US EditionIs there life after extinction? Some scientists and conservationists are trying to find out
- On April 29, 2025, scientists and volunteers released over 100 Silvery Blue butterflies at the Presidio sand dunes in San Francisco to fill the ecological role of the extinct Xerces Blue Butterfly.
- This effort follows the Xerces Blue Butterfly's extinction about 80 years ago due to human activity amid a global biodiversity crisis intensified by habitat destruction, climate change, and pollution.
- Kapan and his team captured Silvery Blue butterflies over the past year from Monterey County and released them as a test case of de-extinction to study replacing extinct species with functional surrogates.
- Ryan Phelan and collaborators state biotechnology could aid conservation but is not a panacea without legislation protecting species and habitats, while sightings of surviving Silvery Blues suggest partial success.
- The project highlights ethical debates as some experts prioritize saving endangered species over recreating extinct niches, yet proponents call de-extinction an essential scientific tool for restoring lost species and ecosystem functions.
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The Virginian Pilot+39 Reposted by 39 other sources
Is there life after extinction? Some scientists and conservationists are trying to find out
On a shrub-covered dune in San Francisco’s Presidio, biologist Durrell Kapan and a group of volunteers huddle around a tiny plastic condiment container placed delicately amid a cluster of orange-yellow flowers. Inside is a Silvery Blue butterfly whose inch-long wings beat sleepily, revealing its shimmering namesake hue as it sips on a cotton ball doused in fruit punch Gatorade. Just over 80 years ago, Xerces Blue Butterfly last flapped its wings…
·Norfolk, United States
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