What is the aim of the review?

A large body of research has documented the extent and geographical structure of neutral genetic variation in natural populations of animals and plants. This evidence base has been reviewed on a number of occasions, in order to understand the influence of species mating systems, life history and ecology on genetic diversity within populations. This information is potentially valuable to conservation, because it could confer some understanding of what sorts of species are likely to possess genetically diverse populations, and thus which species may face specific genetic problems when this variation is lost. However, the existing syntheses may not provide a sufficiently generic and robust base for identifying in which species and populations genetic risks or threats might occur, and thus may be of relatively limited use in guiding the conservation of threatened species. Moreover, despite the breadth of the conservation genetics evidence base, a comprehensive review on the effects of population isolation on genetic variation within species is missing.

Our aim here is to undertake a systematic appraisal of the large and growing literature on conservation genetics, in order to understand when and where population isolation is correlated with reduced levels of genetic diversity within populations. For any given species, we want to know to what extent its characteristics (life history, mating system, ecology) influence genetic variation, under particular degrees of population isolation.
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Who's in the review team?

• Dr. Raj Whitlock
  Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield
  Sheffield, UK
  r.whitlock@sheffield.ac.uk

• Jacqui Eales
  Marie Chadburn
  Linda Neaves
  Peter Hollingsworth
  Terry Burke
  Andrew Pullin
  

At what stage is the review?
This review is currently at the draft protocol stage. Please check this page again soon for progress updates.

Comments?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this review, please email us. Your feedback is appreciated.