Bias and dispersal in the animal reintroduction literature B Á l i n t B a j o m i , A n d r e w S . P u l l i n , G a v i n B . S t e w a r t and A n d r Á s T a k Á c s -S Á n t a Abstract We examined the literature on animal reintroductions to assess the challenges facing individual conservation practitioners who wish to access, synthesize and interpret available evidence to inform their decision making. We undertook an extensive search in eight electronic literature databases, using seven different keyword combinations, and added the content of four bibliographies on reintroductions. We found 3,826 potentially relevant publications totalling at least 29,290 pages of text. Taxonomic bias is apparent in the distribution of general and conservation scientific literature and in reintroduction programmes. We examined whether the literature on reintroductions is biased in a similar way. Comparing the distribution of reintroduction publications to numbers of species, reintroduction programmes and the general conservation literature, there is a marked taxonomic bias favouring vertebrates, especially birds and mammals. The bias in relation to reintroduction programmes is surprising and indicates that managers working with invertebrates and amphibians are less willing and/or less able to publish their results than those working with mammals and birds. The reasons for this are unclear. The growth of the cumulative body of literature can be depicted by a sigmoid curve. Almost 40% of the items were scientific journal articles distributed across 335 journals. The large, ever-growing and dispersed evidence base results in an increased need for reviews, which must be systematic to minimize bias.

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In Europe 37% of freshwater fish are threatened. However, conservation activity is less widespread for fish compared to other vertebrate groups. The Vulnerable European mudminnow Umbra krameri is a marshland fish endemic to the Carpathian Basin. Its range and population have declined significantly since the 1990s. The main threats to the species are habitat loss and the invasive Chinese sleeper Perccottus glenii. During 2008–2012 a species conservation programme was established to rescue broodstocks from threatened populations, breed them under controlled conditions, translocate both rescued fish and their laboratory-reared offspring to surrogate habitats, and finally reintroduce offspring to their original habitats. Broodstocks from three threatened habitats were bred in the laboratory and produced offspring appropriate for stocking. Six artificial ponds were created in the pilot study area according to the environmental needs of the species, four of which proved to be suitable surrogate habitats in which translocated fish survived and reproduced successfully. Populations in the original habitats were supplemented with fish from laboratory breeding and from the natural recruitment of surrogate habitats, with special care of the corresponding broodstocks. Future challenges include improving our knowledge about the ecological processes in which the European mudminnow participates, identifying the most threatened populations, habitats suitable for restoration and potential areas for creation of surrogate habitats, and enhancing induced propagation methodology.

During fieldwork from 6 June to 20 July 2016, the first records of the European beaver (Castor fiber) in south-eastern Slovakia were made. Beavers are mainly nocturnal animals, and as such, they are rarely observed; therefore, our observations were based on searching for beaver presence signs: damaged trees, dams, signs of food consumption (chewed/felled trees) and footprints in the mud. The southern part of the Košická kotlina basin, from the city of Košice down to the state border and the surrounding villages in Hungary, was checked. We found two beaver locations via feeding signs in the vicinity of the Slovakia–Hungary state border, at the villages of Milhosť (Miglécnémeti) and Buzica (Buzita), in Slovakia. According to our calculations, the present total beaver population in Hungary is between 4,000 and 5,000 and 14,600–18,300 beavers with potential support. For Slovakia, we estimated the potential population size to be 7,700–9,600. Our findings in northern Pannonian lowland (Slovakia–Hungary border) are an important evidence of beaver expansion. Although we don’t know the exact origin of investigated population, these new records indicate the possibility of merging the populations of different origin, which could enable gene flow and increase the genetic diversity. This could lead to improved recovery of species and its stabilisation in nature. However, it is necessary to carry out a detailed investigation of the presence of beaver in these regions in future.

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