Do We Need to Identify Adaptive Genetic Variation When Prioritizing Populations for Conservation?
Back to previous page
| Authors: | Fernandez-Fournier, P; Lewthwaite, JMM; Mooers, AO |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Journal: | Conserv. Genet. 22: 205-216 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | Do We Need to Identify Adaptive Genetic Variation When Prioritizing Populations for Conservation? |
| Abstract: | When prioritizing populations for conservation of a given species, it is unclear whether the distribution of standing genetic variation can be used as a suitable proxy for the distribution of useful adaptive genetic variation. We tested whether using genome-wide and putatively adaptive genetic variation give similar prioritization results. We identified adaptive loci via their association with either environmental factors or phenotypic traits using two genomic data sets: yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) across North America and lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta) in western Canada. We measured pairwise differentiation among populations using a principal components analysis and used a phylogenetic approach (NeighborNet networks) coupled with a measure of evolutionary distinctiveness (Shapley value) to attribute a priority rank to each population. Overall, we found that prioritization rankings using adaptive variation alone were not significantly divergent from rankings based on genome-wide genetic variation. Our testing framework might be of immediate use to conservation practitioners collecting next-generation sequencing data, and we call for further investigation in other species. Our results suggest that we may not need to pursue the contingent step of identifying adaptive variation in species of concern before prioritizing populations, i.e. a naive approach of using genome-wide genetic variation might be a suitable proxy for identifying local adaptation. |
Please send suggestions for improving this publication database to
sass-support@sfu.ca.
Departmental members may update their publication list.