Wildlife is globally threatened at an increasing rate due to various threat factors, of which wildlife trade is one of the most prevalent. Many species are affected and facing populations depletion. To fulfil the supply and demand left in the wake of ever decreasing populations of wildlife certain similar species are being thought out as substitutes in the market. This depends what gives the species commercial value be it luxury, consumable or medicinal. This need to replace commercially valuable species applies strain to related species of similar utility normally in the same genus like with anguillid eels. The overall discussion surrounding the analysis of understanding which species might be targeted for substitution is underdeveloped. Here we show that through an analysis of both scientific and grey literature we can see trends developing that indicate which species might be targeted for substitution. The main results demonstrate direct linkage in scientific discussion between the most exploited anguillids and the less discussed tropical kin. Public interest data from Wikipedia and google trends demonstrates the unusual increase in interest for some of these tropical eels which are being used as substitutes for Anguilla anguilla. This stands in contrast to prior research conducted in trade through the usage of a new methodology that provides an understanding of species perception and threat factors. These results indicate how substitute species can come about due to the necessity of fulfilling supply and demand for species dwindling population as with Anguilla anguilla. More broadly the methodology used to reach this conclusion about the state of anguillid eels is also applicable to other species to glean what members might be at risk of substitution. I anticipate the methodology demonstrated in this paper to be useful for future wildlife trade research and the results to further our understanding of the threatened anguillid eels.
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Fontannaz, Luc Arnaud
Rights Holders: Fontannaz, Luc Arnaud Supervisors: Nijman, Vincent
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
MSc Conservation Ecology
2023
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