Informing the recovery of rare, cryptic species; a case study of Aotearoa New Zealand's Kapitia skink

持续的全球物种灭绝危机危及人类赖以生存的资源，破坏了生态系统的稳定。物种恢复计划旨在减轻物种损失，以保护和恢复遗传、物种和生态系统的生物多样性。保护迁移，包括活生物体的移动和释放，可以通过加强或建立新的种群来帮助防止灭绝，但是需要仔细的计划以避免失败。易位的成功取决于释放个体与新生物和非生物环境的相互作用，物种生态学的知识可以用来生成模型来预测这些相互作用并选择合适的释放地点。在生态知识有限的地方，可以整理有经验的学者和实践者的意见，以促进强有力的决策。本研究将以最近在新西兰发现的Kapitia skink， Oligosoma salmo为例进行研究。研究阐明物种的生活史、行为、栖息地利用和分布将指导保护决策。进一步的不确定性将使用专家启发和决策科学框架来解决。该项目的结果将为保护易位和进一步的管理行动提供信息，以优化这种极度濒危物种的恢复，并对新西兰更广泛的爬行动物保护产生影响。

The ongoing global extinction crisis endangers the resources human life is dependent upon via the destabilisation of ecosystems. Species recovery programmes work to mitigate against species losses to preserve and restore genetic, species, and ecosystem biodiversity. Conservation translocations, involving the movement and release of living organisms, can aid against extinction by reinforcing or establishing new populations, however, require careful planning to avoid failure. Translocation success is dependent upon the interactions of released individuals with their novel biotic and abiotic environment, and knowledge of species ecology can be used to generate models to predict these interactions and select an appropriate release site. Where ecological knowledge is limited, the opinions of experienced academics and practitioners can be collated to facilitate robust decision-making. This study will focus on the recently discovered Kapitia skink, Oligosoma salmo, in New Zealand as a case study. Research elucidating the species' life history, behaviours, habitat use, and distribution will guide conservation decision-making. Further uncertainty will be addressed using expert elicitation and decision science frameworks. The outcomes of this project will inform conservation translocations and further management actions to optimise the recovery of this Critically Endangered species, with impacts for wider reptile conservation in New Zealand.