Rosie Woodroffe

• Zoological Society of London

Accurate and precise assessment of population density plays a critical role in effective wildlife management, but reliable estimates are often difficult to obtain. Camera traps have emerged as valuable noninvasive tools for studying elusive species, offering cost‐effective solutions for both marked and unmarked populations. We evaluated the consist...

Here, in the first of two investigations, we evaluate and extend the analyses of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) to estimate the effectiveness of proactive badger culling for reducing incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle within culling areas. Using previously reviewed, publicly available data, alongside frequentist and Bayesian appro...

In the second investigation in a pair of analyses which re-evaluates the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), we estimate the effects of proactive badger culling on the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle populations in unculled neighbouring areas. Throughout peer-reviewed analyses of the RBCT, proactive culling was estimated to have detrim...

In the United Kingdom, the management of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) challenges the coexistence of people and wildlife. Control of this cattle disease is hindered by transmission of its causative agent, Mycobacterium bovis, between cattle and badgers Meles meles. Badger culling has formed an element of bTB control policy for decades, but current gove...

The use of camera traps to study wildlife has increased markedly in the last two decades. Camera surveys typically produce large data sets which require processing to isolate images containing the species of interest. This is time consuming and costly, particularly if there are many empty images that can result from false triggers. Computer vision...

It has been suggested that animals may have evolved cooperative breeding strategies in response to extreme climatic conditions. Climate change, however, may push species beyond their ability to cope with extreme climates, and reduce the group sizes in cooperatively breeding species to a point where populations are no longer viable. Predicting the i...

Reliable estimates of population size and demographic rates are central to assessing the status of threatened species. However, obtaining individual-based demographic rates requires long-term data, which is often costly and difficult to collect. Photographic data offer an inexpensive, noninvasive method for individual-based monitoring of species wi...

We provide a preliminary assessment of a previously overlooked wildlife trade, the legal trade in badgers (Meles leucurus and Arctonyx spp.) and badger-derived products in South Korea. A new phase of the trade emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of wildlife farms to supply demand for badger as an edible and medicinal resource, including as...

1. The use of camera traps to study wildlife has increased markedly in the last two decades. Camera surveys typically produce large datasets which require processing to isolate images containing the species of interest. This is time consuming and costly, particularly if there are many empty images that can result from false triggers. Computer visio...

Reliable estimates of population size and demographic rates are central to assessing the status of threatened species. However, obtaining individual-based demographic rates requires long-term data, which is often costly and difficult to collect. Photographic data offer an inexpensive, non-invasive method for individual-based monitoring of species w...

It has been suggested that animals may have evolved co-operative breeding strategies in response to extreme climatic conditions. Climate change, however, may push species beyond their ability to cope with extreme climates, and reduce the group sizes in co-operatively breeding species to a point where populations are no longer viable. Predicting the...

A number of mathematical models have been developed for canine rabies to explore dynamics and inform control strategies. A common assumption of these models is that naturally acquired immunity plays no role in rabies dynamics. However, empirical studies have detected rabies-specific antibodies in healthy, unvaccinated domestic dogs, potentially due...

• The impacts of high ambient temperatures on mortality in humans and domestic animals are well-understood. However much less is known about how hot weather affects mortality in wild animals. High ambient temperatures have been associated with African wild dog Lycaon pictus pup mortality, suggesting that high temperatures might also be linked to hi...

Wildlife fences are often considered an important tool in conservation. Fences are used in attempts to prevent human–wildlife conflict and reduce poaching, despite known negative impacts on landscape connectivity and animal movement patterns. Such impacts are likely to be particularly important for wide-ranging species, such as the African wild dog...

Managing infectious disease demands understanding pathogen transmission. In Britain, transmission of Mycobacterium bovis from badgers (Meles meles) to cattle hinders the control of bovine tuberculosis (TB), but the mechanism of such transmission is uncertain. As badgers and cattle seldom interact directly, transmission might occur in their shared e...

