Adapting cumulative effects perspectives and human determinants of health to inform wildlife health management

Despite current wildlife health programs stating the assessment and sustainability of health as a conservation and management goal and wildlife biology recognizing the importance of cumulative effects (CE) in population... [ view full abstract ]

Despite current wildlife health programs stating the assessment and sustainability of health as a conservation and management goal and wildlife biology recognizing the importance of cumulative effects (CE) in population resilience, the absence of disease continues to be the benchmark for health. Human public health has identified a suite of social and environmental variables that interact to affect population resilience: these are called the determinants of health (DOH). Our objectives were to investigate the need for a cumulative health model for wildlife in Canada and to determine whether human DOH can be adapted for wildlife. To achieve these goals, we conducted a scoping review of legislation and current literature. The review of legislation revealed that various government branches in Canada recognize the importance of CE assessments, but none have yet incorporated wildlife health. The literature review identified clear overlaps between the needs and process of CE and population health assessments. To identify DOH, we reviewed species-specific wildlife resilience literature and identified themes in the established human DOH, and then developed a conceptual model using human DOH to classify drivers of wildlife resilience. These species-specific DOH models were presented to a respective panel of experts to identify the most influential determinants and the relationships among them. These methods have been conducted for caribou (Rangifer tarandus), with the identification six essential DOH, including abiotic environment and direct mortality pressures. Our second case study, in Pacific salmon, is currently underway. A DOH approach for wildlife may serve to link health management and ecosystem CE assessment, and to classify population vulnerabilities. This approach may have the potential to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, acceptability, and usefulness of wildlife health and CE assessments. Our ultimate goal is to build an adaptable framework that can be useful for decision makers in focusing their time and resources.