Journal article
Evolving coral reef conservation with genetic information
Maria Beger, Kimberly A Selkoe, Eric Treml, Paul H Barber, Sophie von der Heyden, Eric D Crandall, Robert J Toonen, Cynthia Riginos
Bulletin of Marine Science | University of Miami - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science | Published : 2014
Abstract
Targeted conservation and management programs are crucial for mitigating anthropogenic threats to declining biodiversity. Although evolutionary processes underpin extant patterns of biodiversity, it is uncommon for resource managers to explicitly consider genetic data in conservation prioritization. Genetic information is inherently relevant to management because it describes genetic diversity, population connectedness, and evolutionary history; thereby typifying their behavioral traits, physiological climate tolerance, evolutionary potential, and dispersal ability. Incorporating genetic information into spatial conservation prioritization starts with reconciling the terminology and techniqu..
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Awarded by National Science Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank the National Evolutionary Synthesis Centre (NESCent) for hosting the Molecular Ecology and Evolution of the Indo-Pacific Catalysis meeting, which brought together a diverse group of scientists working on the Indo-Pacific coral reef genetic ecology and conservation. MB was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award. Data from T. crocea was supported by an NSF CAREER grant (OCE-0349177) to PHB and an NSF PIRE grant (OISE-0730256). RJT and KAS were supported in part by NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Program (MOA grant No. 2005-008/66882) and NSF OCE-1260169 grants. We are grateful for thoughtful comments and discussion during the workshop and analysis from H Fox, G Ahmadia, N Yasuda, C Fauvelot, and L van Herwerden.