Species on the move

The BIOrdinary project sets out to explore biodiversity in ordinary places across seven ethnographic case studies where recent biodiversity shifts can be attributed to a combination of climate change, imperial debris and shipping route infrastructure.

 

BIOrdinary's seven empirical case studies explore biodiversity dilemmas involving species influxes tied to colonial histories. The case studies underline how the trajectories of migrant species are entangled with imperial sea routes and domestication processes. Scapegoated by global biodiversity protection, these species are integrated into environmental, social, political and economic life. There are no easy answers or quick fixes to the biodiversity dilemmas evolving in these places.

Global warming has added a new dimension to environments with migrant species. Due to differences in genetic makeup, alien and endemic species react differently to climate-induced changes. Some species thrive, others suffer. We cannot rule out that migrant species will survive future heatwaves, while local species perish.​