Background An estimated 59,000 people die from rabies annually, with 99% of those deaths attributable to bites from domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). This preventable Neglected Tropical Disease has a large impact across continental Africa, especially for rural populations living in close contact with livestock and wildlife. Mass vaccinations...

Rabies has been a widely feared disease for thousands of years, with records of rabid dogs as early as ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts. The reputation of rabies as being inevitably fatal, together with its ability to affect all mammalian species, contributes to the fear surrounding this disease. However, the widely held view that exposure t...

Background Habitat loss is a key threat to the survival of many species. Habitat selection studies provide key information for conservation initiatives by identifying important habitat and anthropogenic characteristics influencing the distribution of threatened species in changing landscapes. However, assumptions about the homogeneity of individual...

Cooperative behaviour can have profound effects on demography. In many cooperative species, components of fitness (e.g. survival, reproductive success) are diminished in smaller social groups. These effects (termed group‐level component Allee effects) may lead smaller groups to grow relatively slowly or fail to persist (termed group‐level demograph...

Culling wildlife as a form of disease management can have unexpected and sometimes counterproductive outcomes. In the UK, badgers Meles meles are culled in efforts to reduce badger‐to‐cattle transmission of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB). However, culling has previously been associated with both increased and d...

Dispersal behaviour plays a key role in social organisation, demography and population genetics. We describe dispersal behaviour in a population of African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus ) in Kenya. Almost all individuals, of both sexes, left their natal packs, with 45 of 46 reproductively active “alpha” individuals acquiring their status through disper...

Understanding how reproductive timing has evolved to reflect climatic conditions is increasingly important as the climate changes, influencing species persistence and ecosystem dynamics. Among endotherms, seasonal reproduction is often linked to natural selection for reproducing when biotic conditions (e.g. food availability) are most favourable. I...

Climate change is widely accepted to be one of the greatest threats to species globally. Identifying the species most at risk is, therefore, a conservation priority. Some species have the capacity to adapt to rising temperatures through changing their phenology, behavior, distribution, or physiology, and, therefore, may be more likely to persist un...

The European badger has become infamous because of its incompletely understood role in the spread of bovive tuberculosis to cattle, despite in actuality being directly implicated in only 5.7% of herd breakdowns. Randomised Badger culling trial data suggest that badger culling could make only a limited contribution to TB eradication in Britain. Surv...

The global cheetah population is estimated at approximately 7100 individuals, now confined to 9% of its historical distributional range. Most cheetahs (76%) persist within two transboundary populations in southern and eastern Africa. The species is subject to multiple threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, persecution, loss of prey, and...

Climate change imposes an urgent need to recognise and conserve the species likely to be worst affected. However, while ecologists have mostly explored indirect effects of rising ambient temperatures on temperate and polar species, physiologists have predicted direct impacts on tropical species. The African wild dog ( L ycaon pictus ), a tropical s...

Establishing and maintaining protected areas (PAs) are key tools for biodiversity conservation. However, this approach is insufficient for many species, particularly those that are wide-ranging and sparse. The cheetah Acinonyx jubatus exemplifies such a species and faces extreme challenges to its survival. Here, we show that the global population i...

In our recent perspective article, we noted that most (approximately 0 percent) terrestrial large carnivore and large herbivore species are now threatened with extinction, and we offered a 13-point declaration designed to promote and guide actions to save these iconic mammalian megafauna (Ripple et al. 2016). Some may worry that a focus on saving m...

Significance Here, we compile and present the most comprehensive data available on cheetah distribution and status. Our analysis shows dramatic declines of cheetah across its distributional range. Most cheetah occur outside protected areas, where they are exposed to multiple threats, but there is little information on population status. Simulation...

Diseases transmitted from wildlife to livestock or people may be managed more effectively if it is known where transmission occurs. In Britain, farm buildings have been proposed as important sites of Mycobacterium bovis transmission between wild badgers (Meles meles) and cattle, contributing to the maintenance of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Farmers a...

