Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Purpose of the book -- Take-home messages -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- The 'sixth extinction' -- Why conserve biodiversity? -- Endangered and extinct species -- Recorded extinctions -- Extent of endangerment -- Projected extinction rates -- What is a threatened species? -- Importance of listing -- What causes extinctions? -- Human-associated factors -- Stochastic factors -- What is conservation genetics? -- Reducing extinction risk by minimizing inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity -- Identifying species or populations at risk due to reduced genetic diversity -- Resolving fragmented population structures -- Resolving taxonomic uncertainties -- Defining management units within species -- Detecting hybridization -- Non-intrusive sampling for genetic analyses -- Defining sites for reintroduction -- Choosing the best populations for reintroduction -- Forensics -- Understanding species biology -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 2 Genetic diversity -- Importance of genetic diversity -- What is genetic diversity? -- Measuring genetic diversity -- Allelic diversity -- Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium -- Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium -- Expected heterozygosity -- Estimating the frequency of a recessive allele -- Extent of genetic diversity -- Quantitative variation -- Deleterious alleles -- Proteins -- DNA -- Collecting DNA samples for measuring genetic diversity -- DNA amplification using PCR -- Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) -- Levels of genetic diversity in DNA -- Low genetic diversity in threatened species -- What components of genetic diversity determine the ability to evolve? -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 3 Evolutionary genetics of natural populations -- Factors controlling the evolution of populations.

Origin and regeneration of genetic diversity -- Mutation -- Migration and gene flow -- Selection and adaptation -- Recessive lethal -- Selection on quantitative characters -- Genotype × environment interaction -- Mutation-selection balance -- Selective value of mutations -- The mutation 'load' -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 4 Genetic consequences of small population size -- Importance of small populations in conservation biology -- Loss of genetic diversity -- Chance effects and genetic drift -- Genetic drift -- Loss of heterozygosity following bottlenecks -- Effects of sustained population size restrictions on genetic diversity -- Inbreeding -- Measuring inbreeding: inbreeding coefficient (F ) -- Genetic consequences of inbreeding -- Pedigrees -- Inbreeding in small random mating populations -- Measuring population size -- The idealized population -- Effective population size (Ne) -- Measuring effective population size -- Unequal sex-ratio -- Variation in family size -- Fluctuations in population size -- Population fragmentation -- Measuring population fragmentation: F statistics -- Gene flow among population fragments -- Population structure -- Selection in small populations -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 5 Genetics and extinction -- Genetics and the fate of endangered species -- Inbreeding depression -- Characteristics of inbreeding depression -- Genetic basis of inbreeding depression -- Variability in inbreeding depression -- Purging -- Measuring inbreeding depression -- Lethal equivalents -- Relationship between inbreeding and extinction -- Rate of inbreeding and extinction risk -- Inbreeding and extinction in wild populations -- Many wild populations are genetically compromised -- Direct and circumstantial evidence of extinctions due to inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity -- Computer projections.

Relationship between loss of genetic diversity and extinction -- Relationship between loss of genetic diversity at self-incompatibility loci and extinction in plants -- Relationship between loss of genetic diversity and susceptibility to diseases, pests and parasites -- Genetically viable populations -- Shortage of space for threatened species -- How large? -- Retaining reproductive fitness -- Retaining evolutionary potential -- The fate of species with Ne < 500 -- Retaining single locus genetic diversity in the long term -- Time to regenerate genetic diversity -- Avoiding accumulation of new deleterious mutations -- Genetic goals in the management of wild populations -- Genetic goals in the management of captive populations: a compromise -- Population viability analysis (PVA) -- Deterministic factors -- Stochastic factors -- Interactions of stochastic factors -- Combined impacts -- Predicting extinction probabilities: population viability analysis (PVA) -- Genetics and PVA -- How useful are the predictions of PVA? -- Minimum viable population sizes (MVP) -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 6 Resolving taxonomic uncertainties and defining management units -- Importance of accurate taxonomy in conservation biology -- What is a species? -- Sub-species -- How do species arise? -- Isolating factors -- 'Instant' speciation -- Speciation is generally slow -- Use of genetic analyses in delineating species -- Use of genetic analyses in delineation of allopatric species -- Genetic distance -- How large are genetic distances for 'good' species? -- Constructing phylogenetic trees -- Outbreeding depression -- Extent of outbreeding depression in animals and plants -- Defining management units within species -- Evolutionarily significant units (ESU) -- Defining management units on the basis of exchangeability -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING.

Chapter 7 Genetic management of endangered species in the wild -- Genetic issues in endangered populations -- Increasing population size -- Diagnosing genetic problems -- Recovering small inbred populations with low genetic diversity -- Source of unrelated individuals for genetic augmentation -- Management of species with a single population lacking genetic diversity -- Genetic management of fragmented populations -- Managing gene flow -- Re-establishing extinct populations -- Genetic issues in reserve design -- Introgression and hybridization -- Alleviating introgression -- Impacts of harvesting -- Genetic management of species that are not outbreeding diploids -- Asexual species -- Self-fertilizing species -- Polyploid species -- Evaluating recovery strategies -- Sensitivity analyses -- Case studies -- Lord Howe Island Woodhen -- Chinook salmon -- Furbish's lousewort -- Supplemental breeding and assisted reproductive technologies -- Supplemental breeding -- Supportive breeding -- Assisted reproductive technologies -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 8 Captive breeding and reintroduction -- Why captive breed? -- Extent of captive breeding and propagation activity -- Zoos in the twenty-first century -- Stages in captive breeding and reintroduction -- Founding captive populations -- Growth of captive populations -- How is the target population size set? -- Genetic management during the maintenance phase -- Genetic deterioration in captivity -- Inbreeding and inbreeding depression -- Loss of genetic diversity -- Current genetic management of captive populations -- Maximizing Ne/N -- Minimizing kinship -- Applying mean kinship breeding strategies -- Captive management of groups -- Ex situ conservation of plants -- Management of inherited diseases -- Reintroductions -- Genetic changes in captivity that affect reintroduction success.

Genetic adaptation to captivity -- Minimizing genetic adaptation to captivity -- Population fragmentation as a means for minimizing genetic adaptation to captivity -- Genetic management of reintroductions -- Choosing sites for reintroduction -- Choosing individuals to reintroduce -- Choice of individuals to reintroduce where several populations exist -- How many reintroduced populations should be established? -- Genetic management of reintroduced populations -- How successful are reintroductions? -- Case studies in captive breeding and reintroduction -- Arabian oryx -- Black-footed ferret -- California condor -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Chapter 9 Molecular genetics in forensics and understanding species biology -- Forensics: detecting illegal hunting and collecting -- Understanding a species' biology is critical to its conservation -- Gene trees and coalescence -- Population size and demographic history -- Population size -- PCR-based genetic markers can be used to identify species when using faeces to estimate population size -- Demographic history -- Characterizing and dating bottlenecks -- Estimating evolutionary effective population size -- Secondary contact between populations -- Gene flow and population structure -- Population structure -- Dispersal and gene flow -- Detecting immigrants -- Phylogeographic patterns across species -- Reintroduction and translocation -- Sites for reintroductions and translocations -- Populations for reintroductions -- Breeding systems, parentage, founder relationships and sexing -- Breeding systems -- Parentage -- Determining founder relationships -- Sources of new founders -- Sexing animals -- Disease -- Diet -- SUGGESTED FURTHER READING -- Final messages -- Glossary -- Sources and copyright acknowledgments -- SOURCES FOR FIGURES AND TABLES -- Index.