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Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting

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Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting

Society for Conservation Biology 16th Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002
co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society


Abstracts for Conservation Genetics
Session One

Monday 15th July, 10.15 - 12.15, Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1

Chair: Colin Hughes




(BLOCK CAPITALS indicate the presenting author)

10.15 - 10.30
RIDLEY, JO and Jan Komdeur. Centre for Ecology Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, UEA, Norwich, Norfolk NR15 1DD, UK, <j.ridley@uea.ac.uk> (JR), University of Groningen, Netherlands (JK).

GENES OR POPULATIONS? A CONCILIATORY APPROACH TO SPECIES MANAGEMENT

To incorporate genetic priorities into the management of endangered species, we need to understand the relative risks that genetic threats pose, and also to be able to identify strategies that place appropriate emphasis on these risks. Using a behaviour-based population model of the Seychelles warbler, a general method for deriving population genetic data from any individual-based population model is demonstrated. This allows us to estimate the effective population size on the island of Cousin to be 45, in comparison to a population size of 320. For almost any mutation rate estimate this effective population size will not be viable in the medium term. The major reason for the relatively small effective population size is spatial variation in fitness, something that many reserve-based management plans will tend to exacerbate. As habitat usage in the Seychelles warbler model is based on individuals’ attempts to maximise fitness, the effects of habitat manipulation on both carrying capacity and effective population size can be predicted. Whilst management practices can favour population size or effective population size, this approach allows general predictions to be made as to how to manage in order to benefit both.

10.30 - 10.45
HUGHES, COLIN R., Steven R. Beissinger, and Rebecca R. Melland. University of Miami, Box 249118, Coral Gables, FL, 33124, USA, <hughes@fig.cox.miami.edu> (CRH), University of California Berkeley, CA 94720, USA (SRB), and University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA (RRM).

THE SCALE OF GENETIC POPULATION STRUCTURING IN A NEOTROPICAL SAVANNAH-DWELLING PARROT.

The geographic scale of demographic and genetic processes are poorly known for tropical birds. On a ranch in the Llanos of Venezuela, individually marked Green-rumped parrotlets, Forpus passerinus, are rarely resighted moving between two areas of savannah separated by 1km of forest. However, many recruits into the breeding population are immigrants. We collected blood samples from adults at the ranch, and 5 other locations in Guárico, then genotyped individuals at 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Analyses confirm that individuals disperse widely. First, females mate with extra-pair males which are nesting over 1 km from the female’s own nest. The program CERVUS was used to identify extra-pair mates and 14 of 64 extra-pair fertilisations were shown to be with males living in the other savannah area. Second, we detected no geographic population differentiation. Genepop and Arlequin were used to analyse data from 7 loci for which the step-wise mutation model fit allele sizes. Pairwise differentiation estimates between the ranch and the most distant population sampled, 110 km south, were FST 0.000, RST = -0.005, neither significantly different from zero. There was no indication of isolation by distance, (Mantel test P>.05). Our results show that this open-country bird has an open population structure.



10.45 - 11.00
SWANSON, BRADLEY J. Department of Biology. Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA, <brad.swanson@cmich.edu>.

THE ROLE OF HABITAT FRAGMENTATION IN THE EROSION OF GENETIC DIVERSTIY IN LEK BREEDING GROUSE

Every species of lekking bird in the United States has at least one threatened population experiencing rapid population declines, possibly due to habitat loss, fragmentation, or genetic decay. Lekking species lose genetic variation rapidly because of the large variation in male reproductive success. I evaluated the amount of genetic variation at 6 microsatellites in populations of sharptailed grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellu, ranging in size from small isolated populations to large continuous populations. This allowed me to evaluate the effect of habitat fragmentation and reduced population size on genetic variation while controlling for the lek breeding system. Isolated leks had significantly lower heterozygosity and number of alleles than leks of similar size in continuous populations. The reduced genetic variation found in the isolated leks indicates that habitat fragmentation is accelerating the rate of loss of genetic variation. I also found an inverse relationship between the number of misassigned genotypes and distance to the nearest neighbour lek indicating that dispersal between leks can be a major source of genetic variation. These results suggest that translocation of birds between leks can help to reduce genetic decay and the problems associated with low levels of genetic variation.



