Taxonomy and Translocations of African Mammals: A Plea for a Cautionary Approach

Abstract

Ecotourism can fuel an important source of financial income for African countries and can therefore help biodiversity policies in the continent. Translocations can be a powerful tool to spread economic benefits among countries and communities; yet, to be positive for biodiversity conservation, they require a basic knowledge of conservation units through appropriate taxonomic research. This is not always the case, as taxonomy was considered an outdated discipline for almost a century, and some plurality in taxonomic approaches is incorrectly considered as a disadvantage for conservation work. As an example, diversity of the genus Giraffa and its recent taxonomic history illustrate the importance of such knowledge for a sound conservation policy that includes translocations. We argue that a fine-grained conservation perspective that prioritizes all remaining populations along the Nile Basin is needed. Translocations are important tools for giraffe diversity conservation, but more discussion is needed, especially for moving new giraffes to regions where the autochthonous taxa/populations are no longer existent. As the current discussion about the giraffe taxonomy is too focused on the number of giraffe species, we argue that the plurality of taxonomic and conservation approaches might be beneficial, i.e., for defining the number of units requiring separate management using a (majority) consensus across different concepts (e.g., MU—management unit, ESU—evolutionary significant unit, and ECU—elemental conservation unit). The taxonomically sensitive translocation policy/strategy would be important for the preservation of current diversity, while also supporting the ecological restoration of some regions within rewilding. A summary table of the main translocation operations of African mammals that have underlying problems is included. Therefore, we call for increased attention toward the taxonomy of African mammals not only as the basis for sound conservation but also as a further opportunity to enlarge the geographic scope of ecotourism in Africa.

The lions of Somalia: a review of available morphological and socio-ecological data

“…It should be noted that the recent acceptance of only two subspecies in P. leo, following the results of phylogenetic researches seems at least premature and certainly dangerous for the conservation of some lion populations (cf. Gippoliti et al, 2021). Concordance between molecular research and subspecies rank is a self-inflicted burden that is not required by the somewhat elastic and subjective subspecies rank as generally acknowledged (Patten and Remsen, 2017).…”

“…Such a restrictive criteria for subspecies rank adopted by IUCN could be dangerous and damaging for the preservation of lion biodiversity as it underestimate the significance of geographical variation, and may also favor remixing between different populations following restocking or translocations (cf. Gippoliti et al, 2021). Bertola et al (2021), accepted the Kitchener et al (2017) taxonomic arrangement, but proposed the consideration of a much greater number of genetic 'lineages' as possible conservation units, de facto recognizing the limits of the subspecific arrangement proposed Kitchener et al (2017).…”

The Contribution of Digital Sequence Information to Conservation Biology: A Southern African Perspective

“…[4] This oversight may lead to management tools being applied inappropriately from an evolutionary or genetic perspective, with potential negative consequences for species and ecosystems. [5] One such key management and conservation tool, globally, is translocation. Between 130 000 and 170 000 animals are estimated to be translocated annually in South Africa alone, predominantly within the billion-dollar wildlife ranching industry, but also within the national and provincial protected area network.…”

“…[ 4 ] This oversight may lead to management tools being applied inappropriately from an evolutionary or genetic perspective, with potential negative consequences for species and ecosystems. [ 5 ]…”

Combining species distribution models and moderate resolution satellite information to guide conservation programs for reticulated giraffe

“…Translocations of different giraffe species have occurred within and across numerous African range and non‐range states for decades (Chege, 2008; Malyjurkova et al ., 2014; Flanagan et al ., 2016; Muller et al ., 2020; Gippoliti, Robovský, & Angelici, 2021). In recent years, detailed information on best practices for giraffe translocation assessments has been developed that includes capture, handling, transportation, and monitoring (Fennessy et al ., 2022).…”