Founder effects and endangered species

Endangered species and endangered knowledge

The recent discovery of a new species of land iguana in the Galapagos (Tzika et al. 2008; Gentile et al. 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009) is indeed an exciting novelty, of great interest to all zoologists and evolutionary biologists. This species being apparently represented only by a very small population with a very limited range, it was described as a new taxon following an unusual procedure: no ...

Optimization Methods for Selecting Founder Populations for Captive Breeding of Endangered Species

Methods from genetics and genomics can be employed to help save endangered species. One potential use is to provide a rational strategy for selecting a population of founders for a captive breeding program. The hope is to capture most of the available genetic diversity that remains in the wild population, to provide a safe haven where representatives of the species can be bred, and eventually t...

Founder effects and silvereyes.

P of variation in nature have played a large role in the development of explanations for biological richness at the species level. One such inf luential pattern has been the morphological distinctiveness of small populations on islands at the periphery of a large continental land mass (1). If the island differs from the mainland in habitat or composition of the biological community, the morphol...

Arbitrage, Options and Endangered Species

I model the impact of mitigation banking accompanied by Safe Harbor provisions on a land-owner’s choices about supporting a population of an endangered species. The Safe Harbor provision is equivalent to a free call option on a population with market value, and mitigation banking can allow a landowner with an endangered species to arbitrage between land without and with permission to develop. A...

Cloning endangered animal species?