Dear Colleagues, I am very happy to share our review on Wildlife Health Assessments, which was recently published in Conservation Biology. We conducted a systematic and global examination on wildlife health assessment studies to identify trends in study design and diagnostic methods used, and discuss the implications for conservation. Marine mammal species included in this manuscript: Pinnipeds: bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), ringed seal (Pusa hispida), spotted seal (Phoca largha), ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata), leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Californian sea lion (Zalophus californianus), steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), weddel seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi), crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki), Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), Harp seal (Phoca groenlandicus). Sirenians: Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus). Cetaceans: beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus), Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis ssp. asiaeorientalis), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Other: sea otter (Ehydra lutris). Feel free to check out the manuscript in the link below (open access), or have a look at the attached PDF. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13724 <https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13724> Abstract: Wildlife health assessments help identify populations at risk of starvation, disease, and decline from anthropogenic impacts on natural habitats. We conducted an overview of available health assessment studies in noncaptive vertebrates and devised a framework to strategically integrate health assessments in population monitoring. Using a systematic approach, we performed a thorough assessment of studies examining multiple health parameters of noncaptive vertebrate species from 1982 to 2020 (n = 261 studies). We quantified trends in study design and diagnostic methods across taxa with generalized linear models, bibliometric analyses, and visual representations of study location versus biodiversity hotspots. Only 35% of studies involved international or cross-border collaboration. Countries with both high and threatened biodiversity were greatly underrepresented. Species that were not listed as threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List rep- resented 49% of assessed species, a trend likely associated with the regional focus of most studies. We strongly suggest following wildlife health assessment protocols when planning a study and using statistically adequate sample sizes for studies establishing reference ranges. Across all taxa blood analysis (89%), body composition assessments (81%), physical examination (72%), and fecal analyses (24% of studies) were the most common meth- ods. A conceptual framework to improve design and standardize wildlife health assessments includes guidelines on the experimental design, data acquisition and analysis, and species conservation planning and management implications. Integrating a physiological and ecological understanding of species resilience toward threatening processes will enable informed decision making regarding the conservation of threatened species. Kind regards, Sara Kophamel ___ Sara Kophamel PhD Candidate | James Cook University College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences Townsville 4811, QLD, Australia Ph: +61 422 808 532 ResearchGate <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sara_Kophamel> Twitter <https://twitter.com/SaraK0P>