ArticleConservation physiology2017
How experimental biology and ecology can support evidence-based decision-making in conservation: avoiding pitfalls and enabling application.
Article in Conservation physiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Understanding trends inPeerJ · 2025Pooled it
- Can linear transportation infrastructure verges constitute a habitat and/or a corridor for vascular plants in temperate ecosystems? A systematic review.Environmental evidence · 2024Pooled it
- N-acetylcysteine manipulation fails to elicit an increase in glutathione in a teleost model.Fish physiology and biochemistry · 2018Trial
- Fatty Acid Profiling of Fish Fin Tissues: Implications for Non-Lethal Sampling Methods.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- The relevance and application of measures of thermal tolerance to fish ecology, conservation and aquaculture.Conservation physiology · 2026Article
- Challenging 10 misconceptions in conservation physiology.Conservation physiology · 2026Article
- The lab-field continuum in conservation physiology research: leveraging multiple approaches to inform policy and practice.Conservation physiology · 2025Article
- Do Methodological Differences in Experiments with Stream Shredders Imply Variability in Outputs? A Microcosm Approach.Neotropical entomology · 2024Article
- Biocultural aspects of species extinctions.Cambridge prisms. Extinction · 2023Review
- Antipredator behaviors in urban settings: Ecological experimentation powered by citizen science.Ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- Closing the knowledge-action gap in conservation with open science.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2022Article
- Elevating the impact of conservation physiology by building a community devoted to excellence, transparency, ethics, integrity and mutual respect.Conservation physiology · 2022Article
- Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses in ecology and evolutionary biology: a PRISMA extension.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2021Article
- One hundred research questions in conservation physiology for generating actionable evidence to inform conservation policy and practice.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Researcher perspectives on challenges and opportunities in conservation physiology revealed from an online survey.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Applied ecoimmunology: using immunological tools to improve conservation efforts in a changing world.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Handling, infectious agents and physiological condition influence survival and post-release behaviour in migratory adult coho salmon after experimental displacement.Conservation physiology · 2020Article
- Reframing conservation physiology to be more inclusive, integrative, relevant and forward-looking: reflections and a horizon scan.Conservation physiology · 2020Article
- The Dividing Line Between Wildlife Research and Management-Implications for Animal Welfare.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2019Review
- Nothing in modern biology makes sense except in the light of ecology and biodiversity conservation.Conservation physiology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Policy development and management decisions should be based upon the best available evidence. In recent years, approaches to evidence synthesis, originating in the medical realm (such as systematic reviews), have been applied to conservation to promote evidence-based conservation and environmental management. Systematic reviews involve a critical appraisal of evidence, but studies that lack the necessary rigour (e.g. experimental, technical and analytical aspects) to justify their conclusions are typically excluded from systematic reviews or down-weighted in terms of their influence. One of the strengths of conservation physiology is the reliance on experimental approaches that help to more clearly establish cause-and-effect relationships. Indeed, experimental biology and ecology have much to offer in terms of building the evidence base that is needed to inform policy and management options related to pressing issues such as enacting endangered species recovery plans or evaluating the effectiveness of conservation interventions. Here, we identify a number of pitfalls that can prevent experimental findings from being relevant to conservation or would lead to their exclusion or down-weighting during critical appraisal in a systematic review. We conclude that conservation physiology is well positioned to support evidence-based conservation, provided that experimental designs are robust and that conservation physiologists understand the nuances associated with informing decision-making processes so that they can be more relevant.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.