Ars Technica is reporting that groups of individual animals from species re-introduced to areas take generations to settle in. Even if they were were once found in that same area it takes multiple generations to re-establish migration routes and other mass movement patterns if the animals had been eradicated from the area and there is no continuity. So the takeaway is that re-introduction requires decades or centuries if the behavior is left unaddressed:
In many areas of the globe, native species have been wiped out of large areas of their range even though some habitats that could support them were left intact or later restored. That has allowed conservationists to reintroduce these species, sometimes with spectacular success. The North American bison, for example, has gradually returned from near extinction largely due to reintroductions from the few small herds that were once left.
But not all of these reintroductions have worked out, and a paper in this week's Science suggests a reason: over generations, native populations develop a "culture" that helps them to understand when and where to migrate. New populations, dropped into an unfamiliar landscape, tend to sit still and don't make the most out of their habitat.
An example with birds was Operation Migration which ran for 25 years and used ultralight aircraft to guide new birds along good migration routes. However, land-bound animals will have a harder time navigating manmade obstacles.
Is ungulate migration culturally transmitted? Evidence of social learning from translocated animals (open, DOI: 10.1126/science.aat0985) (DX)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 08 2018, @09:28PM (3 children)
That seems a euphemism for racial memory. Memory is transferred directly from elder members of the tribe/herd/pack/flock to the younger members. "When the trees get red, we fly south, following these half dozen waypoints." Or, "When the first snows fall, we move into the lowlands, near the river." And, those who would ask, "But why, Mama?" probably perish in the winter.
And, if/when things change drastically, the tribe/herd/whatever may survive, or not. That will depend on how quickly they can adapt to the changed circumstances.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 08 2018, @11:51PM
So it'll take a century for all the hoodies to aclimatize when they get sent back to Africa?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 09 2018, @01:17AM
The ones that adapt most quickly to changes circumstances are the ones that ask "But why, Mama?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 09 2018, @06:19AM
It's probably a lot more subtle than that. More like "When the trees get red" the birds start thinking "Hmm, somethings not right I can't put my finger (wingtip) on it".
As others begin to have the same feelings, an unease grows through the flock gaining momentum until one bird thinks I've had enough enough of this; I'm blowing the Popsicle stand and leaves. He has a few followers. Gradually more and more do this until it reaches some critical mass and nobody wants to be left alone.
At first they'll fly in random directions until they start picking up subtle clues around them, like there are fewer red trees if we go this direction. Soon everyone arrives at a consensus they should be flying south until a few of the older birds think, hey, I remember having a good time on a lake like that below us right now. I think I'll land. Thanks to mob mentality, they'll get a few followers until the whole flock decides to winter in Cancun.
If a goose can fly a few hundred (up to thousands) of km/day, that is easily enough distance on an initial random walk to determine the correct direction.