Wildlife translocations are an important conservation tool but can be challenging for the animals. For translocations to be successful, animals must adjust to their release landscape. Investigating how animals acclimate to their release landscapes can improve post‐release monitoring and inform about the management needs of translocated populations. We investigated movements and resource selection dynamics of 106 elk (Cervus canadensis) during the first 6–8 years following their release to Missouri, USA in 2011–2013. We observed evidence of spatial acclimation as determined by cessation of changes in resource selection together with monthly range sizes and fidelity of individual elk. Females showed faster evidence of acclimation in their movements following release than males. Although range fidelity for both sexes stabilized within approximately seven months, range size stabilized within approximately three months for females and stabilization began within approximately 11 months for males. Selection for multiple resources by elk also largely stabilized within their first year following release. A simple refuge‐forage trade‐off alone did not explain acclimation in resource selection. Elk selected for high‐quality food plots across the temporal extent of restoration regardless of time since release, whereas their selection for cover resources during summer increased after elk acclimated. Together, spatial acclimation generally lagged behind physiological responses observed in this system, adding to the increasing evidence that translocated animals display acclimation patterns across trait‐specific time periods. Our approach demonstrates the utility of accounting for acclimation effects across multiple spatial response metrics for improving post‐release monitoring, evaluation, and management of restored wildlife populations.

Conservation translocations—the intentional movement of animals to restore populations—have increased over the past 30 years to halt and reverse species declines and losses. However, there are many challenges translocated animals face that should be considered for restoration programs to be successful. Understanding how long it takes for translocated animals to acclimate to these challenges and their new landscape is a critical component of post-release population management. Physiological measures such as hormone responses are increasingly used to assess animal responses and acclimation to disturbances including translocation. We determined the physiological acclimation period of elk (Cervus canadensis) translocated to the Missouri Ozarks, USA, as part of a restoration effort. From 2011 to 2013, we translocated 108 GPS-radio-collared elk from Kentucky, USA, to Missouri, USA, and collected faecal samples for glucocorticoid metabolite extraction to use as an indicator of physiological acclimation. We modelled the response of population-wide faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) across the initial 9 years of the restoration in response to days following release and additional site-specific covariates. Presence of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunts and monthly precipitation levels were positively and negatively associated with fGCM levels, respectively. Concurrent with influences from site-specific conditions on the release landscape, fGCM levels declined following release. We identified a breakpoint in fGCM decline at ~42 days following translocation releases suggesting elk acclimated physiologically relatively quickly compared to other species. The fast physiological acclimation by Missouri elk suggests effective use of temporary post-release management efforts. Determining how quickly animals acclimate following translocations allows researchers to tailor post-release management plans to each species’ needs, thus maximizing the success of future translocation efforts while minimizing costs.

Biologists increasingly use translocation to restore animals to areas where they have been extirpated. However, we know little about how translocation decisions influence translocation‐mediated social dynamics. Breeding in polygynous ungulate mating systems is typically dominated by prime age males, but founding males within translocated ungulate populations often are comprised of only young individuals. We investigated the influence of releasing exclusively young‐aged males on mating system and male reproductive success during an elk (Cervus canadensis) restoration program in Missouri. From 2011 to 2013, we translocated and released 106 elk from Kentucky to Missouri, U.S.A. We collected tissue samples for DNA from all translocated elk and subsequently captured adults and calves in Missouri during 2014–2018 for paternity analysis. Initial levels of polygyny were low but increased and acclimated over the initial years following translocation, commensurate with advancing sire age structure and increasing population density. Sire age was positively associated with individual male reproductive success initially, but the effect of age decreased as polygyny acclimated and sire age structure became older and more variable. Polygyny levels in the reintroduced population were restored to expected values within 4 years of the last translocation event, demonstrating the acclimation of mating structure despite a translocation tactic favoring young‐aged males. Importantly, initial dampened polygyny may facilitate retention of genetic variation by maximizing the genetic contribution of more founding individuals; however, benefits to genetic variation retention should be considered against potential demographic consequences to calves sired by young males.

Assumptions about how conservation practices will affect ecological outcomes are critical for informing and learning from conservation actions. However, when assumptions do not reflect conditions to which they are applied, they can impede achievement of targeted outcomes and hinder capacity to contribute to conservation goals. We assert that identifying and examining technical assumptions, or those that relate to abiotic or biotic systems, in conservation practice retrospectively for broad conservation strategies is crucial for advancing learning in conservation. Unlike existing proactive assumption frameworks, retroactive examination, which is often realistic for broad scale conservation, allows for honest evaluation of the contributions of those strategies toward shared goals.We propose the state, identify, focus, and think (SIFT) framework, a four-step process, to guide examination of technical assumptions by defining how assumptions interact with biological circumstances to shape outcomes. We demonstrate use of the SIFT framework with a common technical assumption in US federal private lands conservation programs-that all acres are similarly valuable for achieving wildlife conservation benefits. With the SIFT framework, we show that the benefits of these programs are likely to be applicable to mobile, generalist species with small space requirements, while many species of conservation concern are less likely to benefit.

Wildlife translocation is an important conservation tool for restoring species and reducing global biodiversity decline; however, this practice is challenging for wildlife, and translocated individuals must adjust to their release landscapes for restoration success. The period following release is a vulnerable time for wildlife and determining when animals acclimate following translocation improves long‐term estimates of population dynamics and allows researchers to efficiently tailor translocation design and post‐release management to each population's needs. We evaluated demographic acclimation and investigated changes in post‐release survival of a population of 106 elk Cervus canadensis translocated to Missouri, USA, in 2011–2013 using generalized survival modelling. We defined the acclimation period as the duration of time prior to stabilization in mortality risk relative to time from release, and we evaluated acclimation duration from flexible plots of estimated mortality hazards across time. We simultaneously investigated factors contributing to post‐release survival and compared survival rates and mortality sources observed during acclimation and post‐acclimation periods. Elevated mortality risk for translocated elk spanned a 5‐month acclimation period following release, with an additional 1‐year period reflecting reduced, but still elevated, mortality hazards. Baseline hazards during the initial 5‐month acclimation period were approximately four times higher than the subsequent 4.4 years following release. Release cohort, but not age class or sex, was associated with post‐release mortality risk, and mortality sources within the acclimation period tended to be undetermined with greater frequency relative to mortalities occurring after the acclimation period. Our results highlight the utility of flexible modelling approaches to evaluate dynamic post‐release responses of translocated populations. Translocated elk demonstrated a pronounced demographic acclimation period that spanned 5 months following release. Changes in mortality sources and the timing of stabilization in mortality hazards suggest that demographic acclimation in translocated elk was associated with adjustments in physiological stress and movement rates which stabilized over a similar post‐release duration. Improving post‐release monitoring and assessment of restored populations by evaluating temporal dynamics of manifold biological and ecological responses as translocated animals acclimate to their new landscapes is vital to successful restoration efforts.