Genetic management of fragmented animal and plant populations / Richard Frankham, Jonathan D. Ballou & Katherine Ralls, Mark D.B. Eldridge, Michele R. Dubash, Charles B. Fenster, Robert C. Lacy, Paul Sunnucks
Genetic problems in small isolated populations. Evolutionary genetics of small populations ; Inbreeding reduces reproductive fitness ; Loss of genetic diversity reduces ability to adapt ; Population fragmentation causes inadequate gene flow and increases extinction risk -- Rescue and risk. Genetic rescue by augmenting gene flow ; Outbreeding depression is uncommon and predictable ; Modified rescue and risk expectations for species with diverse mating systems and modes of inheritance -- Developing management decisions. Is the taxonomy appropriate? Delineating species for conservation purposes ; Determining the number and location of genetically differentiated population fragments ; Are there populations suffering genetic erosion that would benefit from augmented gene flow? ; Managing gene flow among isolated population fragments. Limited information ; Managing gene flow among isolated population fragments. Management based on kinship ; Global climate change increases the need for genetic management ; Take home messages
Summary
One of the greatest unmet issues in conservation biology is the genetic management of fragmented populations of numerous animal and plant species. Many populations are going extinct unnecessarily for genetic reasons so there is now urgent need for an authoritative textbook on the rational genetic management of fragmented populations
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-390) and index
