Studying Substitute Animals Will Not Save Endangered Species.

Byline: University of California, Davis

DAVIS, Calif., Nov. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- The reasons behind endangerment of one species cannot easily be applied to another, University of California at Davis conservation biologists warn in a new study.

In the December issue of the journal Conservation Biology, professors Tim Caro, John Eadie and Andrew Sih examine the common research practice of using surrogate animals to predict or identify what is endangering another species. Such "umbrella" or "flagship" substitutes are chosen because they are biologically similar to the troubled species or can be used to develop a predictive model to which the original …