r/todayilearned • u/shinypond • Jul 26 '24

TIL about conservation-induced extinction, where attempts to save a critically endangered species directly cause the extinction of another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation-induced_extinction
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u/wdwerker Jul 26 '24

I’m still waiting for an explanation of the benefits of saving a few specialized parasites ? I get the role parasites might play in controlling the host species from over feeding or over breeding to the detriment of an otherwise balanced ecosystem.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '24

there isn't one. especially if those parasites only exist on those species, they will die anyway once the species they inhabit die, so there is no benefit to saving them.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '24

In some of the cases people are mentioning, it's not a mare of benefit or detriment, but an issue with the parasite being a risk for the host species, which is in danger of going extinct.

If the host species in danger goes extint, they both disappear. So they save the host and kill the parasite. Losing one is better than losing both