Conservation Genetics

By: Alex Harris, Marta Cano, Michelle Fletcher, and Orben Olson

Key Terms BiodiversityThe variety of the earth's organisms, their genetic diversity and the assemblages they form:

Genes – Population – Species – Communities – Biomes

ExtinctionThe loss of a species forever.

ConservationManagement of human use of the biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to present generations while maintaining it’s potential to meet needs and aspirations of future generations.

Species diversity: Beetle Example.

There are 200 beetles species for every mammal species. We need to keep diversity in mind when

we talk about the importance of nature

What is Conservation Genetics?

A science that combines efforts to maintain a healthy biological

environment and protect the genetic makeup of the species by preserving

the traits passed on through inheritance as plants and animals

reproduce.

Conservation biology studies individual and populations of plants and animals with the

intent to gather pertinent data on habitat and how it affects the organism.

When biological changes occur, it can endanger a population with low genetic diversity.

Genetics is the study of traits passed on through inheritance as plants and animals reproduce.

Several factors can affect the genetic diversity of a given population; loss of biodiversity, inbreeding, and geographic isolation.

Genetic diversity is important because the consequences of extinction is equivalent to the complete and permanent loss of genetic

information for a plant or animal species.

Genetic diversity assures that a population will adapt to the changes and reproduce and

extinction is minimized.

Biodiversity

A diverse ecosystem has many varieties of healthy, self-sustaining life forms living in

biological harmony.

Genetic Conservation Can Save Threatened Species

Our planet is home to more than ten million species of plants and animals, and nearly half

of these are threatened with extinction because their natural habitat is being

destroyed.

How Ecosystems Become Stressed

It is easy for healthy ecosystems to bounce back rapidly, but if a struggle for genetic diversity is

an issue, a stressed ecosystem could mean extinction for many species.

Interbreeding and Genetic Bottleneck

Population isolation ultimately leads to interbreeding, a situation where an organism mates with relatives, which obviously has a negative effect on the genetic diversity of a

population.