Institutional networks in cooperative population management: Exploring patterns in transfer fulfillment.

Long-term sustainability of ex-situ animal populations is important for zoos and aquariums, but challenging due to inconsistent compliance with Breeding and Transfer Plans. Transfer recommendations are key to promoting the sustainability of ex-situ animal populations by ensuring cohesive populations, genetic diversity, and demographic stability, but factors affecting their fulfillment are poorly understood. We used a network analysis framework to analyze data compiled from PMCTrack from 2011 to 2019 for three taxonomic classes (mammals, birds, and reptiles/amphibians) within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to assess factors affecting transfer recommendation fulfillment.

Influence of institutional attributes on fulfillment of transfer and breeding recommendations in zoos and aquariums.

Compliance with Breeding and Transfer Plan (BTP) recommendations is important to promote long-term viability and meet the management goals of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium Species Survival Plans (SSPs®). However, individual institutions may fulfill recommendations at different rates, potentially compromising management efforts. We examined institution-level fulfillment rates of BTP recommendations (i.

Reasons for unfulfilled breeding and transfer recommendations in zoos and aquariums.

One of the primary tools for cooperatively managing animal populations within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is through Breeding and Transfer Plan (BTP) recommendations. These recommendations consider population demographics, genetics, husbandry, and institutional needs and aim to improve population viability and long-term sustainability. However, fulfilling (i.

The many faces of fear: a synthesis of the methodological variation in characterizing predation risk.

Predators affect prey by killing them directly (lethal effects) and by inducing costly antipredator behaviours in living prey (risk effects). Risk effects can strongly influence prey populations and cascade through trophic systems. A prerequisite for assessing risk effects is characterizing the spatiotemporal variation in predation risk.