RT Journal Article
T1 Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain
A1 Nores, Carlos
A1 Álvarez Laó, Diego
A1 Navarro, Alberto
A1 Pérez Barbería, Francisco Javier
A1 Castaños, Pedro María
A1 Castaños de la Fuente, Jone
A1 Morales Muñiz, Arturo
A1 Azorit, Concepción
A1 Muñoz Cobo, Joaquín
A1 Fernández Delgado, Carlos
A1 Almodóvar Pérez, Ana María
A1 Elvira Payán, Benigno
A1 López Bao, José Vicente
AB 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.
PB John Wiley & Sons
SN 2578-4854
YR 2024
FD 2024-11-20
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118246
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118246
LA eng
NO Nores, C., Álvarez-Laó, D., Navarro, A., Pérez-Barbería, F. J., Castaños, P. M., Castaños de la Fuente, J., Morales Muñiz, A., Azorit, C., Muñoz-Cobo, J., Fernández Delgado, C., Granado Lorencio, C., Palmqvist, P., Soriguer, R., Delibes, M., Vilà, M., Simón, M., Cabezudo, B., Galán, C., García-Berthou, E., et al. (2024). Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain. Conservation Science and Practice, 6(12). https://doi.org/10.1111/CSP2.13221
NO JVL-B were supported by a GRUPIN grant IDI/2021/000075 (Asturias Government), Complementary Plans (PCB1005_AST) and Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (TED2021-132519B-I00 and PID2023-149634OB-I00). FJP-B was also supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (TED2021-131388B-I00 and PID2023-146074OB-I00) and Complementary Biodiversity Programme Asturias.
NO Principado de Asturias
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 23 abr 2025