Genetic diversity targets and indicators in the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must be improved

Hoban, Sean; Bruford, Michael William; Jackson, Josephine D’Urban; Lopes-Fernandes, Margarida; Heuertz, Myriam; Hohenlohe, Paul A.; Paz‐Vinas, Ivan; Sjögren‐Gulve, Per; Segelbacher, Gernot; Vernesi, Cristiano; Aitken, Sally N.; Bertola, Laura D.; Bloomer, Paulette; Breed, Martin F.; Rodríguez‐Correa, Hernando; Funk, W. Chris; Grueber, Catherine E.; Hunter, Margaret E.; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Liggins, Libby; Mergeay, Joachim; Moharrek, Farideh; O’Brien, David; Ogden, Rob; Palma‐Silva, Clarisse; Pierson, Jennifer C.; Ramakrishnan, Uma; Simo‐Droissart, Murielle; Tani, Naoki; Waits, Lisette P.; Laikre, Linda

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108654

Cited by 379 publications

(437 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Our results also have usefulness in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity Target 13 on "genetic erosion". The Red List Index is currently an indicator for this Target but we suggest that a rule of thumb such as 0.4N c below thresholds such as 50 and 500 could be complementary with more genetic relevance and a better predictor of extinction risk (Laikre et al 2020, Hoban et al 2020. We acknowledge that this approach is imperfect, but including genetic factors (which have known influences on population persistence) is an improvement over no indicators at all.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IUCN Red List and the value of integrating genetics

2020

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Many species on endangered species lists such as the IUCN Red List (RL) are categorized using demographic factors such as numbers of mature individuals. Genetic factors are not currently used in the RL even though their explicit consideration, including effective population size (Ne) and expected heterozygosity-loss (H-loss), could improve the assessment of extinction risk. Here, we consider the estimation of Ne and H-loss in the context of RL species. First, we investigate the reporting of number of mature individuals for RL Endangered species, which is needed to estimate Ne and H-loss. We found 77% of species assessments studied here did not report methods used to estimate the number of mature adults, and that these assessments rarely report other important determinants of Ne (e.g., sex ratio, variance in family size). We therefore applied common rules of thumb to estimate Ne, and found that Ne was likely < 50 for at least 25% of the 170 RL Endangered species studied here. We also estimated mean expected H-loss for these species over the next 100 years, and found it to be 9–29%. These estimates of high H-loss and low Ne suggest that some species listed as Endangered likely warrant listing as Critically Endangered if genetic considerations were included. We recommend that RL and other assessment frameworks (i) report methods used for estimating the number of mature adults, (ii) include standardized information on species traits that influence Ne to facilitate Ne estimation, and (iii) consider using concepts like Ne and heterozygosity-loss in risk assessments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IUCN Red List and the value of integrating genetics

2020

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“…Yet, this relationship can be hard to assess as it can be affected by either habitat factors or population changes over time (Belmar‐Lucero et al., 2012; Fraser et al., 2007). Although the high ratios observed are likely to be a result of the sensitivity of the Ne estimation methods to small sample sizes, our work suggests that Ne/Nc ratios ranging from 0.24 to 0.78 are plausible for slow breeding mammals (Hoban et al., 2020), but there is little evidence to permit comparison of these results with other bat species. When using the LD method, we found that Ne/Nc ratios showed a log‐linear relationship with N, which agrees with Palstra and Fraser (2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Consequently, there has been an increase in the use of effective population size (Ne) estimates, to provide an insight into both demographic and genetic changes in populations (Luikart et al., 2010; Palstra & Fraser, 2012). These molecular approaches along with other indicators of genetic diversity are increasingly being considered to meet global conservation goals (Hoban et al., 2020; IUCN ‐ World Conservation Congress, 2020) and have the potential to supplement or replace traditional long‐term monitoring methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can effective population size estimates be used to monitor population trends of woodland bats? A case study of Myotis bechsteinii

Wright

Schofield

Mathews

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Molecular approaches to calculate effective population size estimates (Ne) are increasingly used as an alternative to long‐term demographic monitoring of wildlife populations. However, the complex ecology of most long‐lived species and the consequent uncertainties in model assumptions means that effective population size estimates are often imprecise. Although methods exist to incorporate age structure into Ne estimations for long‐lived species with overlapping generations, they are rarely used owing to the lack of relevant information for most wild populations. Here, we performed a case study on an elusive woodland bat, Myotis bechsteinii, to compare the use of the parentage assignment Ne estimator (EPA) with the more commonly used linkage disequilibrium (LD) Ne estimator in detecting long‐term population trends, and assessed the impacts of deploying different overall sample sizes. We used genotypic data from a previously published study, and simulated 48 contrasting demographic scenarios over 150 years using the life history characteristics of this species The LD method strongly outperformed the EPA method. As expected, smaller sample sizes resulted in a reduced ability to detect population trends. Nevertheless, even the smallest sample size tested (n = 30) could detect important changes (60%–80% decline) with the LD method. These results demonstrate that genetic approaches can be an effective way to monitor long‐lived species, such as bats, provided that they are undertaken over multiple decades.

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“…Some of these taxa meet IUCN criteria for some degree of extinction risk, such as S. brassicoides and S. costae, inserted in the Red Book of Flora of Brazil (Martinelli and Moraes 2013). Hoban et al (2020) state the importance of including in global conservation policy (e.g., CDB-Convention on Biological Diversity) targets and indicators for genetic diversity for all species, and not just for domesticated species. The present study's results of the microsatellite marker transfer can contribute significantly to research about the levels and patterns of genetic diversity of Stigmatodon species, contributing for understanding the adaptive, evolutionary and survival rates of these taxa, and to the establishment of effective conservation strategies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transferability of nuclear microsatellite markers to Stigmatodon species: a bromeliad genus endemic to vertical cliffs of inselbergs in Brazil

et al. 2020

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Stigmatodon Leme, G.K.Br. & Barfuss is one of the most representative Bromeliaceae genera that grow on the steepest slopes of the inselbergs of southeastern Brazil. Inselberg environments are characterized as islands due to their restricted, disjunct distribution and geographical isolation. These features make these sites interesting models for evolutionary and population genetic studies. In this study we report, the cross-species transferability of nuclear microsatellite markers, originally developed for other Bromeliaceae, to four Stigmatodon species: Stigmatodon brassicoides, S. costae, S. goniorachis and Stigmatodon sp. nov. Twenty-four microsatellite markers were tested, and 12 of these were successfully amplified in the four studied species. In S. brassicoides and S. costae, 10 markers showed amplification with polymorphism, and in Stigmatodon sp. nov and S. goniorachis, all 12 markers showed polymorphisms. The number of alleles ranged from two to four in S. brassicoides; from two to three in S. costae; from two to six in Stigmatodon sp. nov; and from two to seven in S. goniorachis. H O values ranged from 0.05 (P2P19 locus) in S. brassicoides to 0.689 (VgA04 locus) in S. goniorachis. The set of amplified microsatellite markers described in this study will be a useful tool for addressing various evolutionary, ecological and conservation aspects of Stigmatodon species.

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Genetic diversity targets and indicators in the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must be improved

Cited by 379 publications

References 67 publications

IUCN Red List and the value of integrating genetics

IUCN Red List and the value of integrating genetics

Can effective population size estimates be used to monitor population trends of woodland bats? A case study of Myotis bechsteinii

Transferability of nuclear microsatellite markers to Stigmatodon species: a bromeliad genus endemic to vertical cliffs of inselbergs in Brazil

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