Dealing With the Complexity of Effective Population Size in Conservation Practice

Effective population size (<i>Ne</i>) is one of the most important parameters in evolutionary biology, as it is linked to the long-term survival capability of species. Therefore, <i>Ne</i> greatly interests conservation geneticists, but it is also very relevant to policymakers, managers, and conservation practitioners. Molecular methods to estimate <i>Ne</i> rely on various assumptions, including no immigration, panmixia, random sampling, absence of spatial genetic structure, and/or mutation-drift equilibrium. Species are, however, often characterized by fragmented populations under changing environmental conditions and anthropogenic pressure. Therefore, the estimation methods' assumptions are seldom addressed and rarely met, possibly leading to biased and inaccurate <i>Ne</i> estimates. To address the challenges associated with estimating <i>Ne</i> for conservation purposes, the COST Action 18134, Genomic Biodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems (G-BiKE), organized an international workshop that met in August 2022 in Brașov, Romania. The overarching goal was to operationalize the current knowledge of <i>Ne</i> estimation methods for conservation practitioners and decision-makers. We set out to identify datasets to evaluate the sensitivity of <i>Ne</i> estimation methods to violations of underlying assumptions and to develop data analysis strategies that addressed pressing issues in biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Referring to a comprehensive body of scientific work on <i>Ne</i>, this meeting report is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to present approaches, workshop findings, and a collection of papers that serve as fruits of those efforts. We aimed to provide insights and opportunities to help bridge the gap between scientific research and conservation practice.

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Publication Details

Journal
Evolutionary Applications
Published
2024-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70031
Citations
19
Primary Topic
Genetic diversity and population structure
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.91

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article

Dealing With the Complexity of Effective Population Size in Conservation Practice

Peter B. Pearman, Joachim Mergeay, Tamer Albayrak, Iris Biebach et al.
19 citations
Evolutionary Applications
Genetic diversity and population structure
9.91
article

Dealing With the Complexity of Effective Population Size in Conservation Practice

Peter B. Pearman, Joachim Mergeay, Tamer Albayrak, Iris Biebach, Alice Brambilla, Christine Grossen, Linda Laikre, Santiago C. González‐Martínez, Marjana Westergren, Isa‐Rita M. Russo, Ewa Neugebauer, Ino Čurik, Elena Bužan, Adejoke O. Akinyele, Pamela A. Burger, Ancuța Fedorca, Peter Klinga, Myriam Heuertz, Sven Winter, Alexander Kopatz, Roberta Gargiulo, Nia E. Thomas, Laia Pérez‐Sorribes, Maria Kachamakova, Ivan Paz‐Vinas, Jo Howard‐McCombe, Sean Hoban, José A. Godoy, Viktoria Köppä, Baruch Rinkevich, Adélaïde Theraroz
article en
19 citations

Abstract

Effective population size (<i>Ne</i>) is one of the most important parameters in evolutionary biology, as it is linked to the long-term survival capability of species. Therefore, <i>Ne</i> greatly interests conservation geneticists, but it is also very relevant to policymakers, managers, and conservation practitioners. Molecular methods to estimate <i>Ne</i> rely on various assumptions, including no immigration, panmixia, random sampling, absence of spatial genetic structure, and/or mutation-drift equilibrium. Species are, however, often characterized by fragmented populations under changing environmental conditions and anthropogenic pressure. Therefore, the estimation methods' assumptions are seldom addressed and rarely met, possibly leading to biased and inaccurate <i>Ne</i> estimates. To address the challenges associated with estimating <i>Ne</i> for conservation purposes, the COST Action 18134, Genomic Biodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems (G-BiKE), organized an international workshop that met in August 2022 in Brașov, Romania. The overarching goal was to operationalize the current knowledge of <i>Ne</i> estimation methods for conservation practitioners and decision-makers. We set out to identify datasets to evaluate the sensitivity of <i>Ne</i> estimation methods to violations of underlying assumptions and to develop data analysis strategies that addressed pressing issues in biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Referring to a comprehensive body of scientific work on <i>Ne</i>, this meeting report is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to present approaches, workshop findings, and a collection of papers that serve as fruits of those efforts. We aimed to provide insights and opportunities to help bridge the gap between scientific research and conservation practice.

Evolutionary ApplicationsVol. 17(12)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Ikerbasque (ES), Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (GB), University of Primorska (SI), Magyar Agrár- és Élettudományi Egyetem (HU), CEA CESTA (FR), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT), Université de Bordeaux (FR), Stockholm University (SE), University of the Basque Country (ES), University of Zagreb (HR), University of Ibadan (NG), Dokuz Eylül University (TR), Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE), University of Zurich (CH), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BG), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH), Morton Arboretum (US), Transylvania University of Brașov (RO), University of Chicago (US), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Estación Biológica de Doñana (ES), Basque Centre for Climate Change (ES), Technická univerzita vo Zvolene (SK), National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Drăcea" (RO), Slovenian Forestry Institute (SI), Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE), College of Environmental Protection (SI), Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (BG), UMR BIOdiversity, GEnes & Communities (FR), Environment Park (IT), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IL), Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi (TR), Cardiff University (GB), Leipzig University (DE), KU Leuven (BE)
Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, People's Trust for Endangered Species, Biodiversa+, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, European Commission, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas, Austrian Science Fund, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS, Naturvårdsverket, Vetenskapsrådet, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Norges Forskningsråd, Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Genetic diversity and population structure
9.91
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