2022/09/22 by Peggy L. Fiedler, Bjorn Erickson, Michael Esgro +7 · 1 voice · 14 citations
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies #Genetic diversity and population structure #Species Distribution and Climate Change
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/jhered/esac046
openalex publication_date 2022/09/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Conservation science and environmental regulation are sibling constructs of the latter half of the 20th century, part of a more general awakening to humanity's effect on the natural world in the wake of 2 world wars. Efforts to understand the evolution of biodiversity using the models of population genetics and the data derived from DNA sequencing, paired with legal and political mandates to protect biodiversity through novel laws, regulations, and conventions arose concurrently. The extremely rapid rate of development of new molecular tools to document and compare genetic identities, and the global goal of prioritizing species and habitats for protection are separate enterprises that have benefited from each other, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for each. In this article, we explore how the California Conservation Genomics Project has, and should, contribute to ongoing and future conservation implementation, and how it serves as a model for other geopolitical regions and taxon-oriented conservation efforts. One of our primary conclusions is that conservation genomics can now be applied, at scale, to inform decision-makers and identify regions and their contained species that are most resilient, and most in need of conservation interventions.