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Management of genetic diversity of subdivided populations in conservation programmes

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Abstract

Population subdivision must be explicitly considered in the management of conservation programmes, as most populations of wild species at risk of extinction and those kept in captivity are spatially structured. The partition of gene and allelic diversity in within- and between-subpopulation components allows for the integral management of populations. We summarise the main aspects of this partition and some of its applications in terms of priorisation of populations for conservation and establishment of synthetic populations. The procedures for the maintenance of diversity in subdivided populations making use of molecular markers and its implementation by the software METAPOP are illustrated with empirical data.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jeffrey G. Beasley for the English corrections. This work was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Fondos Feder (CGL2009-13278-C02), and Xunta de Galicia. A.C. benefited from the ESF Science Networking Programme ConGen.

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Caballero, A., Rodríguez-Ramilo, S.T., Ávila, V. et al. Management of genetic diversity of subdivided populations in conservation programmes. Conserv Genet 11, 409–419 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-0020-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-0020-0

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