Senior Lecturer in Wild Animal Health
Curriculum Vitae:
- 2008–present: Senior Lecturer in Wild Animal Health, Institute of Zoology.
- 1996-present: Co-Director Masters Courses in Wild Animal Health and Wild Animal Biology.
- 1998-2002: Senior Veterinary Officer, Institute of Zoology.
- 1989-1998: Veterinary Officer, Institute of Zoology.
- 1987-1989: Veterinary Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of England
Professional Recognition:
- 2011 FHEA – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- 2009 European Recognised Specialist in Zoological Medicine (Wildlife Population Health)
- 2009 DipECZM (Wildlife Population Health)
Research Interests:
Disease outbreaks as a consequence of the translocation of free-living wild animals are a threat to biodiversity and vast numbers of these wild animal movments occur annually for reasons of trade, rehabilitation, hunting and conservation. My interest is in developing methods to assess the risks from disease with less uncertainty so that translocations can be carried out more effectively. Difficulties in doing so stem from our lack of understanding of the number, pathogenicity, identity and distribution of parasites of wild animals. One driver of disease outbreaks is non-native parasite incursion and there is a need for better prediction of how and when these parasites will impact on wild animal populations. Our evolving methods are tested on current translocation projects for conservation purposes in a collaboration with Natural England - see the DRAHS Project .
Surveillance of disease in threatened free-living wild animal populations, including translocated populations, can be difficult due to the secretive behaviour of many species and because dead and dying animals are removed by scavengers, and yet the results from disease surveillance are important to improve intervention techniques such as translocation. I am exploring how the limitations of our detection methods for diseased and dead free-living wild animals affect our understanding of the threat of disease to translocated and declining free-living populations.
Editorial Positions and Professional Affiliations
- from 2015 Review Editor: Ecohealth
- from 2012 Associate Editor: International Journal of Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
- from 2012 Associate Editor: European Journal Wildlife Research
- 1999 - 2002 President, World Association of Wildlife Veterinarians
Selected Publications:
Sainsbury AW, Chantrey J, Ewen JG, Gurnell J, Hudson P, Karesh WB, Kock RA, Lurz PWW, Meredith A, Tompkins D 2020. Implications of squirrelpox virus for successful red squirrel translocations within mainland UK. Conservation Science and Practice. https://doi.org/10. 1111/csp2.200
Dalziel AE, Sainsbury AW, McInnes K, Jakob-Hoff R, Ewen JG 2017. A comparison of disease risk analysis tools for conservation translocations. Ecohealth 14: S30-S41
Rideout B, Sainsbury AW, Hudson PJ 2017. Which Parasites Should We Be Most Concerned About in Wildlife Translocations? Ecohealth 14: S42-S46
Bobadilla Suarez, M, Ewen, JG, Groombridge JJ, Beckmann K, Shotton J, Masters N, Hopkins T, Sainsbury AW 2017. Using Qualitative Disease Risk Analysis for Herpetofauna Conservation Translocations Transgressing Ecological and Geographical Barriers. Ecohealth 14: S47-S60
Sainsbury AW, Yu-Mei R, Ågren E, McGill IS, Molenaar F, Peniche G, Vaughan-Higgins RJ, Foster J 2016. Disease risk analysis and post-release health surveillance for a reintroduction programme: the pool frog Pelophylax lessonae.
Transboundary and Emerging Diseases doi:10.1111/tbed.12545.Sainsbury AW, Vaughan-Higgins RJ. 2012. Analyzing disease risks associated with translocations. Conservation Biology 26: 442-452.
Carroll, B., Russell, P., Gurnell, J., Nettleton, P. and Sainsbury, A.W. 2009 Epidemics of squirrelpox virus disease in red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris): temporal and serological findings. Epidemiology and Infection 137: 257-265.
Rushton, S.P., Lurz, P.W.W., Gurnell, J., Nettleton, P., Bruemmer, C., Shirley, M.D.F. and Sainsbury, A.W. 2006 Disease threats posed by alien species: the role of a poxvirus in the decline of the native red squirrel in Britain. Epidemiology and Infection 134(3): 521-533.
Tompkins, D.M., Sainsbury, A.W., Nettleton, P., Buxton, D. and Gurnell, J. 2002 Parapoxvirus causes a deleterious disease in red squirrels associated with UK population declines. Proceedings of the Royal Society , London Series B 269: 529-533.
Sainsbury, A.W., Nettleton, P., Gilray, J. and Gurnell, J. 2000 Grey squirrels have high seroprevalence to a parapoxvirus associated with deaths in red squirrels. Animal Conservation 3: 229-233.