11.00 - 11.15
GAUTSCHI BARBARA, Jürg-Paul Müller, Bernhard Schmid and Jacqui Shykoff. Institut für Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland, <babagaut@uwinst.unizh.ch> (BG, BS), Bündner Natur-Museum, Masanserstrasse 31, CH-7000 Chur, Switzerland (JPM) and Laboratoire d'Evolution et Systématique, CNRS UPRESA 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 362, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France (JS).

PAST POPULATION STRUCTURE OF THE BEARDED VULTURE IN EUROPE-A GENETIC TIME TRAVEL

Historical patterns of genetic structure and gene flow are key parameters in reintroduction projects. Based on microsatellite data derived from museum specimens we reconstructed the past population structure of the bearded vulture and determined the amount of gene flow among seven European populations of the 19th century. We found a significant genetic differentiation (FST = 0.131) with a significant effect of geographic distance. Past migration rates between any of the European populations were 0.94 individuals per generation (private-allele-method). Currently, captive-bred bearded vultures are being released in the Alps to re-establish the population that became extinct in the early 1900s. Our data suggest that gene flow between the released birds in the Alps and the extant natural populations in Europe is very likely. In addition, a comparison between the original population of the Alps with the founders of the captive population revealed a significant genetic difference between the two. Thus gene flow between the newly established population and extant natural populations may affect their genetic properties. Both may profit from a larger effective population size, and genetic variation in genetically impoverished populations may be replenished. On the other hand, locally disadvantageous alleles may be transferred increasing the risk of outbreeding depression.



11.15 - 11.30
KRETZMANN, MARIA, Nieves Capote, José Antonio Godoy , José Antonio Donázar and Juan José Negro. Natural Sciences Division, Southampton College, Long Island University, Southampton, NY, 11968, USA, <mkretzmann@southampton.liu.edu> (MK),
Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Avenida de Maria Luisa s/n, 41013 Sevilla, Spain (NC, JAG, JAD, JJN).

GENETICALLY DISTINCT ISLAND POPULATIONS OF THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE (NEOPHRON PERCNOPTERUS)

The Egyptian vulture is a species in decline throughout Europe, with the largest remaining breeding populations found in northern Spain. Iberian Peninsula populations (~1200 pairs) migrate to Africa in winter, while small populations in the Canary and Balearic Islands are apparently sedentary. We found that Egyptian vultures from both of these island groups were significantly differentiated from Peninsula populations (RST = 0.065-0.129, p = 0.000-0.007), using nine microsatellite loci isolated in the related bearded vulture. Maximum genetic differentiation was observed between the two island groups (RST = 0.279, p = 0.000). These island populations were more distinct from mainland groups than was a small sample of a well-defined separate subspecies from India (RST = 0.083-0.091, p = 0.023-0.024). In contrast, populations within the Peninsula were not differentiated from one another at these microsatellite loci (RST = -0.004-0.007, p = 0.442-0.675). Introductions of Egyptian vultures from the larger northern breeding groups might therefore be appropriate in southern Spain, but mainland birds should not be introduced to the islands if the genetic distinctiveness of these groups is to be preserved. Independent conservation plans are urgently required to protect these two island populations from extinction.



11.30 - 11.45
RUSSELLO, MICHAEL, Kevin Willis and George Amato. Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA <russello@amnh.org> (MR, GA), Wildlife Conservation Society, Science Resource Center, Bronx, NY, USA (MR, GA), Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, MN, USA (KW).