Background The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is an endangered African canid threatened by severe habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and infectious disease. A highly specialized carnivore, it is distinguished by its social structure, dental morphology, absence of dewclaws, and colorful pelage. ResultsWe sequenced the genomes of two i...

Because biological systems are complex, management interventions occasionally have unintended adverse consequences. For example, attempts to control bovine tuberculosis ( TB ) by culling badgers Meles meles have, under some circumstances, inadvertently increased cattle TB risks. Such harmful effects occur because culling profoundly alters badger mo...

Bovine tuberculosis is an important disease affecting the UK livestock industry. Controlling bovine tuberculosis (TB) is made more complex by the presence of a wildlife host, the Eurasian badger, Meles meles. Repeated large-scale badger culls implemented in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) were associated with decreased cattle risks insid...

Effective management of infectious disease relies upon understanding mechanisms of pathogen transmission. In particular, while models of disease dynamics usually assume transmission through direct contact, transmission through environmental contamination can cause different dynamics. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and proximity-sen...

From the late Pleistocene to the Holocene and now the so-called Anthropocene, humans have been driving an ongoing series of species declines and extinctions (Dirzo et al. 2014). Large-bodied mammals are typically at a higher risk of extinction than smaller ones (Cardillo et al. 2005). However, in some circumstances, terrestrial megafauna population...

The immune responses of 35 captive African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus ) to an inactivated rabies virus vaccine were evaluated. Seventeen animals received one 1-ml dose of inactivated rabies vaccine administered intramuscularly, while 18 received two 1-ml doses given simultaneously but at different injection sites. Sera were collected from all animal...

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are social coursing predators that hunt in packs and rely on mammalian prey and water intake from bodies of water. They are also listed on the IUCN list of endangered species. The role of prey-derived water in their survival, especially during drought, though seemingly important, is largely unknown. Our goal in thi...

Historically, wild predators were overwhelmingly viewed as threats to livestock, wild “game,” and public health. Over time, public perceptions have broadened to include recognition of predators' intrinsic value and their role in structuring ecosystems. Nowhere are these changing perceptions better illustrated than in Yellowstone National Park, wher...

Increasingly, the restoration of large carnivores is proposed as a means through which to restore community structure and ecosystem function via trophic cascades. After a decades-long absence, African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) recolonized the Laikipia Plateau in central Kenya, which we hypothesized would trigger a trophic cascade via suppression of...

BLOWEY and others (VR, February 21, 2015, vol 176, p 208) note the small scale and short duration of their assessment of cattle TB rates in some herds within the Gloucestershire badger cull zone. Nevertheless, their letter has been widely portrayed as evidence …

Understanding how predation risk and plant defenses interactively shape plant distributions is a core challenge in ecology. By combining global positioning system telemetry of an abundant antelope (impala) and its main predators (leopards and wild dogs) with a series of manipulative field experiments, we showed that herbivores' risk-avoidance behav...

The conclusion of Pfeifer et al. —that wildlife fencing should be context-dependent—echoes our own call for fencing decisions to be based on realistic assessments of the costs and benefits. We did not, as Pfeifer et al. suggest, state that fencing impacts were invariably negative, nor did we

Where wildlife disease requires management, culling is frequently considered but not always effective. In the British Isles, control of cattle tuberculosis (TB) is hindered by infection in wild badger (Meles meles) populations. Large-scale badger culling can reduce the incidence of confirmed cattle TB, but these benefits are undermined by culling-i...

Habitat fragmentation undermines the functioning of ecosystems, and so biodiversity conservation often entails maintaining or restoring landscape connections. However, conservationists also destroy connectivity by constructing wildlife fences. A recent debate about the use of fences to protect African lions (1–3) highlights a more general need to e...

Opinion on how best to control bovine TB remains divided, particularly with regard to badgers. Rosie Woodroffe believes that vets have a constructive role to play in the debate and helping farmers locally.

Biodiversity hotspots understandably attract considerable conservation attention. However, deserts are rarely viewed as conservation priority areas, due to their relatively low productivity, yet these systems are home to unique species, adapted to harsh and highly variable environments. While global attention has been focused on hotspots, the world...

