Cooke Steven J, Madliger Christine L, Lennox Robert J, Olden Julian D, Eliason Erika J, Cramp Rebecca L, Fuller Andrea, Franklin Craig E, Seebacher Frank
Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen St. East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2G4, Canada.
iScience. 2023 Feb 14;26(3):106192. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106192. eCollection 2023 Mar 17.
Given limited resources for wildlife conservation paired with an urgency to halt declines and rebuild populations, it is imperative that management actions are tactical and effective. Mechanisms are about how a system works and can inform threat identification and mitigation such that conservation actions that work can be identified. Here, we call for a more mechanistic approach to wildlife conservation and management where behavioral and physiological tools and knowledge are used to characterize drivers of decline, identify environmental thresholds, reveal strategies that would restore populations, and prioritize conservation actions. With a growing toolbox for doing mechanistic conservation research as well as a suite of decision-support tools (e.g., mechanistic models), the time is now to fully embrace the concept that mechanisms matter in conservation ensuring that management actions are tactical and focus on actions that have the potential to directly benefit and restore wildlife populations.
鉴于野生动物保护资源有限，同时又迫切需要阻止物种数量下降并重建种群，管理行动必须具有策略性且行之有效。机制关乎系统如何运作，能够为威胁识别和缓解提供信息，从而确定有效的保护行动。在此，我们呼吁采用一种更具机制性的方法来进行野生动物保护和管理，运用行为学和生理学工具及知识来描述物种数量下降的驱动因素、确定环境阈值、揭示能够恢复种群数量的策略，并对保护行动进行优先排序。随着用于开展机制性保护研究的工具不断增加，以及一系列决策支持工具（如机制模型）的出现，现在是时候充分接受机制在保护工作中至关重要这一理念了，确保管理行动具有策略性，并专注于有可能直接惠及和恢复野生动物种群的行动。
