, Ricardo A.. - In: TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. - ISSN 0169-5347. - 37:5(2022), pp. 411-419. [10.1016/j.tree.2021.12.011]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1635281
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