Abstract
The current attrition of biodiversity extends beyond loss of species and unique populations to steady loss of a vast genomic diversity that remains largely undescribed. Yet the accelerating development of new techniques allows us to survey entire genomes ever faster and cheaper, to obtain robust samples from a diversity of sources including degraded DNA and residual DNA in the environment, and to address conservation efforts in new and innovative ways. Here we review recent studies that highlight the importance of carefully considering where to prioritize collection of genetic samples (e.g., organisms in rapidly changing landscapes or along edges of geographic ranges) and what samples to collect and archive (e.g., from individuals of little-known subspecies or populations, even of species not currently considered endangered). Those decisions will provide the sample infrastructure to detect the disappearance of certain genotypes or gene complexes, increases in inbreeding levels, and loss of genomic diversity as environmental conditions change. Obtaining samples from currently endangered, protected, and rare species can be particularly difficult, thus we also focus on studies that use new, non-invasive ways of obtaining genomic samples and analyzing them in these cases where other sampling options are highly constrained. Finally, biological collections archiving such samples face an inherent contradiction: their main goal is to preserve biological material in good shape so it can be used for scientific research for centuries to come, yet the technologies that can make use of such materials are advancing faster than collections can change their standardized practices. Thus, we also discuss current and potential new practices in biological collections that might bolster their usefulness for future biodiversity conservation research.
Highlights
Almost every form of human activity is directly or indirectly connected to the alteration or loss of natural habitats, leading experts to define this current era as the “Anthropocene” (Lewis and Maslin, 2015; Waters et al, 2016)
Benchmarking Genetic and Genomic Diversity (Waters et al, 2016). During this time of rapid biological change, museum specimens collected decades or even centuries ago can be used as baselines to document more recent, humanrelated changes in species numbers and their distributions, in phenotypes and in genetic variability (Billerman and Walsh, 2019)
Where should samples be collected? What populations or species should be targeted? We address these core issues in this review, and we suggest that effective genetic benchmarking could fall into at least eight broad topics of investigation: rare species; undescribed and/or cryptic species hotspots; naturally fragmented populations and isolated populations due to changing landscapes; species with continuous geographic ranges; habitat specialists vs. generalists, and rangerestricted vs. widespread species; hybrid zones; newly colonizing and reintroduced populations; and changing landscapes
Summary
Almost every form of human activity is directly or indirectly connected to the alteration or loss of natural habitats, leading experts to define this current era as the “Anthropocene” (Lewis and Maslin, 2015; Waters et al, 2016). Preservation of genetic samples for benchmarking purposes could allow retrospective analyses as techniques improve and allow more precise estimates of population size and the temporal scale over which such changes occurred (Bi et al, 2019).
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