La genética, los marcadores moleculares y la conservación de especies

Abstract

Godoy J.A. (2009). Genetics, molecular markers and the conservation of species. Ecosistemas 18(1):23-33. Genetics and molecular markers have gained an increasing presence in ecology and evolutionary biology in the last decades, and conservation biology has been no exception. On the one hand, theoretical, experimental and empirical studies have documented the changes occurring in the genetics of populations as these become fragmented and small, and confirmed their negative consequences for population viability and adaptive evolution. On the other hand, the application of molecular markers in conjunction with the rich evolutionary theory yields information on the evolutionary history, the demography, the ecology and the behaviour of particular species, which can assist risk evaluations, the assignment of conservation priorities, the delimitation of conservation and management units and the design of effective conservation strategies. Finally, molecular markers provide methods for the assignment of samples to species, populations or individuals and gender, which –especially when applied to non-invasively collected samples- become effective tools for the conservation and management of endangered species. The presence of genetics in conservation has received a significant boost in recent years from the incorporation ofnew molecular markers, the increasing use of degraded or ancient materials, and from significant advances in data analyses methods that build upon recent theoretical developments, like coalescent theory. Particularly, the leap to genome-wide analyses promises to overcome the predominantly neutral nature of traditional molecular markers and provide access to the molecular basis of adaptive variation. Nevertheless, overcoming this and other pending challenges will require an increased interaction between theoretical, experimental and empirical approaches and between genetics and ecology. The proved importance of genetics for species persistence and the significant contribution of genetic techniques to conservation practice call for an increased presence of genetics in species conservation, both in policy-making and management.