Conservation genetics of crustaceans
In: The Natural History of the Crustacea series. Oxford University Press: Oxford, more
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| Author keywords |
phylogeography, species delimitation, gene flow, endangered species, phylogenetic diversity, eDNA |
| Abstract |
With over 42,000 species of known crustaceans inhabiting mainly marine, but also freshwater and even terrestrial habitats, they are often key members of these diverse habitats and associated ecosystems. However, many crustaceans are either endangered or their endangered status is simply unknown because we lack critical information about these important species. Conservation genetics offer efficient tools, both molecular and analytical, to gain keen insights into population dynamics, population sizes, species boundaries, and habitat associations to inform conservation efforts based on either ecosystems and/or species. This chapter covers key concepts in conservation genetics as applied to crustacean biodiversity and provides examples of the application of these concepts in ongoing crustacean conservation efforts as case studies. We explore informative reference databases for geographic, taxonomic, and conservation information for crustaceans. We discuss sampling strategies as applied to conservation genetics and explore a diversity of molecular markers from mitochondrial DNA to anchored hybrid enrichment. We also highlight key analytical approaches for estimating population genetic parameters that help inform conservation decisions such as gene flow, genetic diversity, and phylogenetic diversity estimates. Finally, we demonstrate the application of some of these concepts through the exploration of case studies based on our own conservation genetics work in crustaceans. This chapter highlights not only the useful tools and a diversity of data types used in conservation genetics, but the extreme need for the application of these tools, data, and associated insights to the world’s crustacean diversity that is severely understudied with respect to conservation. |
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