The world is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, threatening essential goods and services on which humanity depends. While there is an urgent need globally for biodiversity research, growing obstacles are severely limiting biodiversity research throughout the developing world, particularly in southeast Asia. Facilities, funding, and expertise are often limited throughout this region, reducing the capacity for local biodiversity research. Although western scientists generally have more expertise and capacity, international research has sometimes been exploitative "parachute science," creating a culture of suspicion and mistrust. These issues, combined with misplaced fears of biopiracy, have resulted in severe roadblocks to biodiversity research in the very countries that need it the most. Here, we present an overview of challenges to biodiversity research and case studies that provide productive models for advancing biodiversity research in developing countries. Key to success is integration of research and education, a model that fosters sustained collaboration by focusing on the process of conducting biodiversity research as well as research results. This model simultaneously expands biodiversity research capacity while building trust across national borders. It is critical that developing countries enact policies that protect their biodiversity capital without shutting down international and local biodiversity research that is essential to achieve the long-term sustainability of biodiversity, promoting food security and economic development.

Historical isolation during Pleistocene low sea level periods is thought to have contributed to divergence among marine basin populations across the Coral Triangle. In the Philippine archipelago, populations in the South China Sea, Sulu Sea-inland seas, and Philippine Sea-Celebes Sea basins might have been partially isolated. Meanwhile, present-day broadscale oceanographic circulation patterns suggest connectivity between these basins. To evaluate hypotheses regarding the influence of historical and contemporary factors on genetic structure, phylogeographic patterns based on mitochondrial control region sequences for a reef-associated fish, Siganus fuscescens, were analysed. Three distinct lineages were recovered. One lineage was identified as the morphologically similar species Siganus canaliculatus, while two lineages are monophyletic with S. fuscescens. Clade divergence and demographic expansion in S. fuscescens occurred during the Pleistocene. A strong signal of latitudinal structure was detected (Φ(CT)  = 0.188), driven by marked differences in clade distribution: one clade is widely distributed (clade A), while a second clade (clade B) has a restricted northern distribution. Regional structure of clade A is consistent with the basin isolation hypothesis (Φ(CT)  = 0.040) and suggests isolation of the South China Sea (Φ(CT)  = 0.091). Fine-scale structure was observed in the South China Sea and south Philippine Sea, while Sulu Sea and inland seas were unstructured. Genetic structure across multiple spatial scales (archipelagic, regional, and fine-scale within basins) suggests the influence of vicariant barriers and contemporary limits to gene flow in S. fuscescens that may be influenced by oceanographic circulation, geographical distance between available habitats, and latitudinal temperature differences.

ABSTRACT.-Molecular tools and analyses have played pivotal roles in uncovering the processes and patterns of biodiversity in the Indian and Pacific oceans. However, integrating genetic results into management and conservation objectives has been challenging, with few examples that show practical applicability. This review aims to address some of the perceived barriers to an enhanced approach that integrates molecular data into management and conservation goals, by reviewing papers relevant to both conservation and fisheries management in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly with respect to phylogeography, connectivity, and species identification, as well as stock delineation, restoration of depleted wild stocks, mislabeled marine resources and "molecular forensics." We also highlight case studies from each of these areas that illustrate how molecular analyses are relevant to conservation and management in the IndoPacific, spanning a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. We discuss the application of genetic data to the design and evaluation of the effectiveness of marine protected area networks, stock delineation, and restoration and the usage of exclusion tests and parentage analyses for fisheries management. We conclude that there is a distinct need for increasing public awareness and ownership of genetically unique lineages and, ultimately, the increased inclusion of genetic research into management policy and conservation. Finally, we make a case for the importance of clear and effective communication for promoting public awareness, public ownership, and for achieving conservation goals within the region.

Tridacna crocea populations were sampled from 15 locations throughout the eastern Philippine seaboard and screened for allozyme variation at 7 polymorphic loci in order to examine the influence of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) bifurcation on population genetic structure. Significant genetic differentiation among all populations was detected (F ST = 0.065). Ordination methods and cluster analysis revealed 2 regional groups and a north-south spatial genetic structure broadly concordant with the bifurcation of the NEC into the Kuroshio and Mindanao current branches. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated greater partitioning of genetic variance among groups (F CT = 0.049) than among populations within groups (F SC = 0.029). An isolation-by-distance signal across the entire Philippine seaboard and marked geographical variation of allele frequencies between Kuroshio and Mindanao Current regions suggested that genetic differentiation is likely due to limited larval exchange and genetic drift. The Mindanao current populations are characterized by greater genetic diversity and differentiation (observed heterozygosity, H O = 0.298; F ST = 0.056) than the Kuroshio populations (H O = 0.152; F ST = 0.025), attributable to variable atmospheric and hydrographic regional conditions. Weaker connectivity among Mindanao current populations are attributed to complex patterns of hydrographic circulation south of the NEC bifurcation, which may translate to greater entrainment potential, in turn influencing dispersal and recruitment of planktonic propagules at varying spatial and temporal scales. Fine-scale genetic differentiation was also detected within Kuroshio and Mindanao current populations, indicating the influence of small-scale temporal and spatial physical processes that affect larval dispersal and recruitment along the eastern Philippine seaboard.

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