Conservation translocations from the ‘Global Reintroduction Perspectives’ series: disease and other biological problems

1. Conservation translocations, defined as population reinforcement, reintroduction, assisted colonisation or ecological replacement, have become a popular tool in efforts to restore wildlife populations and their wider ecosystems. Given that conservation translocations remain challenging to undertake, and positive outcomes are not guaranteed, we should maximise opportunities to learn from the outcomes of previous projects.
2. Case studies of animal and plant conservation translocation published in the first six volumes (2008-2018) of the IUCN/SSC’s ‘Global Reintroduction Perspectives’ series were reviewed. Alongside project metadata, the following self-reported information was extracted from the case studies: select project strategies and methods; information relating to any mortality, ill-health or poor fecundity; and health management practices.
3. Two hundred and ninety-five of the 351 case studies in the series clearly described a discrete conservation translocation initiative for which releases were underway or complete at the time of publication. Sixty percent of these 295 case studies were reintroductions. Mammals were the most commonly translocated taxon (29% of case studies), and projects were most often conducted in Oceania, Western Europe, or North America or the Caribbean.
4. The dataset presents information on disease and other biological problems self-reported in these conservation translocation case studies. It can inform health and wider management planning for future conservation translocation projects.