Which rescue to the rescue? Disentangling demographic, evolutionary, and genetic rescue.

Authors

Mark R Christie, Sarah W Fitzpatrick, Catherine L Searle

Published in

Trends in ecology & evolution. Sep 09, 2026. Epub Sep 09, 2026.

Abstract

Many populations face increasing extinction risk, but persistence can occur via 'rescue', defined as an increase in population growth rates or abundance that lowers extinction probability. Such rescue manifests as demographic rescue (immigration offsetting vital rate declines), evolutionary rescue (adaptive response to selection), or genetic rescue (gene flow introducing beneficial genetic variation). We emphasize that rescue is a population-level outcome, not a management strategy, and the three rescue types are not mutually exclusive; for example, gene flow could lead to demographic, genetic, and evolutionary rescue. Understanding the interactions within and among these types of rescue and balancing immediate demographic gains with long-term adaptive potential is crucial for developing effective management actions tailored to diverse taxa and changing ecological contexts.

PMID:
42716900
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Sep 2026.

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