Review of Conservation Physiology

Author(s):  
Justin Boyles
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine L Madliger ◽  
Oliver P Love ◽  
Vivian M Nguyen ◽  
Neal R Haddaway ◽  
Steven J Cooke

Abstract Conservation physiology represents a recently emerging arm of conservation science that applies physiological tools and techniques to understand and solve conservation issues. While a multi-disciplinary toolbox can only help to address the global biodiversity crisis, any field can face challenges while becoming established, particularly highly applied disciplines that require multi-stakeholder involvement. Gaining first-hand knowledge of the challenges that conservation physiologists are facing can help characterize the current state of the field and build a better foundation for determining how it can grow. Through an online survey of 468 scientists working at the intersection of physiology and conservation, we aimed to identify characteristics of those engaging in conservation physiology research (e.g. demographics, primary taxa of study), gauge conservation physiology’s role in contributing to on-the-ground conservation action, identify the perceived barriers to achieving success and determine how difficult any identified barriers are to overcome. Despite all participants having experience combining physiology and conservation, only one-third considered themselves to be ‘conservation physiologists’. Moreover, there was a general perception that conservation physiology does not yet regularly lead to tangible conservation success. Respondents identified the recent conceptualization of the field and the broader issue of adequately translating science into management action as the primary reasons for these deficits. Other significant barriers that respondents have faced when integrating physiology and conservation science included a lack of funding, logistical constraints (e.g. sample sizes, obtaining permits) and a lack of physiological baseline data (i.e. reference ranges of a physiological metric’s ‘normal’ or pre-environmental change levels). We identified 12 actions based on suggestions of survey participants that we anticipate will help deconstruct the barriers and continue to develop a narrative of physiology that is relevant to conservation science, policy and practice.


2020 ◽  
pp. 319-330
Author(s):  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Christine L. Madliger ◽  
Jordanna N. Bergman ◽  
Vivian M. Nguyen ◽  
Sean J. Landsman ◽  
...  

We discuss 12 themes that emerged from the set of case studies comprising the text, namely: (1) mechanisms matter for conservation; (2) physiology is just one source of knowledge; (3) physiology and behaviour are intertwined; (4) new tools and technologies should be embraced; (5) physiology can be valuable in captive settings; (6) conservation physiology extends across scales; (7) physiology can be incorporated into long-term monitoring programmes; (8) conservation physiology is applicable to invertebrates; (9) non-imperilled species deserve attention; (10) successful application is increased by co-production; (11) sharing success stories is important; and (12) findings should be communicated across a variety of platforms. We end the chapter with a discussion of some of the challenges currently being faced in the discipline, and with a message of optimism for the future.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. cot033-cot033 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Cooke

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. cov057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine L. Madliger ◽  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Erica J. Crespi ◽  
Jennifer L. Funk ◽  
Kevin R. Hultine ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1596) ◽  
pp. 1757-1769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Scott G. Hinch ◽  
Michael R. Donaldson ◽  
Timothy D. Clark ◽  
Erika J. Eliason ◽  
...  

Despite growing interest in conservation physiology, practical examples of how physiology has helped to understand or to solve conservation problems remain scarce. Over the past decade, an interdisciplinary research team has used a conservation physiology approach to address topical conservation concerns for Pacific salmon. Here, we review how novel applications of tools such as physiological telemetry, functional genomics and laboratory experiments on cardiorespiratory physiology have shed light on the effect of fisheries capture and release, disease and individual condition, and stock-specific consequences of warming river temperatures, respectively, and discuss how these findings have or have not benefited Pacific salmon management. Overall, physiological tools have provided remarkable insights into the effects of fisheries capture and have helped to enhance techniques for facilitating recovery from fisheries capture. Stock-specific cardiorespiratory thresholds for thermal tolerances have been identified for sockeye salmon and can be used by managers to better predict migration success, representing a rare example that links a physiological scope to fitness in the wild population. Functional genomics approaches have identified physiological signatures predictive of individual migration mortality. Although fisheries managers are primarily concerned with population-level processes, understanding the causes of en route mortality provides a mechanistic explanation and can be used to refine management models. We discuss the challenges that we have overcome, as well as those that we continue to face, in making conservation physiology relevant to managers of Pacific salmon.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. cow071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Kevin R. Hultine ◽  
Jodie L. Rummer ◽  
Craig E. Franklin

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. cot001-cot001 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
L. Sack ◽  
C. E. Franklin ◽  
A. P. Farrell ◽  
J. Beardall ◽  
...  

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