The Royal Society
Browse

Supplementary material from "Taxonomic similarity does not predict necessary sample size for ex situ conservation: a comparison among five genera"

Posted on 2020-04-15 - 05:52
Effectively conserving biodiversity with limited resources requires scientifically informed and efficient strategies. Guidance is particularly needed on how many living plants are necessary to conserve a threshold level of genetic diversity in ex situ collections. We investigated this question for 11 taxa across five genera. In this first study analysing and optimizing ex situ genetic diversity across multiple genera, we found that the percentage of extant genetic diversity currently conserved varies among taxa from 40 to 95%. Most taxa are well below genetic conservation targets. Resampling datasets showed that ideal collection sizes vary widely even within a genus: one taxon typically required at least 50% more individuals than another (though Quercus was an exception). Still, across taxa, the minimum collection size to achieve genetic conservation goals is within one order of magnitude. Current collections are also suboptimal: they could remain the same size yet capture twice the genetic diversity with an improved sampling design. We term this deficiency the ‘genetic conservation gap’. Lastly, we show that minimum collection sizes are influenced by collection priorities regarding the genetic diversity target. In summary, current collections are insufficient (not reaching targets) and suboptimal (not efficiently designed), and we show how improvements can be made.

CITE THIS COLLECTION

DataCite
3 Biotech
3D Printing in Medicine
3D Research
3D-Printed Materials and Systems
4OR
AAPG Bulletin
AAPS Open
AAPS PharmSciTech
Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg
ABI Technik (German)
Academic Medicine
Academic Pediatrics
Academic Psychiatry
Academic Questions
Academy of Management Discoveries
Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Learning and Education
Academy of Management Perspectives
Academy of Management Proceedings
Academy of Management Review
or
Select your citation style and then place your mouse over the citation text to select it.

SHARE

email

Usage metrics

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

AUTHORS (22)

Sean Hoban
Taylor Callicrate
John Clark
Susan Deans
Michael Dosmann
Jeremie Fant
Oliver Gailing
Kayri Havens
Andrew L. Hipp
Priyanka Kadav
Andrea T. Kramer
Matthew Lobdell
Tracy Magellan
Abby Meyer
Margaret Pooler
Emma Spence
Patrick Thompson
Raakel Toppila
Seana Walsh
Murphy Westwood
need help?