Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter
ABSTRACT Restoring connectivity via assisted migration is a useful but currently underused approach for maintaining genetic diversity and preventing extirpations of threatened species. The use of assisted migration as a conservation strategy may be limited by the difficulty of balancing the benefits...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Applications |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70088 |
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| author | Brendan N. Reid Jordan Hofmeier Harry Crockett Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Waters Sarah W. Fitzpatrick |
| author_facet | Brendan N. Reid Jordan Hofmeier Harry Crockett Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Waters Sarah W. Fitzpatrick |
| author_sort | Brendan N. Reid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Restoring connectivity via assisted migration is a useful but currently underused approach for maintaining genetic diversity and preventing extirpations of threatened species. The use of assisted migration as a conservation strategy may be limited by the difficulty of balancing the benefits of reconnecting populations (including reduced inbreeding depression and increased adaptive capacity) with the perceived risk of outbreeding depression, which requires comprehensive knowledge of the landscape of adaptive, neutral, deleterious, and structural variation across a species' range. Using a combination of reduced‐representation and whole‐genome sequencing, we characterized genomic diversity and differentiation for the Arkansas Darter (Etheostoma cragini) across its range in the Midwestern US. We found strong population structure and large differences in genetic diversity and effective population sizes across drainages. The strength of genetic isolation by river distance differed among drainages, with landscape type surrounding streams and impoundments also contributing to genetic isolation. Despite low effective population sizes in some populations, there was surprisingly little evidence for recent inbreeding (based on the absence of long runs of homozygosity) or for elevated levels of deleterious variation in smaller populations. Considering neutral, adaptive, deleterious, and structural variation allowed us to identify several potential recipient populations that may benefit from translocations and potential donor sites throughout the range. Planning translocation strategies intended for restored connectivity and possible genetic rescue at earlier stages in species decline will likely increase the probability of retaining genetic diversity and population persistence over the long term while minimizing risks associated with translocation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-34e122e0a3274ea4863c18c8f9f940f8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1752-4571 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Applications |
| spelling | doaj-art-34e122e0a3274ea4863c18c8f9f940f82025-08-20T02:40:55ZengWileyEvolutionary Applications1752-45712025-03-01183n/an/a10.1111/eva.70088Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled DarterBrendan N. Reid0Jordan Hofmeier1Harry Crockett2Ryan Fitzpatrick3Ryan Waters4Sarah W. Fitzpatrick5Department of Ecology and Evolution University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USAKansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Pratt Kansas USAColorado Parks and Wildlife Fort Collins Colorado USAColorado Parks and Wildlife Fort Collins Colorado USAKansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Pratt Kansas USAW.K. Kellogg Biological Station Michigan State University Hickory Corners Michigan USAABSTRACT Restoring connectivity via assisted migration is a useful but currently underused approach for maintaining genetic diversity and preventing extirpations of threatened species. The use of assisted migration as a conservation strategy may be limited by the difficulty of balancing the benefits of reconnecting populations (including reduced inbreeding depression and increased adaptive capacity) with the perceived risk of outbreeding depression, which requires comprehensive knowledge of the landscape of adaptive, neutral, deleterious, and structural variation across a species' range. Using a combination of reduced‐representation and whole‐genome sequencing, we characterized genomic diversity and differentiation for the Arkansas Darter (Etheostoma cragini) across its range in the Midwestern US. We found strong population structure and large differences in genetic diversity and effective population sizes across drainages. The strength of genetic isolation by river distance differed among drainages, with landscape type surrounding streams and impoundments also contributing to genetic isolation. Despite low effective population sizes in some populations, there was surprisingly little evidence for recent inbreeding (based on the absence of long runs of homozygosity) or for elevated levels of deleterious variation in smaller populations. Considering neutral, adaptive, deleterious, and structural variation allowed us to identify several potential recipient populations that may benefit from translocations and potential donor sites throughout the range. Planning translocation strategies intended for restored connectivity and possible genetic rescue at earlier stages in species decline will likely increase the probability of retaining genetic diversity and population persistence over the long term while minimizing risks associated with translocation.https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70088conservation planninggenetic rescueindelssmall populationsstreamscape genomics |
| spellingShingle | Brendan N. Reid Jordan Hofmeier Harry Crockett Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Waters Sarah W. Fitzpatrick Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter Evolutionary Applications conservation planning genetic rescue indels small populations streamscape genomics |
| title | Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter |
| title_full | Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter |
| title_fullStr | Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter |
| title_short | Balancing Inbreeding and Outbreeding Risks to Inform Translocations Throughout the Range of an Imperiled Darter |
| title_sort | balancing inbreeding and outbreeding risks to inform translocations throughout the range of an imperiled darter |
| topic | conservation planning genetic rescue indels small populations streamscape genomics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.70088 |
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