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Publication
Demystifying negative connotations of hybridization for less biased conservation policies
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Interspecific hybridization is one of the most controversial—and usually neglected—
issues in conservation due to its multiple evolutionary consequences that might include
the origin and transfer of adaptations, the blur of distinctive lineages or the formation of
maladaptive hybrids. However, despite different outcomes, most conservation laws do
not offer any possibility of hybrids being protected since they are perceived as a threat
to the survival of pure species. We assessed how much hybridization has contributed
to species extinction considering all IUCN Red Data assessments. However, we found
that it has been scarcely reported as a threat contributing to extinction: only 11 extinct
species out of 120,369 assessments mentioned hybridization. Although the causes that
contribute to species extinctions should be controlled, the reasons for not conserving
hybrids seem subjective rather than empirically supported. In a genomic era where
hybridization is being more frequently detected, the debate involving the conservation
of hybrids should be re-opened. Should we conserve hybrids despite the possibility of
gene flow with parental species? Should we protect only natural hybrids? The resolution
of this debate goes to the heart of what we mean to conserve and the time scale
of conservation. But hybridization is part of the evolutionary process and might even
increase in the future due to human-induced changes. As such, it becomes clear that we
need to move beyond the causes and instead tackle the consequences of hybridization
to create environmental policies for the management of hybrids, considering both
positive and negative consequences
Description
Perspective
Keywords
hybrids species extinction conservation environmental policies habitat threats
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Draper D, Laguna E and Marques I (2021) Demystifying Negative Connotations of Hybridization for Less Biased Conservation Policies. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:637100
Publisher
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution