Connectivity Conservation and Endangered Species Recovery: A Study in the Challenges of Defining Conservation‐Reliant Species

Carroll, Carlos; Rohlf, Daniel J.; Li, Yawei; Hartl, Brett; Phillips, Michael K.; Noss, Reed F.

doi:10.1111/conl.12102

Cited by 27 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, serious limitations are revealed under closer examination. For example, numerous ‘census migrants’ [63] are needed so as to ensure the potential of at least one genetically effective migrant to counterbalance the aforementioned variance in individual reproductive success. This is particularly difficult when game birds are involved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

et al. 2017

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A central question in conservation is how best to manage biodiversity, despite human domination of global processes (= Anthropocene). Common responses (i.e. translocations, genetic rescue) forestall potential extirpations, yet have an uncertain duration. A textbook example is the greater prairie chicken (GRPC: Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus), where translocations (1992–1998) seemingly rescued genetically depauperate Illinois populations. We re-evaluated this situation after two decades by genotyping 21 microsatellite loci from 1831 shed feathers across six leks in two counties over 4 years (2010–2013). Low migration rates (less than 1%) established each county as demographically independent, but with declining-population estimates (4 year average N = 79). Leks were genetically similar and significantly bottlenecked, with low effective population sizes (average Ne = 13.1; 4 year Ne/N = 0.166). Genetic structure was defined by 12 significantly different family groups, with relatedness r = 0.31 > half-sib r = 0.25. Average heterozygosity, indicating short-term survival, did not differ among contemporary, pre- and post-translocated populations, whereas allelic diversity did. Our results, the natural history of GRPC (i.e. few leks, male dominance hierarchies) and its controlled immigration suggest demographic expansion rather than genetic rescue. Legal protection under the endangered species act (ESA) may enhance recovery, but could exacerbate political–economic concerns on how best to manage ‘conservation-reliant’ species, for which GRPC is now an exemplar.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

et al. 2017

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“…These gradients could be used as informative surrogates for important ecological processes acting at the catchment scale that are responsible for fish population differentiation processes. We also explicitly incorporated connectivity in the conservation prioritisation analysis, which is widely regarded as a key feature to consider when planning for the maintenance of evolutionary processes (Moritz, ; Carroll et al ., ). In our case, we focused on hydrological connectivity along river networks (Hermoso et al ., ), for its importance in maintaining some ecological processes such as migrations (Pringle, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We do not disqualify the importance of conservation genetics and its contribution to conservation programs for rare and threatened species (e.g. Carroll et al ., ; Frankham et al ., 2014). However, in the face of pressing need for urgent conservation action in many parts of the world (Essl et al ., 2015), our results suggest that alternative surrogates such as data on distributions of whole species assemblages could reliably be used to ensure the representation of intraspecific genetic diversity in conservation planning assessments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species distributions represent intraspecific genetic diversity of freshwater fish in conservation assessments

et al. 2016

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Summary Accounting for genetic diversity and evolutionary processes has long been recognised as an important goal in conservation planning. However, because genetic data are often lacking, surrogate approaches are widely used. Few studies have, however, assessed the capacity of surrogate data, such as higher taxonomic levels (e.g. species distributions) to portray intraspecific genetic diversity. Here, we contrast conservation plans based on traditional species distribution data, with those derived from intraspecific genetic data for a smaller subset of species, both using freshwater fish in northern Australia. We modelled the spatial distribution of 46 species and intraspecific genetic diversity within four common species. We then identified priority areas for conservation using both data sets and evaluated the extent to which solutions obtained from species distribution data portrayed genetic diversity. We found that genetic diversity could be adequately represented within priority areas identified using species distribution data, even at low conservation targets and for species with complex genetic structure. However, this was only true when using the entire fish community (i.e. all 46 species). In contrast, a substantial component of the genetic structure would not be represented in conservation priority areas when using a subset of species. Our results have important implications for the use of surrogates for genetic diversity in conservation planning. Sufficient genetic diversity might be represented in conservation priority areas by including a broad range of species with distributions ranging from common to rare elements in the community in the prioritisation analyses. We recommend focusing on improving accuracy of data on species distributions to reduce uncertainties in conservation recommendations derived from commission and omission errors, to avoid misuse of limited conservation funds and potential failure of conservation practice.

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“…Connectivity is important to species, enhancing demographic and genetic flows that support persistence evolutionary potential (Lowe and Allendorf 2010). Lack of connectivity is a demographic threat to many migratory species (Carroll et al 2015).…”

Section: Connectivity and Integrated Land-use Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canada and Aichi Biodiversity Target 11: understanding ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ in the context of the broader target

MacKinnon¹,

Lemieux

Beazley

et al. 2015

Biodivers Conserv

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Connectivity Conservation and Endangered Species Recovery: A Study in the Challenges of Defining Conservation‐Reliant Species

Abstract: Many species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) face continuing threats and will require intervention to address those threats for decades.

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

Species distributions represent intraspecific genetic diversity of freshwater fish in conservation assessments

Canada and Aichi Biodiversity Target 11: understanding ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ in the context of the broader target

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