Mammals are a disparate group, but large mammals in particular have similar conservation needs. They tend to need large areas and to be relatively slow growing, making them less resilient. They are more likely to be killed by humans for their meat, trophies, or because they are a danger or a nuisance. Conservation efforts for mammals particularly f...

A series of three doses of recombinant canary-pox-vectored canine distemper virus vaccine was administered at 1-mo intervals, orally (n = 8) or intramuscularly (n = 13), to 21 previously unvaccinated juvenile African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo. Titers were measured by serum neutralization at each vacc...

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a very important disease of cattle in Great Britain, where it has been increasing in incidence and geographical distribution. In addition to cattle, it infects other species of domestic and wild animals, in particular the European badger (Meles meles). Policy to control bTB is vigorously debated and contentious because...

Packer et al. reported that fenced lion populations attain densities closer to carrying capacity than unfenced populations. However, fenced populations are often maintained above carrying capacity, and most are small. Many more lions are conserved per dollar invested in unfenced ecosystems, which avoid the ecological and economic costs of fencing.

Rabies virus (RV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) can cause significant mortality in wild carnivore populations, and RV threatens human lives. We investigated serological patterns of exposure to CDV and RV in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta...

As the world's governments congregate for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), we call on them to address one of the greatest oversights in conservation in recent years: the neglect of desert ecosystems. Deserts cover 17% of the world's land mass and harbor surprisingly

Deciphering patterns of genetic variation within a species is essential for understanding population structure, local adaptation and differences in diversity between populations. Whilst neutrally evolving genetic markers can be used to elucidate demographic processes and genetic structure, they are not subject to selection and therefore are not inf...

IntroductionEarly reviews and the empirical literatureLong-term captivity and vaccinationPre-translocation parasite screening of wild populations and risk assessmentShort-term captivity, quarantine and stressPost-release survival and ongoing parasite managementRevisiting Armstrong & Seddon's (2008) four questions (a conclusion and future direction)...

Infectious diseases have contributed to the decline and local extinction of several wildlife species, including African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Mitigating such disease threats is challenging, partly because uncertainty about disease dynamics makes it difficult to identify the best management approaches. Serious impacts on susceptible populations...

We present the results of a 2005 case-control study of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns in English and Welsh herds. The herd management, farming practices, and environmental factors of 401 matched pairs of case and control herds were investigated to provide a picture of herd-level risk factors in areas of varying bTB incidence. A global conditi...

1. Infectious diseases seriously threaten the populations of many endangered mammals, including African wild dogs Lycaon pictus. Extinction risks may be particularly high where the endangered host lives alongside a more abundant host species which can maintain infection with virulent pathogens. Domestic dogs Canis familiaris are often assumed to ac...

Pathogens such as rabies virus and canine distemper virus present a significant risk to the long-term survival of some endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) populations. Vaccination of wild dogs is one approach that might reduce population extinction risks; however clear guidelines for how best to do this are lacking. Hence, we developed a ma...

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are endangered, having disappeared from many areas where other large carnivore species have persisted. The relative vulnerability of this species has been attributed variously to its disproportionate exposure to anthropogenic threats, limitation by larger competing predators, and Allee effects caused by obligate co...

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are endangered, having disappeared from many areas where other large carnivore species have persisted. The relative vulnerability of this species has been attributed variously to its disproportionate exposure to anthropogenic threats, limitation by larger competing predators, and Allee effects caused by obligate co...

The act of killing predators over livestock predation has been the principal cause of declining predator populations throughout Africa. Finding solutions for the coexistence of people with predators in the Ewaso region is of great importance for the local tourism industry and for the persistence of Kenya’s wildlife outside of protected areas. We re...

The unique wildlife of the Ewaso Nyiro and valuable services that the ecosystem provides for humans (e.g., clean water and productive grasslands) cannot be conserved by working solely on traditional conservation strongholds such as the national reserves and private ranches of central Laikipia. To reach objectives for conserving wild-life, stakehold...

