Dr Elizabeth Parlato

Genetic rescue—gene flow leading to increased population growth and persistence—is a promising strategy for reducing extinction risk in small populations. However, the impacts of genetic augmentation on the viability of threatened populations remain unclear. Is it really possible to genetically rescue wildlife populations? Our project will answer this critical question using an innovative interdisciplinary framework across long-term demographic and genetic datasets for kakaruia (black robin), hihi, kōkako and tūturuatu (shore plover) populations. Aotearoa New Zealand’s outstanding history of conservation practice has generated exceptional datasets across a diversity of species, providing a unique opportunity to assess the impacts of genetic augmentation over a range of scenarios. This work will forge new links between population biology and genetics to rigorously test genetic rescue theory and contribute globally to the genetic management of imperilled populations.

What is the optimal level of complexity to consider when predicting population dynamics? The conventional wisdom is to keep models as simple as possible. However, the recent explosion of research on individual variation in animal personalities and life history traits is increasing our capacity to generate complex individual-based models of population dynamics. But will this increased complexity significantly improve our capacity to predict population dynamics, justifying the need for detailed individual-based monitoring in threatened species programmes? Our project will answer this question using our multiple long-term data sets for reintroduced robin and hihi populations, combined with new data relating personality traits to demographic rates.