{"id":1914662,"date":"2018-11-20T10:39:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T15:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futurity.org\/?p=1914662"},"modified":"2018-11-20T10:39:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T15:39:04","slug":"ecoregions-conservation-1914662","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futurity.org\/ecoregions-conservation-1914662\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on ‘ecoregions’ could boost conservation efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"
A new study supports an approach to conservation that focuses on ecoregions\u2014geographically unique regions, such as deserts and rainforests, that contain distinct communities of plants and animals.<\/p>\n
Scientists have long debated how well ecoregion borders separate species communities. If the borders are strong, protecting an ecoregion, like a rainforest, would effectively protect all of the species within. If not, each species would need to be managed separately\u2014a much more uncertain undertaking, especially when we don’t even know some species are there.<\/p>\n
For example, no one had reported seeing the presumed-extinct Wondiwoi tree kangaroo\u2014an animal that is a cross between a bear and a monkey\u2014since before the Great Depression. Then, this past summer, an amateur biologist stumbled upon the tree kangaroo while trekking through Papua New Guinea.\u00a0The revelation underscored how little we still know about the natural world\u2014a major obstacle to conservation.<\/p>\n