Lecture 28: Conservation genetics

Question 1

What are the goals of populations genetics?

Answer 1

• Maintenance of heterozygosity
• Avoiding inbreeding depression
• Management of Fst

Question 2

What are the goals of systematics?

Answer 2

• Recognizing distinct lineages

- Phylogenetic species concept and endangered species

Question 3

What is the minimum viable population size?

Answer 3

Population size that ensure the persistence of a species for a period of time (99% chance of persistence for 1000 years)

Question 4

What is inbreeding depression?

Answer 4

• reduced biological fitness in a given population as a result of inbreeding
• expresion of deleterious traits in homozygotes

Question 5

What is environmental stochasticity?

Answer 5

Unpredictable survivorship and reproduction

Question 6

What is Ne/N ratio?

Answer 6

Ratio of Effective population size to census size

• Temporal fluctuations in N can lower Ne
• Low Ne/N ratio dictates higher minimum viable population size in conservation management

Question 7

What are the component of a captive breeding program?

Answer 7

• Equal founder size (Each lineage represented equally in controlled breeding program)
• maintain heterozygosity
• greater evol. potential when release into wild

Question 8

What is the phylogenetic approach to conservation biology?

Answer 8

• Distinct lineages deserve peservation

Question 9

What is an Evolutionary Significant Unit?

Answer 9

• Reciprocal monophyly, distinct entity

- Unique evolutionary history

Question 10

What is a management unit?

Answer 10

• Significantly different allele frequencies

- Manage as a separate unit, but can replace other MUs

Question 11

The relationship between ESU and reciprocal monophyly.

Answer 11

When all the lineages of Species A are monophyletic with all lineages of Species B and vice versa.