Biodiversity conservation, consistency, and Mus musculus.

Abstract

The house mouse (Mus musculus) is often thought of as a pest species in biological conservation, in agriculture, and in urban areas. As a result, populations are frequently targeted for control and eradication. However, M. musculus has notable within-species biodiversity: it has genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct subpopulations. Conserving biodiversity is usually considered the paramount goal of conservation biology, not least because biodiversity is claimed to have intrinsic value. But the biodiversity in mouse populations is often overlooked. In particular, conservationists do not call for the unique diversity represented by threatened mouse populations to be protected. This is illustrative of the inconsistent valuing of biodiversity in conservation. If biodiversity is intrinsically valuable, then it should be valued; however, it reveals itself. And yet, in examples presented here, unique populations of house mice with clear biodiversity value are threatened by eradication campaigns on islands and by changing agricultural practices on the Swiss-Italian border. The inconsistent valuing of biodiversity in the case of M. musculus raises important questions about whether the intrinsic value of biodiversity in conservation is, in practice, conditional on other implicit assumptions.