Societal extinction of species

: Jaric I, Roll U, Bonaiuto M, Brook BW, Courchamp F, Firth JA, Gaston KJ, Heger T, Jeschke JM, Ladle RJ, Meinard Y, Roberts DL, Sherren K, Soga M, Soriano-Redondo A, Verissimo D, Correia RA

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON

: 2022

: Trends in Ecology and Evolution

: TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION

: TRENDS ECOL EVOL

: 37

: 5

: 411

: 419

: 9

: 0169-5347

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.12.011

The ongoing global biodiversity crisis not only involves biological extinctions, but also the loss of experience and the gradual fading of cultural knowledge and collective memory of species. We refer to this phenomenon as 'societal extinction of species' and apply it to both extinct and extant taxa. We describe the underlying concepts as well as the mechanisms and factors that affect this process, discuss its main implications, and identify mitigation measures. Societal extinction is cognitively intractable, but it is tied to biological extinction and thus has important consequences for conservation policy and management. It affects societal perceptions of the severity of anthropogenic impacts and of true extinction rates, erodes societal support for conservation efforts, and causes the loss of cultural heritage.