In conservation biology, advocates of 'Pleistocene rewilding' propose introducing extant megafauna proxies—such as African elephants in place of extinct mastodons—to North America to restore lost evolutionary dynamics. This theoretical framework faces fierce opposition from a group known as Holocene baseline conservationists. These critics argue that North American ecosystems have fundamentally reorganized over the past 10,000 years in the absence of large herbivores. Consequently, Holocene baseline conservationists contend that introducing megafauna proxies would not resurrect a pristine past, but rather inflict an invasive ecological shock on landscapes that have already established new, stable equilibrium states. They maintain that conservation efforts should focus strictly on preserving the species assemblages that currently exist or existed immediately prior to widespread industrialization, rather than attempting to engineer speculative prehistoric restorations.
Based on the passage, the Holocene baseline conservationists would most likely endorse which of the following statements? Select all that apply.
- The introduction of surrogate large herbivores into contemporary North American habitats is ecologically analogous to an invasion by exotic species.Answer
- Ecosystems lacking megafauna can achieve a legitimate and stable ecological equilibrium that merits conservation priority.Answer
- CThe fundamental purpose of biological conservation should be the preservation of ancient evolutionary trajectories over current ecological stability.
- DHuman industrialization was the primary catalyst for the ecological reorganization of North American landscapes over the past 10,000 years.
- ENo ecosystem can ever successfully integrate a species that has been absent from its ecological network for more than a millennium.