Who to revive? Explaining charismatic species bias in the selection of de-extinction candidate species

Abstract

How are species selected for de-extinction? The implications of de-extinction for restoration ecology greatly depend on the type of species that is resurrected. Several guidelines have been developed that propose selection criteria based on their positive ecological impact. Little is known, however, about how people actually make the choice for a particular species, and whether those guidelines are followed in practice. We systematically investigated what motives play a role in selecting candidate species for de-extinction through the analysis of 18 interviews and 128 online sources on selection processes for ongoing de-extinction projects worldwide. We found that candidate species for de-extinction are selected for a variety of reasons, including non-ecological reasons like animal charisma and personal fascination. We analyse these results using a relational framework from the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) that explains priority setting in research by looking at the relations between researchers with funders, users, and public values. We demonstrate that in the case of de-extinction, these relations create an environment in which charismatic species are structurally favoured, possibly at the expense of more ecologically sound species. This complements approaches in evolutionary psychology that explain the endurance of animal charisma by focusing on emotional responses in individuals who are triggered by animals with a ‘cuddle factor’. We argue that even if individuals are able to overcome such emotional triggers, animal charisma as selection criteria will endure because the relations between different actors structurally favour the selection of charismatic species.