Reptile embryos and climate change: Modelling limits of viability to inform translocation decisions

Nicola J Mitchell; Nicholas Rodriguez; Gerald Kuchling; Sophie G. Arnall; Michael R. Kearney

Journal article

Reptile embryos and climate change: Modelling limits of viability to inform translocation decisions

Nicola J Mitchell, undefined Nicholas Rodriguez, undefined Gerald Kuchling, undefined Sophie G. Arnall, undefined Michael R. Kearney

Biological Conservation | Elsevier | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.004

Abstract

The embryos of many egg-laying species develop under the environmental conditions selected by one or both parents, and these conditions may cease to be optimal under a changed climate. Assisted colonization is an emerging option to relocate species that are threatened by unfavourable changes in the local climate, but the incubation requirements of embryos are rarely considered in conservation translocations despite suggestions that relocation of early life stages could be more effective than relocating older animals. Here we review examples and outcomes of relocations of reptile eggs, and the decision tools currently available for guiding translocation decisions from an embryonic perspective..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Michael Kearney Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

Several colleagues and collaborators made invaluable contributions to this study; in particular Vincent Logan and Bradie Durrell from Perth Zoo who collected much of the data on the captive-reared P. umbrina embryos. Anna Carter wrote the original DEVOUR script in R, upon which our own script was based, and along with Jessica Stubbs assisted with scripting and model testing. IanWheeler from DPaW and Will Oldfield from the City of Busselton approved and facilitated access to the southern translocation sites, and Jackson Gwynne assisted with fieldwork. We thank the Victorian Life Sciences Initative (VLSCI) for providing access to high-performance computing facilities essential to this study. We are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers who improved the clarity of the manuscript, and to the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise, who provided funding to assist with publication charges. Our research was funded by Australian Research Council (ARC) grant LP0990428 and conducted under Animal Ethics approvals from The University of Western Australia (RA 03/100/910, RA 3/100/1358), from the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW AEC 2012/66) and the Perth Zoo, and scientific licences from the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife (SC001209). Kearney was supported by an ARC Australian Research Fellowship DP110102813.