From landscapes to lesions: Pathology's role in wildlife mortality investigations and conservation health

To effectively recognize and manage wildlife mortality events, we need to understand who, what, why and how – who are the individual animals and species involved; what are the surrounding circumstances in time and space in which they are found; what are the causes and contributors to illness, injury and/or death; why is this happening in this time and place? And ultimately, how should we best surveil, mitigate and/or manage the event (and perceived risks of similar future or related events) based on potential population health threats. Wildlife pathologists play a central role in this process, particularly in elucidating causes and contributors to mortality, a function that is increasingly critical to recognize as wildlife populations confront mounting and multifactorial challenges.