Abstract Biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate, and it is therefore important to set ambitious targets and to explore innovative tools, such as de-extinction, to protect and recover species. However, it is also essential that risks associated with innovative tools, such as release of proxies for extinct species into the wild, be carefully evaluated. Risks associated with such releases parallel those for introducing non-native species or re-introducing locally extinct species and include the possibility that the proxy becomes invasive and affects native species, communities, or ecosystems through predation, competition, browsing, hybridisation, facilitation of spread of diseases, and various ecosystem-level impacts such as changed hydrology or fire regimes. It is essential that such risks of releasing a proxy be subjected to rigorous application of advances in risk assessment science. However, the substantial limits of risk assessment methods for such species must be recognized, and the safety of existing native species and substantial maintenance of existing ecosystem functions should be privileged over potential benefits of releasing a proxy for an extinct species when the reliability of these assessments is limited, as is especially likely when the proxied species is long extinct. Quantifying potential costs and benefits of indirect effects of releasing a proxy – such as lessened public concern for biodiversity loss or increased interest in conservation based on a “resurrected” charismatic species – do not appear tractable with current risk assessment methods.

中文翻译：

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保护中的“去灭绝”：评估释放“复活”物种的风险

摘要 生物多样性正在以惊人的速度下降，因此制定雄心勃勃的目标并探索创新工具（如消除灭绝）以保护和恢复物种非常重要。然而，也必须仔细评估与创新工具相关的风险，例如将灭绝物种的代理释放到野外。与此类释放相关的风险与引入非本地物种或重新引入本地灭绝物种的风险相似，包括代理成为侵入性并通过捕食、竞争、浏览、杂交、促进传播影响本地物种、社区或生态系统的可能性疾病以及各种生态系统层面的影响，例如水文或火灾状况的变化。必须严格应用风险评估科学的进步来应对此类发布代理的风险。然而，必须认识到此类物种的风险评估方法的实质性限制，并且当这些评估的可靠性时，现有本地物种的安全性和现有生态系统功能的实质性维护应优先于释放已灭绝物种代理的潜在利益是有限的，尤其是当代理物种早已灭绝时。量化释放代理的间接影响的潜在成本和收益——例如减少公众对生物多样性丧失的担忧或增加对基于“复活”魅力物种的保护的兴趣——似乎无法通过当前的风险评估方法进行处理。