Merryl Gelling

Position: Graduate Student

Thesis title: Health and welfare in reintroductions; lessons from small mammals.

Background:
Having completed an MSc at Leicester University I joined WildCRU in 2001 to work on a project investigating the risk to cattle from bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in wildlife.  I also worked on and developed various subsidiary projects involving welfare implications associated with trapping and handling small mammals.  I was awarded a Royal Society summer studentship in 2004 to investigate parasite and disease threats to water vole (Arvicola terrestris) conservation, before beginning work on the water vole recovery programme in 2005 (see UTP website).

Description of research:
My primary research interests involve the pathogenic, parasitic, welfare and stress implications associated with reintroduction programmes for small mammals.

Conservation efforts are making increasing use of captive breeding and reintroduction programs, however, these initiatives often fail, and there has hitherto been little attempt to explain the causes.  In addition, there are ethical questions to be addressed about all aspects of the management of animals that are bred, or held, in captivity before release.  An important element of the context for the judgement of these ethical issues is the likelihood of success of these reintroduction initiatives.

There is therefore an urgent need to establish reliable measures for assessing the likely impact of release on the welfare of captive-bred animals, and to determine how such measures, if employed before release, might predict the successful establishment of individuals in the wild.  It is also necessary to monitor the impact of release on changes in parasite loads and pathogenesis.  Until these issues are tackled it will remain impossible to provide appropriate advice on pre-release housing and health screening, and post-release monitoring.

My research utilises the water vole, currently subject to a wide range of reintroduction programmes within the UK, as a model species. Scientific benefits arising from my project include developments in improvements in refinement of techniques, with wide-ranging practical benefits of identifying areas within captive-breeding and reintroductions where methodology alterations might improve success.  My work will develop guidelines for improving the welfare of captive-bred and translocated animals, both pre- and post release, the findings of which will be made available to practitioners.  These will ultimately assist policy-makers in formulating evidence-based regulatory mechanisms for reintroduction schemes which are likely to become more common and diverse. 

Water vole research

Recent publications

Gelling, M., Macdonald, D. W. and Mathews F. (In press) Are hedgerows the route to increased farmland small mammal density? Use of hedgerows in British pastoral habitats.  Landscape Ecology

Moorhouse, T. P., Gelling, M., McLaren G. W., and Macdonald, D.W. (2007).  Physiological consequences of captive conditions in water voles (Arvicola terrestris). Journal of Zoology 271: 19-26.

Mathews, F., Moro, D., Strachan, R., Gelling, M., and Buller, N. (2006)  Health issues in wildlife reintroductions.  Biological Conservation, 131, 338 – 347.

Mathews, F., Macdonald, D. W., Taylor, G. M., Gelling, M., Norman, R., Honess, P. E., Foster R., Gower, C. E., Varley, S., Harris, A., Palmer, S., Hewinson, G. and Webster, J. P. (2005).  Bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in British wildlife: first reports for small mammals.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3298).

Mathews, F., Orr, M., McLaren, G., Foster, R. and Gelling, M. (2005).  Keeping fit on the arc; assessing the suitability of captive-bred animals for release. Biological Conservation 121: 569 - 577.

McLaren G.W., Mathews F., Fell R., Gelling M. and Macdonald D.W. (2004). Body weight change as a measure of stress: a practical test. Animal Welfare, 13: 337 - 341.

WildCRU, Oxford University (2004).  Water vole surveys in Fife and Central Cairngorms. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 058 (ROAME No. F01AC316).

Gelling, M.  (2003).  Partial Albinism in the Common Shrew Sorex araneus.  Mammal Review, 33, 189 – 190.

Gelling, M., McLaren, G. W., Mathews, F., Mian, R., and Macdonald, D. W.  Impact of handling on leukocyte coping capacity in wild rodents. (Submitted).

Gelling, M., McLaren, G. W., Moorhouse, T. P., Macdonald, D. W., and Moestl, E.  Non-invasive measures of stress: the role of androgen and cortisol metabolites.  (In preparation).

WildCRU seminars:
I arrange the WildCRU seminars. If you would like to give a talk to the group, then please do get in touch with me at merryl.gelling@zoology.oxford.ac.uk. It would be helpful if you could provide a provisional title for your talk, your academic status, university, and some provisional dates.