Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain
Abstract Most European rewilding initiatives are based on the recovery of large herbivores, particularly European bison Bison bonasus , aiming at restoring ecosystem processes and increase trophic complexity. The growing support for the release of bison as a wild species, and change its legal status, in Spain, as an ecological analogue of the extinct steppe bison Bison priscus , makes it an excellent example to reflect the limits of a rewilding biogeographically advisable. We discuss if this initiative could be justified from ecological, biogeographical, ethical, and legal reasons. Besides remarkable taxonomic and functional differences between both bison species, the Mediterranean environment, under the present and future climatic scenarios, does not suit the European bison. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the presumption that the European bison was ever present in the Iberian Peninsula, with legal implications. We expect that our approach will be inspirational for similar assessments on rewilding initiatives globally.
Authors
- Montserrat Vilà (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3171-8261)
- Alberto Navarro
- Rafał Kowalczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7264-2158)
- Marco Apollonio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8953-9138)
- Jone Castaños de la Fuente
- Joaquín Muñoz‐Cobo
- Brendan Fisher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6560-9093)
- José Vicente López‐Bao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9213-998X)
- Emili García‐Berthou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8412-741X)
- Juan Carranza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0368-7173)
- Carlos Nores (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3042-1960)
- Raphaël Arlettaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6360-5339)
- Pedro Brufao Curiel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0407-4053)
- Paul Palmqvist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6630-6956)
- Ana Almodóvar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1465-3857)
- Carmen Galán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6849-1219)
- Miguel Delibes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3569-567X)
- M. St. L. Simon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2915-4084)
- Carlos Fernández‐Delgado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1359-435X)
- Adrià Casinos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1059-1556)
- Sándor Csányi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7757-7156)
- Antoni Margalida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0576-3993)
- Concepción Azorit
- Arne Ludwig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7249-9953)
- Baltasar Cabezudo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9545-8342)
- Ramón C. Soriguer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9165-7766)
- Iain J. Gordon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9704-0946)
- Brian Cooke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7430-1824)
- Pedro Castaños (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0795-8962)
- Benigno Elvira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6127-5302)
- David Nogués‐Bravo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4060-0153)
- Ricardo García‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5625-8690)
- Diego J. Álvarez‐Lao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9606-4548)
- F. Javier Pérez‐Barbería (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7513-5418)
- Carlos Granado‐Lorencio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3322-4276)
- Arturo Morales Muñiz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9933-6836)
- Juan Carlos Blanco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8542-7809)
- Steve Demarais
- Juan Herrero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8273-3141)
- Sandro Lovari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9838-3104)
Institutions
- University of Siena (IT)
- University of Vermont (US)
- Australian National University (AU)
- University of Bern (CH)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Magyar Agrár- és Élettudományi Egyetem (HU)
- University of Sassari (IT)
- Universidad de Oviedo (ES)
- University of Canberra (AU)
- Universidad de Jaén (ES)
- Universitat de Girona (ES)
- Universidad de Zaragoza (ES)
- Mammal Research Institute (PL)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES)
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (ES)
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (ES)
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas (ES)
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE)
- ACT Government (AU)
- University of Córdoba (ES)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
- Universidad de Extremadura (ES)
- Universidad de Málaga (ES)
- Mississippi State University (US)
- Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Conservation Science and Practice
- Published
- 2024-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13221
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.22
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Junta de Extremadura