Page 23 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2022
P. 23
RESEARCH NEWS
Health considerations
in wildlife reintroduction projects
A team of researchers, including Katie Beckmann, an RVC PhD student, have conducted
a study into the health outcomes in wildlife reintroduction projects.
onservation translocations The resulting paper, published in The health of translocated wildlife can
as they are formally termed the journal Ecological Solutions and be impacted not just by disease but
are defined as population Evidence, summarises information about also these other biological problems,
Creinforcement, reintroduction, disease and other biological problems which may cause, for example, traumatic
assisted colonisation or ecological reported in case studies of animal injury or undernourishment. The
replacement. They have become a and plant conservation translocation paper reveals the full range of health
widespread tool as part of efforts published in the IUCN/SSC新月直播檚 新月直播楪lobal conditions potentially associated with
to restore wildlife populations and Reintroduction Perspectives新月直播� series. conservation translocations, which
their wider ecosystems and have Disease problems, including infection, can influence conservation and animal
been vital in aiding the recovery of stress and husbandry-related disorders welfare聽outcomes.
various endangered animal and plant were described as a 新月直播榤ajor difficulty新月直播�, The paper considers how health is
populations, growing in popularity in 新月直播榤ajor lesson learned新月直播� or 新月直播榬eason for新月直播� closely linked to other ecological
recent decades. This trend is unlikely failure新月直播� in 30 per cent of the 295 case and environmental issues, as well as
to change, particularly in light of current studies. They were significantly more likely translocation strategy and management.
biodiversity declines and pressures many to be mentioned in projects with poorer The work of the whole translocation
species face from climate change.
新月直播榮uccess新月直播� ratings, suggesting that, when team therefore influences the health of
Conservation translocations are present, disease may be an important translocated 新月直播� and released 新月直播� animals
challenging to undertake, expensive and obstacle to translocation success. and plants.
time-consuming 新月直播� and without guarantee Two-thirds of the case studies The full paper, and accompanying data
that positive outcomes will be achieved. mentioned another type of biological article, can be accessed from Ecological
This new research reviewed reports problem under one of these same Solutions and Evidence 新月直播� besjournals.
of previous projects and builds the subheadings, particularly post-release onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
evidence base to learn from and inform predation, adverse climate/weather full/10.1002/2688-8319.12164
future thinking and decision-making or anthropogenic trauma. Even 新月直播榟ighly
when planning new initiatives.
successful新月直播� case studies commonly
described those problems.
23
