As we fight to protect species on the brink of extinction, let’s not forget the familiar ones

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: To conserve nature, we must maintain our focus on the familiar.

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In the natural world, rarity is most starkly represented by the last members of a declining species. These scarce plants and animals are infinitively valuable; they represent the final hope for averting extinction.
In the past few decades, declines of many endangered plants and animals have been reversed. Dozens of unique living forms have been saved from extinction. But a preoccupation with scarcity could come at the expense of overlooking the ordinary.
But if we are to conserve nature and its myriad benefits to people we must maintain our focus on the familiar.
In North America, they include the extinction of the passenger pigeon, which was once the most numerous bird in the world. These species were once regarded as super-abundant, their decline and disappearance inconceivable.
Notably, the shifts in abundance of common species can translate into sizeable shifts in ecosystem functioning. Birds, despite their diminutive stature, throw their aggregate weight around, owing to the innumerable insects they eat, the flowers they pollinate and the seeds they disperse.
Rarity will always occupy a prominent place in conservation. But in the quest for a sustainable and biodiverse future, we must avoid “the extinction of commonness.” The ingredients for success are at hand: Monitor nature closely, guard against complacency and invest for the long term.