Move It? is an online questionnaire that scores the suitability of user-defined species (candidate taxa) for assisted colonization. Questions are divided into three main categories, following Hoegh-Guldberg et al. (2008): (1) need for assisted colonization, (2) technical feasibility of assisted colonization, and (3) biological/ socioeconomical costs versus benefits of assisted colonization.
Move It is also a growing database of user-submitted scores, which can then be used to compare candidate taxa and guide decisions about the use of assisted colonization in practice.
Although primarily developed in the context of climate change, Move It can be used to evaluate any proposal to translocate organisms outside their current range.
The primary intention of Move It is not to promote assisted colonization but to present a heuristic framework with which to constructively evaluate this complex issue.
Background InformationClimate change is shifting local ecological conditions around the globe. For species facing high risk of extinction, because they can neither adapt to novel bioclimatic conditions nor shift their range by crossing natural or anthropogenic barriers, the concept of assisted colonization (also known as "assisted migration" or "managed relocation") has gained traction in biological conservation. Under this paradigm, species severely threatened by climate change may require human-mediated translocation to effectively track the movements of their required bioclimatic envelope. Some conservation biologists, however, are resistant to widespread application of assisted colonization due to the many inherent risks. Move It is an attempt to provide a heuristic framework with which to constructively evaluate the complex and controversial issue of assisted colonization. For more information about assisted colonization, please visit the web site of the National Science Foundation's Working Group on Managed Relocation.
For more information about assisted colonization, read: Schlaepfer, M. A., Helenbrook, W. D., Searing, K. B., & Shoemaker, K. T. (2009). Assisted colonization: evaluating contrasting management actions (and values) in the face of uncertainty. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24(9), 471-472.
Move It is also a growing database of user-submitted scores, which can then be used to compare candidate taxa and guide decisions about the use of assisted colonization in practice.
Although primarily developed in the context of climate change, Move It can be used to evaluate any proposal to translocate organisms outside their current range.
The primary intention of Move It is not to promote assisted colonization but to present a heuristic framework with which to constructively evaluate this complex issue.
Background InformationClimate change is shifting local ecological conditions around the globe. For species facing high risk of extinction, because they can neither adapt to novel bioclimatic conditions nor shift their range by crossing natural or anthropogenic barriers, the concept of assisted colonization (also known as "assisted migration" or "managed relocation") has gained traction in biological conservation. Under this paradigm, species severely threatened by climate change may require human-mediated translocation to effectively track the movements of their required bioclimatic envelope. Some conservation biologists, however, are resistant to widespread application of assisted colonization due to the many inherent risks. Move It is an attempt to provide a heuristic framework with which to constructively evaluate the complex and controversial issue of assisted colonization. For more information about assisted colonization, please visit the web site of the National Science Foundation's Working Group on Managed Relocation.
For more information about assisted colonization, read: Schlaepfer, M. A., Helenbrook, W. D., Searing, K. B., & Shoemaker, K. T. (2009). Assisted colonization: evaluating contrasting management actions (and values) in the face of uncertainty. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24(9), 471-472.