Bridging the gap: a genetic assessment framework for population-level threatened plant conservation prioritization and decision-making

Abstract

Aim: Maintaining genetic diversity and evolutionary processes are important goals in plant conservation. Genetic studies are increasingly undertaken but results from such studies are still rarely implemented as management actions in the field. We address this ‘research-implementation gap’ by developing a plain-language genetic assessment approach for population-level conservation prioritization based on measurement of key genetic parameters. Our aim was to improve understanding between conservation researchers and practitioners, enabling practitioners to incorporate genetic information into conservation actions and conservation genetic researchers to address research explicitly resulting in conservation action. Location: Applicable globally. Methods: We derived a decision-making framework that identifies appropriate management strategies for threatened populations based on the level of genetic differentiation (FST), genetic diversity (expected heterozygosity, HE) and inbreeding (FIS), characterized as ‘high’ or ‘low’ in comparison with a reference benchmark. We demonstrate the application of the framework in two case studies of threatened plants and more broadly from the literature. Results: Applying the decision framework, we found that for Prostanthera eurybioides, the population of conservation concern does not currently require specialized genetic management and mitigation of ecological threats should be prioritized instead. For Allocasuarina robusta, we found connectivity was high and strategies should be put in place to maintain gene flow. In both cases, genetic information was important for designing restocking strategies accounting for the genetic structure and genetic diversity of source and recipient populations. From the literature, key examples of species types that fit each of the genetic management scenarios are given. Main conclusions: We find that the application of our simplified genetic assessment framework helps to clarify management actions based on conservation genetic information for threatened flora, and should assist in bridging the gap between researchers and conservation practitioners for integrated conservation outcomes. Our framework could equally apply to fauna conservation with appropriate consideration of animal-specific management issues.