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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.