Sovereign genes: wildlife conservation, genetic preservation, and Indigenous data sovereignty

Robbins, Paul; Hunt, Heather L.; Pelegri, Francisco; Gilbert, Jennifer L.

doi:10.3389/fcosc.2023.1099562

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(68 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This approach recognises the importance of Indigenous sovereignty and the ethical and equitable use of DNA, particularly in the context of culturally significant species. The involvement of local Maori communities in decisionmaking and the devolution of harvest administration to a local tribe have been key factors in the success of conservation efforts (Collier-Robinson et al, 2019;Coombes, 2007;Robbins et al, 2023). 16 Further readings: Elmhirst (2011); Sundberg (2016); Sultana (2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can political ecology be decolonised? A dialogue with Paul Robbins

Malik

2024

Geography and Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the intricate tapestry of environmental discourse, the field of political ecology emerges as a powerful lens through which we scrutinise the interplay of power, nature and society. This paper stages a dialogue with Paul Robbins to examine environmental justice, the decolonisation of political ecology, colonialism, sovereignty, climate change and capitalism. The dialogue challenges the conventional narratives of sovereignty and underscores the imperative of genuine decolonisation—beyond metaphorical interpretations—calling for the restitution of land and authority to Indigenous Peoples and other historically marginalised communities. The dialogue highlights the importance of moving away from capitalist systems that exacerbate environmental degradation. The dialogue calls for decolonising political ecology by including diverse perspectives, methodologies and ontologies and underlines the importance of control over productive resources. It emphasises that addressing the impacts of colonialism requires recognising and honouring the sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and suggests that political ecology can contribute to decolonisation by focusing on sovereignty and supporting legal and institutional frameworks that empower marginalised communities. The paper discusses the way forward and the future trajectory of political ecology by suggesting that future research in political ecology should focus on diverse economies, embrace emerging technologies and rework academic institutions to value knowledge co‐production.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can political ecology be decolonised? A dialogue with Paul Robbins

Malik

2024

Geography and Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This situation is particularly heightened when it comes to sequencing species that are taonga ( treasured ) by Indigenous peoples. In these cases, the tikanga ( protocols ) around protecting and ensuring the safety of tissues and genetic resources is paramount for upholding Indigenous data sovereignty (Robbins et al 2023; Jennings et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A High-quality Oxford Nanopore Assembly of the Hourglass Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus cruciger) Genome

McGrath,

le Roux,

Whibley

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hourglass dolphin (Sagmatias cruciger) is a small cetacean species of the Southern Ocean, with significance to iwi Māori (Māori tribes) of Aotearoa New Zealand as taonga (treasured/valued). Due to the remoteness and difficulty of surveying Antarctic waters, it remains one of the least-studied dolphin species. A recent stranding of an hourglass dolphin represented a rare opportunity to generate a genome assembly as a resource for future study into the conservation and evolutionary biology of this species, particularly as a resource to help resolve the taxonomic uncertainty that exists for Lissodelphininae, the subfamily of true dolphins to which the hourglass dolphin belongs. However, the use of expensive genomic technologies to generate genome assemblies has the potential to further perpetuate inequities between countries and peoples who have the capability and capacity to generate and care for such genetic resources. In this study, we present a high-quality genome assembly of an hourglass dolphin individual using a single sequencing platform, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, coupled with computationally efficient assembly methods. Our assembly strategy yielded a genome of high contiguity (N50 of 8.07 Mbp) and quality (98.3% BUSCO completeness). Compared to other Delphinoidea reference genomes, this assembly has fewer missing BUSCOs than any exceptOrcinus orca, more single-copy complete BUSCOs than any exceptPhocoena sinus, and 20% fewer duplicated BUSCOs than the average Delphinoidea reference genome. This suggests that it is one of the most complete and accurate marine mammal genomes to date. Phasing results suggest successful complete haplotype resolution across most contigs. This study showcases the feasibility of a cost-effective mammalian genome assembly method, allowing for genomic data generation outside the traditional confines of academia and/or resource-rich genome assembly hubs, and facilitating the ability to uphold Indigenous data sovereignty. In the future the genome assembly presented here will allow valuable insights into the past population size changes, adaptation, vulnerability to future climate change of the hourglass dolphin and related species.

show abstract