Man-Made Refugia

Just a quick post here to comment on something that caught my eye whilst I was reading Rull (2008)’s article. The article itself provides a very good summary and clarification of the uses of different linguistic variations of what he terms ‘microrefugia’ so do have a look, but it was really the final sentence which got me thinking. He mentions how the concept of microrefugia can be useful in the context of conservation and species responses to climate change and then goes on to say how ex-situ conservation strategies are often used in the protection of species that have become endangered as a result of habitat loss. These ex-situ conservation strategies include zoos, seed banks and botanical gardens. What I found particularly interesting, though, was the way Rull (2008) referred to these as ‘man-made microrefugia’! I suppose it makes sense really as they are just artificially created areas where the environment is suitable for species to persist, it’s just something I’d never thought of before.

This then got me thinking about the possibility of creating man-made refugial areas in the wild – because, after all, you can’t turn the whole world in a zoo or botanical garden! If natural refugial areas aren’t going to be enough to save species then we may need to give them a helping hand by creating artificial ones. I then came across this video on YouTube that explains how a refugium for crocodiles was created as their habitat was threatened by rising sea levels associated with anthropogenic climate change.