Reproductive science and wildlife conservation: the knowns and unknowns!

All animal species, past and present alike, are the products of evolution, and although they have diversified in multiple directions, they currently occupy niches that optimize their future chances of survival. While animal evolution as an abstract concept usually brings to mind a series of changes taking place over long timescales, recent advances in developmental biology have shown that many animal species can also adapt surprisingly rapidly if their environment changes. For example, some tadpoles and fish embryos can sense that their watery habitat is drying out, whereupon they can either accelerate their development, or bury themselves in mud until the waters return. How do they do it? While biologists are gradually discovering the mechanisms behind these, and other, unexpected responses confront biologists every day with knowledge gaps that have to be filled. Here we explore some of these gaps and their influence on efforts to protect threatened species.