I take issue with the thought of conservation only being necessary for cute, cuddly animals. There are significant benefits of maintaining biodiversity in the various biomes.
You just need to look at wildlife re-introduction to see this is the case. Return wolves to an area (yellowstone) and Elk populations that were ruining new forest growth starts to come under control. The new growth encourages beavers to return to an ara, beavers improve wayerways, which improves fish stocks. Wolf killed elk also improve things for eagles, bears, coyotes and other scavengers.
I agree. Especially when those "cute" animals have long ceased to have any significant role in their ecosystem due to their reduced numbers. I think conservation efforts should primarily focus on the ecosystem not single species. In fact it is not uncommon for environmentalist organizations to follow this approach, to the apparent detriment of the ability to stir up any interest among the wider public. Biological corridors? Mangrove forests? Too many humans take this as faceless abstract technical entities, even when their face is more often than not also a human face.
