| Wildlife diseases are becoming increasingly important in National Park resource conservation management due their potential negative effects on conservation biology, human health, cultural heritage, and economics The most effective way to identify threats to wildlife posed by disease is through early detection and assessment. This thesis aimed to assess the feasibility of creating a decision support tool that could improve the surveillance of diseases in national parks. Thesis research identified the features and commonalities that wildlife disease specialists consider when formulating the appropriate response to wildlife disease situations. Features were presented to Parks managers in the form of a rapid assessment table (RAT) and a "decision tree", and assessed to determine if they provided consistent results. Results were analyzed using focused coding and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) reliability analysis. The preliminary risk assessment and response model had an acceptable level of consistency (Experts ICC - 0.68, Parks ICC - 0.64). The conclusion is that if the RAT was employed in its current condition, under collaborative circumstances, the outcome would be an appropriate first response to a wildlife disease occurrence. |
