About this Research Topic
The development of the Anthropocene has led to changes in habitats and environments, resulting in changes in ecosystems and biological communities. The threat on species has become more and more serious in this century. In the past 30 years, due to the development of molecular biology and the generational renewal of sequence technology, conservation biologists have been using evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, population genetics, and phylogeography to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of human destruction on threatened species.
Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies and genomic theories, as well as interdisciplinary approaches such as population genetics and landscape genetics, have greatly expanded the scope and value of this field of research and the potential for planning conservation action. Molecular tools ranging from traditional neutral genetic markers, to restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD Seq), to whole-genome sequencing and exome capture technologies have enabled massively expanded datasets, opening up new areas of research in conservation biology. Therefore, the recent and more distant evolutionary history of endangered taxa at this stage can be assessed in more detail, which in turn opens up research avenues in the field of gene rescue, restoration, and so-called de-extinction with population genetics methods.
In this special issue, we invite scholars who use the study of population genetics to explore conservation biology to contribute original articles, new methods, and reviews on the impact of the rapid development of population genetics and genomics on conservation biology. We want to provide stronger evidence to identify solutions for threatened species. We are now experiencing what is known as the sixth mass extinction. Conservation biology needs to expand the communication and publication of new scientific research to understand possible causes of threatened species, including habitat fragmentation, effects of over-logging on small populations, barriers to natural gene flow, uncertainties in the evolutionary significant units, and the molecular ecology and phylogeography of threatened species.
Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies and genomic theories, as well as interdisciplinary approaches such as population genetics and landscape genetics, have greatly expanded the scope and value of this field of research and the potential for planning conservation action. Molecular tools ranging from traditional neutral genetic markers, to restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD Seq), to whole-genome sequencing and exome capture technologies have enabled massively expanded datasets, opening up new areas of research in conservation biology. Therefore, the recent and more distant evolutionary history of endangered taxa at this stage can be assessed in more detail, which in turn opens up research avenues in the field of gene rescue, restoration, and so-called de-extinction with population genetics methods.
In this special issue, we invite scholars who use the study of population genetics to explore conservation biology to contribute original articles, new methods, and reviews on the impact of the rapid development of population genetics and genomics on conservation biology. We want to provide stronger evidence to identify solutions for threatened species. We are now experiencing what is known as the sixth mass extinction. Conservation biology needs to expand the communication and publication of new scientific research to understand possible causes of threatened species, including habitat fragmentation, effects of over-logging on small populations, barriers to natural gene flow, uncertainties in the evolutionary significant units, and the molecular ecology and phylogeography of threatened species.
Keywords: Population Genetics, Conservation Biology, Genetic Variation, Threatened Species, Population Dynamics
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