title: Success stories and emerging themes in conservation physiology.
abstract: The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause-effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of 'conservation physiology', to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether physiological approaches contribute to downstream conservation outcomes and management decisions. Here, we present eight areas of conservation concern, ranging from chemical contamination to invasive species to ecotourism, where physiological approaches have led to beneficial changes in human behaviour, management or policy. We also discuss the shared characteristics of these successes, identifying emerging themes in the discipline. Specifically, we conclude that conservation physiology: (i) goes beyond documenting change to provide solutions; (ii) offers a diversity of physiological metrics beyond glucocorticoids (stress hormones); (iii) includes approaches that are transferable among species, locations and times; (iv) simultaneously allows for human use and benefits to wildlife; and (v) is characterized by successes that can be difficult to find in the primary literature. Overall, we submit that the field of conservation physiology has a strong foundation of achievements characterized by a diversity of conservation issues, taxa, physiological traits, ecosystem types and spatial scales. We hope that these concrete successes will encourage the continued evolution and use of physiological tools within conservation-based research and management plans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4.
authors.forename: Christine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Madliger
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
authors.forename: Erica J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.affiliation: Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Funk
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Conservation and Collections, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ 85008, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Hultine
authors.affiliation: John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory, Research Department, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rohr
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B7.
authors.forename: Brent J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Cory D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Suski
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 2E9.
authors.forename: Craig K R
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Willis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4; Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4.
authors.forename: Oliver P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Love
keywords: Conservation physiology; ecotourism; invasive species; nutrition; sensory ecology; toxicology