7842

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7842
• Author: Knopf, F. L.
• Title: Biological Diversity in Wildlife Management.
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: 1992.
• Copyright Material: NO

Lcberg 1991). The accumulated effects of inbreeding depression may eventually lead
to extinction of numerous populations and thus, to a loss of the overall genetic
diversity represented within the remaining populations (Morton et al. 1955, Chesser
1991). Therefore, populations should be managed to maintain a size adequate to
avoid inbreeding and loss of genetic variation (Gilpin and Soule 1986).
Management strategies which affect land use patterns or population size, and which
create habitat fragmentation due to landscape disturbances, may substantially alter
genetic diversity at all levels of biological organization (Harris et al. 1984). Whenever
population structure is impacted in such a way as to increase inbreeding, genetic
diversity within individuals will be reduced. If loss of the genetic diversity represented
within individuals results in population or species extinction, then overall genetic
diversity within and among species groups and communities will be reduced.
Loss of genetic diversity within individuals is important to wildlife biologists not
only because of its accumulated effects for the biological systems at higher levels
of organization, but because of its potential impact on population function. Numerous
investigators have hypothesized the potential benefits of increased heterozygosity to
individual fitness (Mitton and Grant 1984, Allendorf and Leary 1986), and hetero-
zygosity within individuals may be positively associated with metabolic efficiency
in a number of species (Hawkins et al. 1986, Teska et al. 1990). Specific examples
where heterozygosity has been positively correlated to functional characteristics of
wildlife species are available for white-tailed deer (Rhodes and Smith in press),
waterfowl (Rhodes 1991) and numerous other species of animals (Allendorf and
Leary 1986) and plants (Ledig 1986). Thus, genetic diversity should be an important
characteristic for consideration in management programs.
Conclusions
Measures of diversity that utilize genetic information contained within and among
units at each level of biological organization may be more useful than conventional
measures that focus on species composition alone. Wildlife managers can use genetic
diversity measures to assess biodiversity in individuals or across landscapes and to
determine the particular contribution of each biological unit to overall diversity.
Important points to consider in the management of biodiversity are: (1) diversity
should be measured in different ways, and, in many cases, genetic measures are
more relevant to conservation and management than those of species composition;
(2) diversity can and should be characterized both within and among units at each
hierarchical level of biological organization (Figure 1); (3) larger species assemblages
contain greater genetic diversity, and species number provides information to man-
agers about this type of diversity (Figure 2); (4) management decisions must consider
the genetic uniqueness (low similarity) of the units (Figure 3); (5) the amount of
within-unit genetic diversity can vary substantially across the landscape and this
variation can be used for management purposes (Figure 4); and (6) genetic diversity
should be conserved because of its correlation with functional characteristics and its
importance to adaptability at any organizational level. Genetic diversity measures
can provide wildlife biologists with comprehensive information about biological
systems with which to make management decisions.
Genetics and Biodiversity ? 249