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Taxonomic Similarity Does Not Predict Necessary Sample Size For Ex Situ Conservation: A Comparison Among Five Genera, Sean Hoban, Taylor Callicrate, John Clark, Susan Deans, Michael Dosmann, Priyanka Dipak Kadav, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Effectively conserving biodiversity with limited resources requires scientifically informed and efficient strategies. Guidance is particularly needed on how many living plants are necessary to conserve a threshold level of genetic diversity in ex situ collections. We investigated this question for 11 taxa across five genera. In this first study analysing and optimizing ex situ genetic diversity across multiple genera, we found that the percentage of extant genetic diversity currently conserved varies among taxa from 40% to 95%. Most taxa are well below genetic conservation targets. Resampling datasets showed that ideal collection sizes vary widely even within a genus: one taxon …