Natural populations currently face a wide variety of threats including climate change, habitat
loss, over-harvesting, invasive species and disease. The most recent report by the …

It has been 50 years since the landmark paper by Frankel highlighted the importance of
genetic variation for continued evolution in the conservation of species. Despite major …

We will soon have complete genome sequences from thousands of species, as well as from
many individuals within species. This coming explosion of information will transform our …

Conservation genetics focuses on understanding the role and requirement of genetic
variation for population persistence. However, considerable debate now surrounds the role …

For more than thirty years, methods and theories from evolutionary biology, phylogenetics,
population genetics and molecular biology have been used by conservation biologists to …

Background In conservation genetics, molecular data can play two fundamental roles that I
will refer to as the mechanistic (or functional) and the inventorial. With respect to the …

Conservation genetics is an applied science, involving the application of evolutionary and
molecular genetics to biodiversity conservation. There are often disconnects between the …

D irect and indirect effects of human population growth are precipitating sharp declines of
biodiversity worldwide. The field of conservation biology has been defined as “a response …

Globally, species and ecosystems continue to decline, and the impact on threatened species
is increasing. The ongoing loss of intraspecific genetic diversity is contributing to the erosion …

In this chapter, you will learn about: 1. Why genetic concerns are central to the study of
conservation biology 2. How to measure the genetic attributes of individuals and populations …