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Titolo
Designing conservation strategies to preserve the genetic diversity of Astragalus edulis Bunge, an endangered species from western Mediterranean region
Autor(es)
Soggetto
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Sistemática y Conservación de Plantas Vasculares y Hongos
Biodiversity
Biogeography
Conservation biology
Genetics
Plant science
Conservation priorities
Phylogeography
Threatened species
cpDNA sequencing
AFLPs
Fecha de publicación
2016
Citación
Penas, J., Barrios, S., Bobo-Pinilla, J., Lorite, J., & Martínez-Ortega, M. M. (2016). Designing conservation strategies to preserve the genetic diversity of Astragalus edulis Bunge, an endangered species from western Mediterranean region. PeerJ, 4, e1474.
Resumen
[EN] Astragalus edulis (Fabaceae) is an endangered annual species from the western
Mediterranean region that colonized the SE Iberian Peninsula, NE and SW Morocco,
and the easternmost Macaronesian islands (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura). Although
in Spain some conservation measures have been adopted, it is still necessary to
develop an appropriate management plan to preserve genetic diversity across the
entire distribution area of the species. Our main objective was to use population
genetics as well as ecological and phylogeographic data to select Relevant Genetic
Units for Conservation (RGUCs) as the first step in designing conservation plans for
A. edulis. We identified six RGUCs for in situ conservation, based on estimations of
population genetic structure and probabilities of loss of rare alleles. Additionally,
further population parameters, i.e. occupation area, population size, vulnerability,
legal status of the population areas, and the historical haplotype distribution, were
considered in order to establish which populations deserve conservation priority.
Three populations from the Iberian Peninsula, two from Morocco, and one from the
Canary Islands represent the total genetic diversity of the species and the rarest allelic
variation. Ex situ conservation is recommended to complement the preservation of
A. edulis, given that effective in situ population protection is not feasible in all cases.
The consideration of complementary phylogeographic and ecological data is useful
for management efforts to preserve the evolutionary potential of the species.
URI
DOI
10.7717/peerj.1474
Versión del editor
Aparece en las colecciones
- DB. Artículos [29]
- BIOCONS. Artículos [42]