Researcher perspectives on challenges and opportunities in conservation physiology revealed from an online survey

Abstract

Conservation physiology represents a recently emerging arm of conservation science that applies physiological tools and techniques to understand and solve conservation issues. While a multi-disciplinary toolbox can only help to address the global biodiversity crisis, any field can face challenges while becoming established, particularly highly applied disciplines that require multi-stakeholder involvement. Gaining first-hand knowledge of the challenges that conservation physiologists are facing can help characterize the current state of the field and build a better foundation for determining how it can grow. Through an online survey of 468 scientists working at the intersection of physiology and conservation, we aimed to identify characteristics of those engaging in conservation physiology research (e.g. demographics, primary taxa of study), gauge conservation physiology’s role in contributing to on-the-ground conservation action, identify the perceived barriers to achieving success and determine how difficult any identified barriers are to overcome. Despite all participants having experience combining physiology and conservation, only one-third considered themselves to be ‘conservation physiologists’. Moreover, there was a general perception that conservation physiology does not yet regularly lead to tangible conservation success. Respondents identified the recent conceptualization of the field and the broader issue of adequately translating science into management action as the primary reasons for these deficits. Other significant barriers that respondents have faced when integrating physiology and conservation science included a lack of funding, logistical constraints (e.g. sample sizes, obtaining permits) and a lack of physiological baseline data (i.e. reference ranges of a physiological metric’s ‘normal’ or pre-environmental change levels). We identified 12 actions based on suggestions of survey participants that we anticipate will help deconstruct the barriers and continue to develop a narrative of physiology that is relevant to conservation science, policy and practice.

Physiology as a tool for at‐risk animal recovery planning: An analysis of Canadian recovery strategies with global recommendations

“…We also anticipate opportunities to generally broaden the participation of conservation physiologists in the recovery planning process. The majority of conservation physiologists active in research currently hold academic positions (Madliger, Love, Nguyen, et al, 2021), so expanding authorship teams to include these individuals would likely change the content of recovery strategies. Besides writing the strategies, conservation physiologists could more actively participate in public reviews and commenting periods for recovery strategies.…”

“…For example, many workshops that highlight physiological tools have been organized for conferences, conservation societies, or special topics meetings that bring together governmental, academic, veterinary, and not-for-profit participants, such as the "Stable isotope analysis in studies of marine mammal ecology and ecophysiology" workshop (Society for Marine Mammalogy, 2017); "Mollusk health and disease" workshop (Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society, 2018); and the "Wildlife conservation physiology in a changing world workshop" (University of the Witwatersrand, 2022). These endeavors would not only increase awareness of conservation physiology but lead to the creation of new collaborations and dispel some of the negative connotations associated with physiology that are held by some conservation scientists (e.g., that physiological tools are too invasive) (Madliger, Love, Nguyen, et al, 2021). Starting in undergraduate settings, educating physiology students in conservation management principles and recovery planning, and educating conservation science students in physiology might similarly improve the integration between physiology and species-at-risk work long-term.…”

Elevating the impact of conservation physiology by building a community devoted to excellence, transparency, ethics, integrity and mutual respect

“…The discipline is now supported by a conceptual framework ( Coristine et al , 2014 ), a journal ( https://academic.oup.com/conphys ) and a reference book ( Madliger et al 2021a ). There is also a growing community of researchers who engage in conservation physiology and even define themselves as conservation physiologists ( Madliger et al , 2021b ). Moreover, in conservation physiology there are success stories that demonstrate the potential of conservation physiology ( Madliger et al , 2016 ).…”

“…As with any nascent discipline, especially one that demands generating actionable knowledge that can be used by decision-makers and practitioners, there are also a number of challenges ( Cooke and O’Connor, 2010 ; Madliger et al , 2021b ). Indeed, there is a well-defined knowledge–action gap in conservation and numerous barriers influence the extent to which science is used by conservation practitioners and decision-makers ( Cook et al , 2013 ).…”

“…Indeed, there is a well-defined knowledge–action gap in conservation and numerous barriers influence the extent to which science is used by conservation practitioners and decision-makers ( Cook et al , 2013 ). Madliger et al (2021b ) surveyed those working in conservation physiology and revealed that key barriers include the relative ‘youngness’ of the discipline and issues with translating science in usable forms. Issues such as trust, relevance, saliency and institutional norms and inertia are also well understood as barriers to knowledge use in conservation ( Rose, 2015 ).…”