Biological mechanisms matter in contemporary wildlife conservation

Steven J Cooke; Christine L Madliger; Robert J Lennox; Julian D Olden; Erika J Eliason; Rebecca L Cramp; Andrea Fuller; Craig E Franklin; Frank Seebacher

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106192

Biological mechanisms matter in contemporary wildlife conservation

iScience. 2023 Feb 14;26(3):106192. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106192. eCollection 2023 Mar 17.

Authors

Steven J Cooke¹, Christine L Madliger², Robert J Lennox³, Julian D Olden⁴, Erika J Eliason⁵, Rebecca L Cramp⁶, Andrea Fuller⁷, Craig E Franklin⁶, Frank Seebacher⁸

Affiliations

¹ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
² Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen St. East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2G4, Canada.
³ Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 5008 Bergen, Norway.
⁴ School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5020, USA.
⁵ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
⁶ School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
⁷ Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, South Africa.
⁸ School of Life and Environmental Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Abstract

Given limited resources for wildlife conservation paired with an urgency to halt declines and rebuild populations, it is imperative that management actions are tactical and effective. Mechanisms are about how a system works and can inform threat identification and mitigation such that conservation actions that work can be identified. Here, we call for a more mechanistic approach to wildlife conservation and management where behavioral and physiological tools and knowledge are used to characterize drivers of decline, identify environmental thresholds, reveal strategies that would restore populations, and prioritize conservation actions. With a growing toolbox for doing mechanistic conservation research as well as a suite of decision-support tools (e.g., mechanistic models), the time is now to fully embrace the concept that mechanisms matter in conservation ensuring that management actions are tactical and focus on actions that have the potential to directly benefit and restore wildlife populations.

Keywords: Biological sciences; Evolutionary biology; Zoology.

Publication types

Review