Editorial: The Role of Zoos and Aquariums in Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations

Gilbert, Tania; Soorae, Pritpal S.

doi:10.1111/izy.12164

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Zoos have been considered as catalysts for conservation, recognized as partners by the scientific community for their contributions in skills and expertise that span animal care, husbandry, public engagement, education and research (Zimmermann et al 2007;Moss et al 2015;Gilbert and Soorae 2017). A growing commitment to biodiversity conservation has been reflected by zoos and aquariums directives, including WAZA's (The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) pledge to contribute to meet the Aichi Biodiversity targets (Moss et al 2015).…”

Section: The Role Of Zoos In Developing the Relationship Between Peopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Consorte-McCrea¹,

Fernández²,

Bainbridge³

et al. 2019

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Addressing the biodiversity crisis requires renewed collaborative approaches. Large carnivores are ambassador species, and as such they can aid the protection of a wide range of species, including evolutionarily distinct and threatened ones, while being popular for conservation marketing. However, conflicts between carnivores and people present a considerable challenge to biodiversity conservation. Our cross disciplinary essay brings together original research to discuss key issues in the conservation of large carnivores as keystone species for biodiversity rich, healthy ecosystems. Our findings suggest the need to promote coexistence through challenging ‘wilderness’ myths; to consider coexistence/conflict as a continuum; to include varied interest groups in decision making; to address fear through positive mediated experiences, and to explore further partnerships with zoos. As wide-reaching institutions visited by over 700 million people/year worldwide, zoos combine knowledge, emotion and social context creating ideal conditions for the development of care towards nature, pro-environmental behaviors and long-term connections between visitors and carnivores. Based on current research, we provide evidence that large carnivores and zoos are both powerful catalysts for public engagement with biodiversity conservation, recognizing barriers and suggesting future ways to collaborate to address biodiversity loss.

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Section: The Role Of Zoos In Developing the Relationship Between Peopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Consorte-McCrea¹,

Fernández²,

Bainbridge³

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With each passing year, we move deeper into the biodiversity crisis (Ceballos et al, 2015). As a consequence, there has been an increase in conservation activity, be it through habitat restoration (e.g., Corlett, 2016), translocations (e.g., Corlett, 2016), or captive breeding (e.g., Gilbert & Soorae, 2017). Many conservation actions are based on restoring gene flow between small, fragmented populations to improve their sustainability (Frankham et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using phylogenetics to explore interspecies genetic rescue options for a critically endangered parrot

Hogg

Morrison

Dudley

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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As the global biodiversity crisis deepens, with increasing habitat fragmentation and a changing climate, innovative options for conserving species are being explored. One such conservation action is genetic rescue: introduction of new alleles to promote population fitness. However, for critically endangered species where only one viable population remains, options for introducing new alleles are limited. Interspecies hybridization offers a potential solution but requires resolution of evolutionary relationships, a sound understanding of species biology, social license, and permissive legislative frameworks. Here, we show how phylogenetics and species biology can inform genetic rescue options for the orange-bellied parrot (OBP; Neophema chrysogaster), a critically endangered Australian bird with one small remaining wild population. Our phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear loci for all congeneric species provided strong support for OBPs being the sister species to a group comprising elegant, rock, and blue-winged parrots. Accounting for species distribution, behavior, and ecology, a captive trial of interspecific hybridization with the blue-winged parrot is recommended, including assessment of the fitness of hybrid individuals. Introduction of new alleles into the OBP genome would achieve the conservation goal of improving genetic diversity in a critically endangered species. Concurrently, legislative issues will need to be resolved.

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“…Collaborative approaches to conservation by zoos and aquariums means information about (e.g., genetic and demographic) and the individual animals themselves are shared between institutions to build and maintain sustainable populations. Many zoos are involved in reintroduction programs by releasing captive‐bred animals to re‐establish wild populations (Gilbert & Soorae, 2017). Accredited zoos support overseas field projects by providing funding or resources, and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums members can collectively spend $350 million US dollars annually on in situ conservation (Gusset & Dick, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social networks research in ex situ populations: Patterns, trends, and future directions for conservation‐focused behavioral research

Lewton

Rose

2021

Zoo Biology

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Social networks research using non-human animals has grown over the past decade, utilizing a wide range of species to answer an array of pure and applied questions.Network approaches have relevance to conservation, evaluating social influences on fecundity, health, fitness and longevity. While the application of network approaches to in situ populations with conservation concern appears in published literature, the degree to which ex situ and zoo-housed populations are the focus of "social networks for conservation research" is limited. Captive environments provide scientists with an ability to understand the social behavior of species that may be hard to observe consistently in the wild. This paper evaluates the scope of network research involving ex situ populations, analyzing output from 2010 to 2019 to determine trends in questions and subjects using ex situ populations. We show that only 8.2% of ex situ social network analysis (SNA) implications are of conservation-focus, apparent in papers relating to birds, carnivores, bats, primates, reptiles, and ungulates. Husbandry and welfare questions predominate in ex situ network research, but over half of these papers have nonpractical application (basic science). The chance of a citation for a basic science paper was 95.4% more than for a conservation-based paper. For taxonomic groups, primate-focused papers had the most citations. The focus of ex situ conservation-based networks research may be driven by the needs of conservation programs (e.g., population recovery outcomes) or by a need to evaluate the efficacy of ex situ conservation goals. We evaluate our findings considering the IUCN's One Plan Approach to conservation to show how in situ and ex situ network research is applicable to global conservation efforts. We have identified that there is a lack of application and evaluation of SNA to wildlife conservation. We highlight future areas of research in zoos and hope to stimulate discussion and collaboration between relevant parties.

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Editorial: The Role of Zoos and Aquariums in Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Large carnivores and zoos as catalysts for engaging the public in the protection of biodiversity

Using phylogenetics to explore interspecies genetic rescue options for a critically endangered parrot

Social networks research in ex situ populations: Patterns, trends, and future directions for conservation‐focused behavioral research

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