Assessing Disease Risks in Wildlife Translocation Projects: A Comprehensive Review of Disease Incidents

Abstract

Although translocation projects have been instrumental in the supplementation or restoration of some wild populations, they also carry a large risk of disease transmission to native and translocated animals. This study systematically reviewed conservation translocation projects to identify projects that met the criteria for a translocation significant disease incursion (TSDI), whereby the translocation resulted in negative population growth rates or the failure of populations to grow due to an infectious disease—either in the native or translocated species. In doing so, risk factors for these incidents could be identified. Analysis of the resulting 30 TSDIs demonstrated that there was equal representation of TSDIs using wild-caught and captive-bred animals. Additionally, the type of pathogen predisposed in a TSDI was more likely a result of the animal group translocated (e.g., fungal pathogens were more likely to be detected in amphibian translocations) and it was nearly five times more likely for a disease to be encountered by a translocated species than for a disease to be introduced to a native population. However, there are numerous project-specific predisposing factors for TSDIs, and therefore it is essential that future translocation projects conduct thorough disease risk analysis as well as report their outcomes for the benefit of their own and future translocations.