Amphibian captive breeding programmes 389 Human dimensions
We documented several examples of restrictions caused by biological factors, such as the lack of breeding success until a species’ reproductive behaviour in the wild was discovered, the difficulty of catering for a high-altitude species in a warmer, lower-altitude city, or lack of information and space to provide suitable nutrition. Although biological fac- tors were evidently pivotal, human capacity was an equally important prerequisite. Human dimensions are overlooked in the captive breeding and conservation literature (Sutton, 2015; Catalano et al., 2019). Decision-making is inevitably compromised by cognitive biases and other psychological and institutional phenomena. The so-called sunk cost fal- lacy, whereby perceived previous emotional and financial investments drive ongoing investment in a programme that is unlikely to succeed (Arkes & Blumer, 1985), appeared pre- sent in some programmes. Skilled, experienced staff were important at all stages, and
lack of staff knowledge and expertise presented a major barrier for zoos in Western countries (Brady et al., 2017). Capacity building for amphibian conservation, however, is generally not highly prioritized by amphibian conservationists and practitioners (Meredith et al., 2017). The value of leadership, open-mindedness, innovation and initiativewere all identified in this study. Some managers spoke of the ability to achieve much with few resources when these could be allocated flex- ibly: ‘Forme it’s very difficult to get funds to pay people. I can getmoney to get equipment, or things like that ... but not to pay people, and that is the main problem’. Similarly, a manager’s ability to change focus and bal-
ance tasks was essential in bridging the gap between Stage 2 (husbandry and breeding) and Stage 4 (reintroduction and post-reintroduction).
Support through strategic partnerships
Partners should aim to strategically develop collaborations to secure the diversity of resources required. Institutions and individuals can provide expert input at all stages, help- ing programmes overcome barriers and progress towards their goals. For example, the Amphibian Ark provides sub- stantial support through seed grants and technical advice (Zippel et al., 2011).
Planning and prioritization
Careful planning, monitoring and evaluation should be an integral component from the beginning to identify where strategic support will be required over time. This will often involve prioritizing species to optimize cost-effectiveness of scarce resources (Bottrill et al., 2008). Species prioritization has been the subject of much recent research and debate
(e.g. Tapley et al., 2015; Canessa, 2017; Griffiths, 2017). Ef- fective techniques are challenged by the increasing num- ber of species requiring captive breeding programmes (e.g. Tapley et al., 2015, 2017; Griffiths, 2017). We refer to species selected for the purpose of reintroduction, and acknowledge the many contributions of programmes beyond reintroduc- tions. Species prioritization techniques should be reviewed as new information emerges (Griffiths, 2017), and grounded in an evidence-based process; which is what Amphibian Ark’s Conservation Needs Assessment aims to help achieve (Johnson et al., 2018). The risk of pathogen transmission should also be considered as it poses a significant threat to captive and wild populations, which increases when species are kept outside their geographical range and/or in cosmopoli- tan collections of multiple species from different geographical locations (Tapley et al., 2015).Cosmopolitan collections pose a quandary for many international zoos wishing to assist con- servation efforts by increasing holdings of threatened am- phibians (Griffiths, 2017; Tapley et al., 2017). A clear understanding of ultimate goals, and how and
when a programme should be terminated, are crucial plan- ning elements. Many programmes suffer from poor im- plementation of species management plans, studbooks and exit strategies, which hinders effectiveness (K. Johnson, pers. comm., 2018). There are numerous tools available for planning conservation programmes, such as guidelines for developing a species action and recovery plan (Amphibian Ark, 2019), reintroduction and translocation guidelines (IUCN, 2013), and the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (CMP, 2013). The operational model pre- sented here can assist managers with the implementation of planning tools. Effective operational models explicitly identify how pro-
gress will be monitored and evaluated (Knight et al., 2006; CMP, 2013), however, only one manager mentioned these activities. External and internal evaluation processes urgent- ly require wider recognition and improvement (Fisher et al., 2014). Internal evaluations are the foundation for individual and team learning (Catalano et al., 2019), and external eva- luations have the ability to question a programme’s focus and improve performance (Kleiman et al., 2000). Partners could provide significant support in this regard. Programmes should establish clear indicators and targets
for monitoring and evaluation to enable decisions on where to proceed. Effective operational models and plans are dy- namic and complex rather than linear, with learning loops feeding adaptive processes through monitoring and evalu- ation (Knight et al., 2006;CMP, 2013). Indicators and targets are required to reduce the impacts of genetic inbreeding and adaption to captivity, especially for longer-termprogrammes (Robert, 2009; Tapley et al., 2015).A failure to align processes and outcomes can result in programmes not achieving de- sired outcomes (Kleiman et al., 2000;Meredith et al., 2017). Many programmes are currently unlikely to reach the
Oryx, 2021, 55(3), 382–392 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605320000332
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