In this talk, ecologist Robert Pringle discusses two important questions in ecology: “How do we conserve ecosystems?” and “To what state should we try to restore damaged ecosystems?”

Many large animals are in danger of extinction, which would have significant ramifications for their entire ecosystems. This potential threat has motivated conservation and restoration efforts around the world, including those in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Most large animal populations in Gorongosa were decimated due to decades of war. Pringle describes the park’s recovery over time, as well as experiments ecologists are performing to understand how the restored ecosystem will compare to the pre-war ecosystem.

This talk is from a 2015 Holiday Lecture Series, Patterns and Processes in Ecology.