What is social extinction?

New research involving researchers from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology, published February 15, 2022 in the journal Ecological Trends & Evolution, shows that: society is the disappearance of species from our collective memory and attention. Species can disappear from our society, culture and speech at the same time, or even before they are biologically extinct by various human actions.

With only a few specimens in the museum collection, the Honshu wolf or okami (Canis lupus hodophilax) is beginning its gradual social extinction in Japanese society.

"Species go extinct twice - once when the last individual dies and a second time when the collective memory of the species disappears" - Adapted from a quote by both Banksy and Irvin Yalom

An international and interdisciplinary team of scientists has found that whether a species is socially extinct depends on many factors. These may include its appeal, its symbolic or cultural values, how long ago it became extinct and how remote and isolated its range is from humans.

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) both inhabited mainland Australia during the mid-Holocene and are lost to indigenous memory, while they persist in Tasmania, where they remain important and prominent. for natives.

Dr Diogo Verissimo, Research Fellow, Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford and co-author of the study said:

'Social extinction occurs not only in extinct species, but also in species that are still alive among us, often as a result of cultural or social changes, such as urbanization. or the digitization of society, can radically change our relationship with nature, and lead to collective amnesia." 

One example the researchers gave was the replacement of traditional herbal medicines with modern medicine in Europe. This is thought to have reduced general knowledge about many medicinal plants, making them socially extinct.

As more and more species become threatened or extinct, they also become isolated from humans. This leads to the extinction of experience - the gradual loss of our daily interactions with nature. As time goes on, such species may completely disappear from human memory.

Efforts to reconstruct extinct species, such as the Eurasian beaver (Courdella) in the UK, may be affected by their absence from general memory as natural parts of the ecosystem. and thus enjoy weaker public support.

For example, studies conducted between communities in southwestern China and indigenous peoples in Bolivia have shown a loss of local knowledge and memory about extinct birds.

However, the opposite can also happen. Dr Uri Roll, co-author and researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, explains: 'Species can also be collectively called after they have gone extinct, or even become more common.

'However, our perception and memory of such species is gradually altered, and often becomes imprecise, stylized or simplified, and detached from the actual species.'

For example, after the Spix macaw became extinct in the wild, children from local communities within its former range falsely believed that the species inhabited Rio de Janeiro solely because of its appearance in the wild. cartoon Rio.

Major trajectories of social extinction.

Dr Ivan Jaric, lead author of the study and researcher at the Czech Center for Biology, said: 'It's important to note that the majority of species really cannot be socially extinct, simply because they never had a social presence in the first place."

'This is common in non-topical, small, hard-to-reach or inaccessible species, particularly in invertebrates, plants, fungi and microorganisms - many of which have not yet been found. formally described by scientists or unknown to the human species," continued Dr.

Dr Josh Firth, co-author of the study and a research fellow in Oxford's Department of Zoology, said:

"Social extinction can affect conservation efforts to protect biodiversity because it can lower our expectations about the environment and our perception of its natural state." , such as standard or relatively sane".

Further studies will now assess how social extinctions can create misperceptions about the severity of threats to biodiversity and the true rate of extinction, and reduce public support for conservation and restoration efforts, such as the reintroduction of Eurasian beavers into the UK.

'Social extinction can dampen our will to pursue ambitious conservation goals. For example, it could reduce public support for remake efforts, especially if such species are no longer present in our memory as natural parts of ecosystems." , Dr. Jaric added.