Los Angeles ranks among the world’s top 40 biodiversity hotspots—it has a diverse range of species, many of which are under threat. Making this metropolis a living laboratory of native and non-native species is the bold idea of ecologist Brad Shaffer, head of La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science.
If we can protect California species and strategically adopt endangered non–native species, “we can have an L.A. bristling with cool biodiversity, and we’re also doing the right thing by saving a few species that otherwise might go extinct,” says Shaffer.
Watch the video of Brad’s talk: