Jorge Ortega (editor) - Conservation Genetics in Mammals: Integrative Research Using Novel Approaches

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It was only in 2018 that a revised and updated synthesis of mammalian taxonomy since 2004 revealed that there are at least 6495 recognized species in the class Mammalia, with species richness concentrated in the Neotropics and Afrotropics (Burgin et al. ).

At the same time, however, many mammal species are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures such as environmental pollution, poaching and illegal trade, habitat degradation and loss, and most importantly, climate change, which will likely accelerate population and species extirpation. Of the 6495 recognized mammal species described in the synthesis above, approximately 96 have become recently extinct (Burgin et al. ). Many of these species have lost >50% of their range, and their decline and potential loss result in severe disruptions in ecosystem functions that impact many other species.

The increasing contraction and fragmentation of mammalian populations also pose a threat through the erosion or loss of genetic diversity. Heritable genetic diversity is required for evolutionary change and adaptation and its loss impedes the long-term survival of species. When formerly large populations are reduced to small sizes, genetic diversity is rapidly lost, the possibility of inbreeding increases, and deleterious variants can accumulate through fixation such that individual and population fitness are reduced. Therefore, understanding the amount of genetic diversity contained in wild populations and how it is distributed among geographic populations is a major concern for conserving the integrity and sustainability of mammal species. These considerations have resulted in the genesis of this volume, which brings together a large number of researchers from different countries to produce a modern synthesis of knowledge about mammal conservation genetics and an outline of new research opportunities afforded by the increasing use of next-generation sequencing methods and genomic data.

The 16 chapters presented in this volume are structured into four thematic parts. Here, we provide a brief synopsis of each chapter. Part I, Generalities of Conservation Genetics, is comprised of three chapters. An introduction to the book and its content is provided in this chapter. Chapter ).

Almost all of the chapters in the book present novel results on the conservation genetics of particular species. In Chap. , however, Serena Dool provides an overview of studies that have informed the conservation of bats (Order Chiroptera), which comprise about 20% of all extant species of mammals. Case studies from the literature covering phylogeography, evolutionary significant units, delimitation of cryptic species, and population connectivity are used to demonstrate the conservation applications and implications of genetic data for various bat species around the world. Especially noteworthy are the insights obtained from genetic studies of sites where bats from different roosting colonies or different species swarm together, thereby facilitating intraspecific gene flow or even interspecific hybridization. The use of noninvasive genetic methods based on fecal or hair samples has proven to be exceptionally useful for revealing bat population sizes and identification of rare species. The chapter concludes with a perspective on the potential benefits offered by genomic and high-throughput technologies and a call for more integration of genetic results into management and policy decisions related to bat conservation.