EX SITU MANAGEMENT IN THE ABSENCE OF PEDIGREE INFORMATION:
A CONSERVATION GENETIC STRATEGY FOR THE ST. VINCENT AMAZON PARROT USING NOVEL GENETIC MARKERS

The St. Vincent Amazon parrot, Amazona guildingii, is an endangered island endemic species of particular conservation concern. A large captive population was established on St. Vincent in the early 1980’s consisting of wild-caught birds of unknown ancestry held previously by private citizens throughout the island. If properly managed, this ex situ population could play a significant conservation role as a source of individuals for population reinforcement and reintroduction. However, population management has been hindered by a lack of pedigree information, preventing the use of conventional pedigree-based management tools. Rather than employing the common assumption of all founders equally unrelated and equally inbred, 8 microsatellite loci were used to genotype the captive population (n=73) to estimate the underlying relatedness structure. The costs associated with incorrectly assigning individuals to relatedness categories based on a limited set of molecular markers precluded the direct input of empirically derived relatedness values within the current suite of population management tools. As a result, a new methodology was employed to incorporate the genotypic data into a management strategy based on minimising mean kinship. This analysis provided a specific set of breeding recommendations for a previously unmanaged population and allowed for a rigorous evaluation of genetic and demographic goals.


11.45 - 12.00
PEREZ-SWEENEY, BEATRIZ, Claudio Valladares-Padua, and Don J. Melnick. Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA, <bmp8@columbia.edu> (BP), Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas, C. Postal 47, 12960-000 Nazare Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil (CVP), Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA (DJM).

USING GENETICS FOR BLACK LION TAMARIN (LEONTOPITHECUS CHRYSOPYGUS) METAPOPULATION MANAGEMENT

Black lion tamarins (BLTs), limited to only eight forest fragments, are a critically endangered flagship species in the Atlantic Forest of the Interior, São Paulo, Brazil. To conserve this species, a metapopulation management plan involving translocations is being developed. One of the objectives of this plan is the long-term conservation of BLT genetic diversity. However, initially, it was not clear how genetically diverse these monkeys were because previous studies uncovered little or no variation. We performed a more detailed study of BLT population genetics by collecting samples from six of eight populated forest fragments and assessing the level and distribution of variation at autosomal microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA loci. These data indicate considerable genetic diversity among BLTs, which should be incorporated into management decisions for this species. In addition, the data suggest that: 1) future discovery of BLT populations in unexplored forests will likely add to the overall genetic diversity of the species; 2) that plans for translocating females should differ from those of males; and 3) the degree of genetic relatedness among populations in different forest fragments should inform the rate and pattern of translocations from one populated fragment to another, as well as to uninhabited fragments.



12.00 - 12.15
FIRESTONE KAREN and Don Colgan
Evolutionary Biology Unit, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
(karenf@austmus.gov.au)

ANCIENT DNA AND THE THYLACINE: CONSERVATION ISSUES IN THE CLONING DEBATE

The thylacine or Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was the largest extant carnivorous marsupial in Australia at the time of European settlement. The species, the last representative of its family, went extinct on September 7, 1936 after less than 100 years of direct persecution by Europeans and a protracted decline over 4000 years following the introduction and expansion of dingoes from Asia. The blunt extermination of this species represents a nadir in the human experience of the 20th century. The Australian Museum’s Thylacine Project, which ambitiously aims to clone a living thylacine, has been a hotly debated and controversial topic among the scientific and conservation communities but has captured the public’s imagination since its inception in 1999. The science behind the project focusses on the use of ancient DNA in molecular methodologies with the initial, and theoretically achievable, goal of making genetic libraries encompassing the entire genome. Difficult ethical, moral, and environmental issues need to be broached and huge technological hurdles in molecular, cellular, and reproductive techniques need to be overcome if the ultimate goal is to be feasible, not least of which is determining how the (conservatively) estimated seventeen million fragments of DNA fit together to encode for a thylacine.