The hitchhiker's guide to Australian conservation: A parasitological perspective on fauna translocations

Translocation is a widely used conservation tool for reintroducing, introducing or restocking wildlife purposes. Disease and parasites are often unintended hitchhikers during translocations. Conservation managers have begun considering the health, disease risk parasite loads of their species post-translocation, but not translocation itself. When diseases considered translocation, they dealt with via medical interventions resulting in complete eradication leaving host vulnerable to new novel loads, disrupting specialised host–parasite interactions dynamics. To determine extent consideration intervention Australian context, we conducted an aggregate scoping review translocations 98 identified 61 most (75%) being 40 mammals. Of identified, only (41%) described any management actions monitor health such as checks, post-mortems sampling fauna. Surprisingly, some literature mentioned specific impacting population (29% 90 translocations), 16 (16%) undertook prevent these further spreading. general trends over time, more planning, action usually taken; however, remains low. In order ensure that part thinking, provide flowchart can be implemented into future consider both negative consequences parasites, ecological necessity potential benefits retaining co-evolved diseases.