Feather corticosterone is lower in translocated and historical populations of the endangered Laysan duck (Anas laysanensis)

Identifying reliable bioindicators of population status is a central goal of conservation physiology. Physiological stress measures are often used as metrics of individual health and can assist in managing endangered species if linked to fitness traits. We analysed feather corticosterone, a cumulative physiological stress metric, of individuals from historical, translocated, and source populations of an endangered endemic Hawaiian bird, the Laysan duck (Anas laysanensis). We hypothesized that feather corticosterone would reflect the improved reproduction and survival rates observed in populations translocated to Midway and Kure Atolls from Laysan Island. We also predicted less physiological stress in historical Laysan birds collected before ecological conditions deteriorated and the population bottleneck. All hypotheses were supported: we found lower feather corticosterone in the translocated populations and historical samples than in those from recent Laysan samples. This suggests that current Laysan birds are experiencing greater physiological stress than historical Laysan and recently translocated birds. Our initial analysis suggests that feather corticosterone may be an indicator of population status and could be used as a non-invasive physiological monitoring tool for this species with further validation. Furthermore, these preliminary results, combined with published demographic data, suggest that current Laysan conditions may not be optimal for this species.

Using physiology to better support wild bee conservation

There is accumulating evidence that wild bees are experiencing a decline in terms of species diversity, abundance or distribution, which leads to major concerns about the sustainability of both pollination services and intrinsic biodiversity. There is therefore an urgent need to better understand the drivers of their decline, as well as design conservation strategies. In this context, the current approach consists of linking observed occurrence and distribution data of species to environmental features. While useful, a highly complementary approach would be the use of new biological metrics that can link individual bee responses to environmental alteration with population-level responses, which could communicate the actual bee sensitivity to environmental changes and act as early warning signals of bee population decline or sustainability. We discuss here through several examples how the measurement of bee physiological traits or performance can play this role not only in better assessing the impact of anthropogenic pressures on bees, but also in guiding conservation practices with the help of the documentation of species' physiological needs. Last but not least, because physiological changes generally occur well in advance of demographic changes, we argue that physiological traits can help in predicting and anticipating future population trends, which would represent a more proactive approach to conservation. In conclusion, we believe that future efforts to combine physiological, ecological and population-level knowledge will provide meaningful contributions to wild bee conservation-based research.

One hundred research questions in conservation physiology for generating actionable evidence to inform conservation policy and practice

Environmental change and biodiversity loss are but two of the complex challenges facing conservation practitioners and policy makers. Relevant and robust scientific knowledge is critical for providing decision-makers with the actionable evidence needed to inform conservation decisions. In the Anthropocene, science that leads to meaningful improvements in biodiversity conservation, restoration and management is desperately needed. Conservation Physiology has emerged as a discipline that is well-positioned to identify the mechanisms underpinning population declines, predict responses to environmental change and test different in situ and ex situ conservation interventions for diverse taxa and ecosystems. Here we present a consensus list of 10 priority research themes. Within each theme we identify specific research questions (100 in total), answers to which will address conservation problems and should improve the management of biological resources. The themes frame a set of research questions related to the following: (i) adaptation and phenotypic plasticity; (ii) human-induced environmental change; (iii) human-wildlife interactions; (iv) invasive species; (v) methods, biomarkers and monitoring; (vi) policy, engagement and communication; (vii) pollution; (viii) restoration actions; (ix) threatened species; and (x) urban systems. The themes and questions will hopefully guide and inspire researchers while also helping to demonstrate to practitioners and policy makers the many ways in which physiology can help to support their decisions.

An assessment of the US endangered species act recovery plans: using physiology to support conservation

Applying physiology to help solve conservation problems has become increasingly prominent. It is unclear, however, if the increased integration into the scientific community has translated into the application of physiological tools in conservation planning. We completed a review of the use of animal physiology in the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery plans released between 2005 and 2016. Over those 11 years, 135 of the 146 recovery plans mentioned physiology, with 56% including it as background information on the natural history of the species and not as part of the recovery process. Fish and bird species had the lowest proportion of recovery plans to include physiology beyond the description of the natural history. When considering multiple sub-disciplines of physiology, immunology and epidemiology were incorporated as part of the recovery process most often. Our review suggests a disconnect between available physiological tools and the potential role of physiology in developing conservation plans. We provide three suggestions to further guide conservation scientists, managers and physiologists to work synergistically to solve conservation problems: (1) the breadth of knowledge within a recovery plan writing team should be increased, for example, through increased training of federal scientists in new physiology methodologies and tools or the inclusion of authors in academia that have a background in physiology; (2) physiologists should make their research more available to conservation scientists and federal agencies by clearly linking their research to conservation and (3) communication should be enhanced between government conservation scientists and physiologists.