Genetics-informed population management
Promoting and encouraging the incorporation of genetic information into decision making for threatened populations both in human care and the wild
Genetic information is integral to the development of population management plans for both animals and plants.
Molecular genetic tools can be used to estimate population-level parameters, understand patterns of gene flow, geographic movement and hybridisation.
It helps us understand reproductive patterns, social structure and life cycles, and we can track the long-term viability of populations. The incorporation of genetic information can be highly beneficial for conservation breeding programmes.
Case study: creating a comprehensive Nepenthes database
The Problem:
While stud books exist for many key species of fauna, helping to ensure a healthy level of genetic diversity, the parentage and lineage of most plant species is more difficult to access.
More than 23,000 plants have received IUCN Red List evaluation (a fraction of the approximately 400,000 extant species), and of these, more than half are threatened with extinction or are already extinct.
With thousands of floral species facing an uncertain future, it is increasingly important to maintain genetic diversity in both wild populations and in botanical collections.
However, the practice of inputting plant genealogies into databases is not as widespread a practice as in animal population management, as plants reproduce in heterogynous ways and sometimes through random dispersal.
The Solution:
Our researchers are making use of genetic testing techniques to establish plant lineages.
Nepenthes are a family of tropical, carnivorous pitcher plants which includes Nepenthes Raja, the largest carnivorous plant species in the world. Many Nepenthes are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and the cultivation of plants represent a major lifeline for these species.
Scientist Olivia Murrell is working to populate Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) Plantsearch database with data drawn from the zoo's Nepenthes collection.
Chester Zoo researchers are leading by example in the field of plant genetics. Olivia Murrell's work to build a pedigree for Nepenthes species, which builds on her previous work with corpse flowers, will help establish a more detailed roadmap for the propagation of individual species while reducing the risks of hybridisation or the loss of genetic diversity.
Making this data available will help organisations like Chester Zoo, which holds the Nepenthes National Plant Collection, to coordinate pollen-swapping, seed-swapping and plant relocations and re-introductions to the wild.
The project will also act as a model for future, similar projects centring on other plant species, genera and families.
(cover image courtesy of umseas via Creative Commons)