Nature's Answer to Extinction

       

One of the key issues Emily Anthes Brings up in her book Frankenstein's Cat is the possible extinction of certain species due loss of natural habitats and over-exploitation. She states that almost a quarter of mammalian species, 1 in 3 amphibians species, and 1 in 8 bird species are at risk of extinction. (Anthes, p.80) Scientists have now turned to cloning to help with this massive extinction problem. Although recent attempts at cloning small cats have been successful, behind the scenes, cloning is a very long and more often than not unsuccessful process. It seems that reproductive technology is in need of help from other fields to solve the problems it cannot tackle alone.

        

So could there be another way for helping solve this extinction problem? In the article, “Hola, Olinguito! The Smithsonian Discovers a New Mammal” by Bryan Walsh, there seems to be a possible answer. The article is about the discovery of a new mammalian species, "a raccoon-like olinguito". While studying the olingos, which are native to Central and South America, Smithsonian zoologist Kristofer M. Helgen discovered numerous olingo specimens which did not fit the normal description of olingos. With the help of Roland Kays of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and C. Miguel Pinto of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the new species was identified, sharing only 90% of its DNA with nearby olingos. (Walsh, p. 1)

                                    Image by: Mark Gurney

       

Walsh states that such discoveries of new species could be a victory for the scientists fighting extinction, because there still seems to be a lot we haven't discovered about the world. And comparing these efforts of identifying and preserving new species with the cloning efforts, it seems that he may be right. Although reproductive technology is promising, it doesn't solve genetic-diversity problems (Anthes, p. 93). The low diversity in species at risk of extinction makes them more susceptible to serious genetic diseases caused by generations of interbreeding. Creating duplicates of these animals in need of genetic diversity is counterproductive. The discovery of new species, however, can solve that problem without interfering with the species' natural reproduction habits. 

        If reproductive technology (creating more of the species needed), is combined with other efforts such as identifying and preserving new species (potentially solving problems faced by reproductive technology), we may have a better shot at reducing the extinction rates to a manageable level. With new species being discovered more often, it seems that nature itself is posing possible solutions for extinction.

Resources:

Anthes, Emily. Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2013. Print. 

Walsh, Bryan. "Hola, Olinguito! The Smithsonian Discovers a New Mammal". Time. 15 Aug, 2013. Web. 10 Oct, 2013. 
http://science.time.com/2013/08/15/hola-olinguito-the-smithsonian-discovers-a-new-mammal/