Integrating genetics into marine conservation planning in South Africa
Date
2017-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mounting threats to biodiversity and global alteration of habitat and species
distributions make it increasingly necessary to consider evolutionary patterns in
conservation decision-making. Yet there is no clear-cut guidance on how genetic
features can be incorporated into conservation planning processes, with several genetic
metrics with different ecological and evolutionary relevance to choose from. Genetic
patterns also differ between species, but the potential trade-offs amongst different
genetic objectives for multiple species in conservation planning are currently
understudied. Therefore, the first chapter of this thesis compares spatial conservation
prioritizations derived from two metrics of both genetic diversity (nucleotide and
haplotype diversity) and genetic isolation (private haplotypes and local genetic
differentiation) for five marine species. The results from Chapter One show that
conservation plans based solely on habitat representation noticeably differ from those
additionally including genetic data, and that all four genetic metrics select similar
conservation priority areas. The second chapter builds on the findings of Chapter One by
comparing conservation solutions from three marker types (mitochondrial DNA, neutral
nuclear DNA, and adaptive nuclear DNA) for the two most genetically distinct species
from the multi-species data set. Next generation sequencing was used to identify single
nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation in both the Cape urchin (P. angulosus) and
the Granular limpet (S. granularis), both of which showed high levels of genomic
diversity and signals of adaptation to local ecotypes. When comparing the genetic
variation between the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and SNP markers within a spatial
conservation framework, the solutions show a wide range of spatial priorities, yet the spatial similarities between the different marker types are not consistent across the
different species approaches. Largely, the findings from this project suggest that selected
species and genetic marker(s) chosen will alter all conservation solutions. Importantly,
increasing the amount of genetic information leads to more distinct conservation
priorities, resulting in a clearer picture of community-level evolutionary hotspots within
the planning region.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar
Description
Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2017.
Keywords
Marine conservation planning -- South Africa, Genomics, Local adaptation, Conservation genetics, UCTD