Sefari genetic scorecard

The following case study summarises a SEFARI Think Tank involving the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Scottish Natural Heritage. SEFARI Think Tanks are designed to address challenging and often contested research questions of national and international importance. This project brought together experts to address Aichi Target 13 on the conservation of genetic diversity. The project has established a world-first method to help understand and conserve genetic diversity in some of Scotland’s most iconic wild species. This fills a significant gap in addressing this international target, as the practical tool will enable other countries to assess its genetic diversity and compare what has been measured in Scotland.

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IWC Scientific Committee work on cetacean DNA

As genetic data are frequently applied to give advice to the IWC (including, but not limited to, detection of population structure), there is a need to agree on data quality criteria for currently used DNA marker types (sequences, microsatellites, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs); possibly nuclear DNA sequencing in the future). The guidelines and considerations on DNA quality provided here represent common practice subject to ongoing discussion and will need future adaptation, as the state-of-the-art of DNA analysis in population genetics progresses.

It is also evident that, although accordance to these guidelines is highly desirable, this does not preclude consideration of genetic work failing to fully meet these standards. Nonetheless, the issues raised below are intended to assist Scientific Committee members in judging the respective reliability of information from genetic studies. In addition, for studies explicitly carried out to give stock definition advice to the IWC, adherence to these guidelines is strongly recommended.

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The Scottish genetic scorecard

This scorecard is a flexible tool for assessing the risk or potential risk to genetic diversity of wild species. The scorecard contains a set of questions on distribution, biology, and threats that enable users to score the level of potential genetic threat to a species, in situ and ex situ. The scorecard can therefore be used in situations where direct evidence from genetic analyses is not available. The scorecard can also be used in situations with limited resources, according to capacity, the level of knowledge, and the diversity and scale of the country.

How to use

Details of the scorecard and examples are available at: https://www.nature.scot/doc/scotlands-biodiversity-progress-2020-aichi-targets-conserving-genetic-diversity-development-national

https://www.nature.scot/doc/scotlands-biodiversity-progress-2020-aichi-targets-aichi-target-13-genetic-diversity-maintained

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The Coalition for Conservation Genetics

The Coalition is a global network of conservation genetic experts working towards a shared goal of improving the integration of genetic information into conservation policy and practice.

The Coalition also aims to increase global capacity in conservation genetics by offering opportunities and support for currently underrepresented groups.

How to use

Further information is available at: https://www.coalitionforconservationgenetics.org

A set of webinars, reports, and publications on genetic research, capacity building, and policy are available on the Resources page at:

https://www.coalitionforconservationgenetics.org/resources

The study by O’Brien et al. (2022) can be accessed at: Bringing together approaches to reporting on within species genetic diversity – O’Brien – 2022 – Journal of Applied Ecology – Wiley Online Library

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