Fragmentation genetics in the tropics
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Fragmentation genetics in the tropics Chris J. Kettle • Aline Finger
Received: 18 June 2012 / Accepted: 29 August 2012 / Published online: 11 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract On the 23rd of February, some 50 Conservation Geneticists from around the global gathered for a half day symposium entitled ‘Fragmentation Genetics in the Tropics’ held at the Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany as part of the German Tropical Ecology Society annual meeting 2012. The overall aim of this symposium was to showcase the latest novel research applying molecular methods (landscape genetics, conservation genetics and phylogeography) to advance our understanding of genetic consequences of fragmentation in the tropics, particularly in the context of how population size and isolation influences population and species extinction. I provide a brief overview of the symposium and finish with a call for papers for a special issue of the sister journal Conservation Genetics, for which submission is now open. Keywords Fragmentation Gene flow Conservation genetics Extinction Tropical biodiversity
Introduction Habitat fragmentation remains the most pressing threat to global biodiversity, so it was apt that the 2012 annual ¨ ), meeting of German Society for Tropical Ecology (GTO held in the historic German town of Erlangen, was entitled
C. J. Kettle (&) Department of Environmental Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] A. Finger Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
‘Islands in Land and Seascape: the challenges of fragmentation’. Some two-hundred scientists gathered for the meeting to discuss a plethora of ecological topics centred on the emerging challenges for conserving biodiversity in the tropics. It will be of no surprise to the reader that molecular ecology and particularly conservation genetics featured prominently at such a meeting. Indeed, recognition of the power of molecular techniques to address the pertinent questions in tropical conservation biology is increasing in prominence. It was with some satisfaction that the symposium ‘Fragmentation Genetics in the Tropics’ proved to be one of the largest sessions of the whole conference, with nine oral presentations and six poster presentations, and authors from ten countries (including first authors from three tropical countries). The aim of this session was to present the most up-todate and novel research applying molecular methods (landscape genetics, conservation genetics and phylogeography) to advance our understanding of fragmentation in the tropics, particularly in the context of how population size and isolation influences population and species extinction. Habitat fragmentation affects different organisms in a myriad of complex ways, at different temporal and spatial scales. Molecular methods provide a very powerful tool for investigating contemporary dispersal, colonization and connectivity, key ecological processes which are notoriously difficult to
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