Exploiting common senses: Sensory ecology meets wildlife conservation and management

Conservation Physiology
By: , and 

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Abstract

Multidisciplinary approaches to conservation and wildlife management are often effective in addressing complex, multi-factor problems. Emerging fields such as conservation physiology and conservation behaviour can provide innovative solutions and management strategies for target species and systems. Sensory ecology combines the study of ‘how animals acquire’ and process sensory stimuli from their environments, and the ecological and evolutionary significance of ‘how animals respond’ to this information. We review the benefits that sensory ecology can bring to wildlife conservation and management by discussing case studies across major taxa and sensory modalities. Conservation practices informed by a sensory ecology approach include the amelioration of sensory traps, control of invasive species, reduction of human–wildlife conflicts and relocation and establishment of new populations of endangered species. We illustrate that sensory ecology can facilitate the understanding of mechanistic ecological and physiological explanations underlying particular conservation issues and also can help develop innovative solutions to ameliorate conservation problems.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Exploiting common senses: Sensory ecology meets wildlife conservation and management
Series title Conservation Physiology
DOI 10.1093/conphys/coab002
Volume 9
Issue 1
Year Published 2021
Language English
Publisher Oxford University Press
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Description coab002, 29 p.
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