Movement behaviour is a key component of species' vulnerability to extinction. African wild dogs' Lycaon pictus endangerment has been linked to their wide-ranging behaviour, which is hypothesized to expose them to anthropogenic threats in fragmented habitats. I therefore investigated wild dog movement patterns in an area of Kenya where livestock ou...

Relatively little is known about the mating behavior, and factors that influence the mating behavior, of socially monogamous mammals. We used a combination of behavioral and genetic data to examine the mating tactics of a socially monogamous population of bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis). In contrast to some other canid species, we found no evid...

In the British Isles, control of cattle tuberculosis (TB) is hindered by persistent infection of wild badger (Meles meles) populations. A large-scale field trial--the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT)--previously showed that widespread badger culling produced modest reductions in cattle TB incidence during culling, which were offset by elevate...

In mammals, testosterone secretion is known to respond rapidly to changes in males' immediate social environment. However, such changes do not take testosterone levels below the baseline required to maintain spermatogenesis, and so do not usually affect males' fertility. In this paper, we show that individual males' patterns of testicular activity...

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a set of highly polymorphic genes involved in the immune response. Extensive research on the canid MHC has found moderate-to-high levels of diversity at the DLA-DRB1, DLA-DRA, DLA-DQA1, and DLA-DQB1 class II loci with frequent transspecific polymorphism among Canis species. In this study, we assessed MH...

Conservation projects may be reluctant to attempt Systematic Conservation Planning because existing methods are often prohibitive in the time, money, data, and expertise they require. We tried to develop a “resource light” method for Systematic Conservation Planning and applied it to the Ewaso Ngiro Landscape of central Kenya. Over a 6-month prepar...

Compared with other mammals, reproduction is expected to be particularly costly for European badgers (Meles meles L.) since both the gestation and mating periods occur in the winter when the animals are inactive and feed little. This paper assesses the costs of breeding status in both male and female badgers, in terms of body condition, ectoparasit...

In most social animals, the prevalence of directly transmitted pathogens increases in larger groups and at higher population densities. Such patterns are predicted by models of Mycobacterium bovis infection in European badgers ( Meles meles ). We investigated the relationship between badger abundance and M. bovis prevalence, using data on 2696 adul...

The European badger has been used for many years as a model for the study of delayed implantation. Extensive experimental work has shown that implantation, which occurs around the winter solstice, is triggered by photoperiod. This paper presents data on estimated implantation dates in a wild population of badgers, measured by ultrasound scanning. I...

An ability to mount rapid evolutionary responses to environmental change may be necessary for species persistence in a human-dominated world. We present evidence of the possibility of such contemporary evolution in the anti-predator behaviour of the critically endangered Santa Cruz Island fox Urocyon littoralis. In 1994, golden eagles colonized San...

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonotic disease that can have serious consequences for cattle farming and, potentially, for public health. In Britain, failure to control bovine TB has been linked to persistent infection of European badger (Meles meles) populations. However, culling of badgers in the vicinity of recent TB outbreaks in cattle has fail...

Targeting the host has been the most common approach to managing disease in wildlife. This has essentially involved some form of host population reduction, achieved through dispersing, culling, or controlling reproduction. Dispersion of animals from the site of a disease outbreak has mainly been employed for birds (Wobeser 2007) but has also been a...

Targeting the host has been the most common approach to managing disease in wildlife. This has essentially involved some form of host population reduction, achieved through dispersing, culling, or controlling reproduction.

The effective control of human and livestock diseases is challenging where infection persists in wildlife populations. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) demonstrated that, while it was underway, proactive badger (Meles meles) culling reduced bovine tuberculosis (TB) incidence inside culled areas but increased incidence in neighboring areas...

Horizon scanning is an essential tool for environmental scientists if they are to contribute to the evidence base for Government, its agencies and other decision makers to devise and implement environmental policies. The implication of not foreseeing issues that are foreseeable is illustrated by the contentious responses to genetically modified her...