In our section Genomic Biomonitoring we use next generation sequencing technologies to study species of concern and address questions of broad relevance to conservation. We aim to support and management of species to reduce their risk of extinction, to maximise conservation success, and protect biodiversity. With this in mind, we conduct both highly applied practitioner requested projects and general projects that focus on core questions in conservation biology.
Genetic and genomic tools have a long history of supporting species conservation and recovery. With the information these tools provide, we can understand genetic structure and population connectivity to support area based conservation, we can estimate inbreeding to signal if interventions are needed, and more. Importantly, by collating this information we can gain insights into how to improve general conservation practices to help species where molecular data is impossible to produce. In the Conservation Genomics section we work to support managers to maximise conservation success and protect biodiversity. With this in mind, we are open to practitioner requested projects and collaborations. Please direct your inquired to D. Leigh.
The Western Leopard Toad (Sclerophrys pantherina), an Endangered conservation flagship species from South African’s West Cape Province that has declined in parallel with Cape Town’s urbanisation and agricultural spread. In this project we are collaborating with researchers at SANBI to generate and analyse genome-wide genomic data from range wide samples. A core aim is to find key breeding ponds and migration routes, as well as isolated ponds, that can be used to support the efforts to protect the species.
The African lion (Panthera leo) is an ionic species of huge cultural importance. In collaboration with officials in Botswana and researchers from the Leopard Ecology & Conservation NGO , we are supporting a genetics project on a long term monitored population in Botswana.
The Rusty spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is the world’s smallest felid and the oldest zoo population is found in Frankfurt Zoo. We are generating a reference genome for this species to support follow up projects and species conservation.
The IUCN sets the global standard for conservation. As part of the IUCN SSC for Conservation Genetics, we are contributing to projects that are exploring how to improve genetic diversity safeguarding by IUCN initiatives.
Genetic diversity is the foundation of biodiversity but is poorly understood. We know little about its global patterns or drivers, knowledge gaps that pose a major challenge for biodiversity protection. Macrogenetics is the study of multispecies genetic diversity at large spatial scales it is central to improving our understanding of multispecies genetic diversity. In the Macrogenetics section we work to address open questions in this new field, build infrastructure to increase accessibility of genetic diversity data, and improve genetic diversity protection. A core part of our work is to improve genetic diversity monitoring (mandated within the Convention on Biodiversity’s post-2020 framework) to stop the global trend of genetic diversity loss.
Research text: Islands are natural laboratories. In this project we are focusing on improving our understanding of within species genetic diversity through characterising it patterns and drivers in island species. We are assembling a database from open access genetic and genomic datasets to support this project. This data will be used to validate emerging macrogenetics findings and test evolutionary hypotheses.
Genotype data are often challenging to access despite long standing Open Data mandates in the field of Population Genetics. In the GenDiB collaboration with WSL, we are creating a proof of concept for a publicly accessible database and exploring different methods for genetic diversity archiving.
Genetic diversity monitoring has now been included in the Convention on Biodiversity’s post 2020 global framework. However, its long neglect means that most countries lack the resources or infrastructure to implement is monitoring in a timely manner. In collaboration with Genes from Space and GeoBon’s BON in a Box and we have helped develop a tool that supports genetic indicator calculation from satellite data.
