Kristy Ferraro

This framing allows us to be honest about ecological changes, without slipping into moral narratives about “bad animals.”

It keeps the focus where it belongs: on ecological function, scale, and human roles and values. And that’s usually a better starting point for both science and policy!

So perhaps a framing for wild pigs in Canada is:

- A human-introduced, rapidly expanding large omnivore
- A major ecological disturbance agent (though notingdisturbance isn't always bad)
- Context-dependent in effects
- Clear statement that "negative" effects are based on human values

Here's an example you might find useful.

Martínez-Soto & Johnson (2024) showed that fiddler crabs increase cordgrass biomass in their historic range, but decrease it in a climate-expanded range. In their narrative, the crab didn’t become a villain. The context just shifted.

But, let's imagine that there truly are no positive ecosystem effects of the wild boar as determined by human values. What now?

Is that because there truly are none?

Or because when a species is labeled “invasive,” our science tends to ask:

“How much damage?”

…rather than

“What processes are being altered and in which directions?”

But I've noticed something interesting:

There are almost no studies documenting positive ecological effects of wild pigs in Canada (I literally couldn't find any).

In many Canadian systems, those changes are big and negative for agriculture and for species that people value. That’s real and needs to be taken seriously.

Second: frame them ecologically, not morally.

Wild pigs are ecosystem engineers. They root soils, redistribute nutrients, disturb vegetation, alter hydrology, prey on ground nesters. No one can deny that they are powerful agents of change!

That matters.

Their presence isn’t an ecological “mistake.” It’s part of a long history of human-controlled species movement, land use, and global trade. If we had to assign responsibility, it starts with humans, not the pigs.

Thank you for this question! It's an important and tricky one.

First step: acknowledge the obvious but often skipped point - they’re here because of us. You did this, but many don't. Agricultural escapes, intentional releases, hybridization. This is a human story.

New topical collection 'Individual-Based Conservation' calls for abstracts While conservation science often focus on the 'big picture' of populations and ecosystems, the unique traits of the individual are frequently overlooked. To address this, the diamond open-acce...

Why do individual differences matter for species survival? 🧬
This is what our latest topical collection - "Individual-based #conservation" is trying to explore

💎 Diamond #OA (No fees for authors or readers)
📅 Deadline: 15 March 2026

Submit your abstract today ⤵️
ibe.pensoft.net/news/1106

The cost of casting animals as heroes and villains in conservation science New research shows how these storytelling choices can distort science – and how to move beyond them.

New article @theconversation.com on our paper on storytelling!

As scientists, we are storytellers. The way we frame problems—and who is cast as hero or villain—shapes how our work is understood. Being intentional about narratives matters.

@gadammeyer.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/mnapa25v

Thank you for having me and for such a wonderful chat!

The @britishecologicalsociety.org annual meeting was extra special this year! Thanks again, @aer-ese-bes.bsky.social for the honor.

Same species, different stories: The facts about caribou and reindeer - WWF.CA Are reindeer and caribou really that different? And what challenges are these deer-like animals facing across the Arctic?

Nice, accessible overview from WWF on caribou and reindeer and why they matter in a rapidly changing Arctic. It's been great to collaborate with Jan Adamczewski and WWF on caribou research across northern Canada.

wwf.ca/stories/fact...

#Caribou #Arctic #Conservation

Criteria for zoogeochemical niche construction.

Zoogeochemical niche construction: how animal-mediated biogeochemistry affects evolution
http://dlvr.it/TPswWZ

@kristymferraro.bsky.social & colleagues
@cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social
#AGU25

Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions

The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...

Great piece on the challenges of living alongside predators in the US by Kaggie Orrick and team. We gotta support the humans and animals in this fragmented world.

New Hampshire magic

Excited to get to work with you!!

Thanks Tim! Excited to get to know all the MI wildlife!

Excited to announce we're moving to Ann Arbor as I start a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship at the School for Environment and Sustainability at @umich.edu!

What a year it's been in Newfoundland, filled with beautiful wildlife, inspiring shorelines, good science, and great people.

Wonderful visit with Joseph Bump in Newfoundland at @memorialu.bsky.social last week!! Any guesses what Joseph, @gadammeyer.bsky.social, and I talked about??🌲🦌🌲

‘Earth system engineers’ and the cumulative impact of organisms in deep time Understanding the role of humans as ‘ecosystem engineers’ requires a deep-time perspective rooted in evolutionary history and the fossil record. Howev…

New in Trends in Ecology & Evolution: 'Earth system engineers' and the cumulative impact of organisms in deep time 🔓 #ecoevo #openaccess

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A thread 🧵:

Spent the morning tromping around looking for, and learning about, moose from my favorite moose experts @gadammeyer.bsky.social and Shawn Leroux @memorialu.bsky.social

Thanks @alisoncribb.bsky.social! Can’t wait to hear what you think!!

Direct mortality due to humans threatens migratory shorebirds - Nature Ecology & Evolution Direct human actions such as hunting and bird deterrence at aquaculture sites kill up to 10% of the populations of some shorebird species migrating along China’s coast each year, suggesting that this ...

Direct human actions such as hunting and bird deterrence at aquaculture sites kill up to 10% of the populations of some shorebird species migrating along China’s coast each year, suggesting that this direct mortality is an overlooked threat to migratory populations 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks @jonathan-farr.bsky.social !! 🦬

Rewilding isn't just about restoring ecosystems—it's about building relationships. In our new paper, we highlight how considering the individual and collective relationships among animals and humans in (re)introduction efforts can lead to better rewilding of socio-ecological landscapes.

Science Storytelling, with Kristy Ferraro and Adam Meyer For this episode of BioScience Talks, we were joined by Dr. Kristy...

🎙️ Just published a new episode of BioScience Talks: Science Storytelling, with Kristy Ferraro and Adam Meyer. Have a listen:

The bottom line: zoogeochemical niche construction offers a way to understand how animals, through their elemental legacies, can influence not just ecosystems—but their own evolutionary trajectories.