Immediate Genetic Augmentation and Enhanced Habitat Connectivity Are Required to Secure the Future of an Iconic Endangered Freshwater Fish Population.

ABSTRACT: Genetic diversity is rapidly lost from small, isolated populations by genetic drift. Measuring the level of genetic drift using effective population size (N _e) is highly useful for management. Single-cohort genetic N _e estimators approximate the number of breeders in one season (N _b): a value < 100 signals likely inbreeding depression. Per-generation N _e < 1000 estimated from multiple cohort signals reduced adaptive potential. Natural populations rarely meet assumptions of N _e-estimation, so interpreting estimates is challenging. Macquarie perch is an endangered Australian freshwater fish threatened by severely reduced range, habitat loss, and fragmentation. To counteract low N _e, au

SUBMITTER: Pavlova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11470195 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature