Editing Conservation genetics (section)

==Implications==
New technology in conservation genetics has many implications for the future of conservation biology. At the molecular level, new technologies are advancing. Some of these techniques include the analysis of [[minisatellite]]s and [[Major histocompatibility complex|MHC]].<ref name=Haig/> These molecular techniques have wider effects from clarifying taxonomic relationships, as in the previous example, to determining the best individuals to reintroduce to a population for recovery by determining kinship. These effects then have consequences that reach even further. Conservation of species has implications for humans in the economic, social, and political realms.<ref name=Haig/> In the biological realm increased genotypic diversity has been shown to help ecosystem recovery, as seen in a community of grasses which was able to resist disturbance to grazing geese through greater genotypic diversity.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Frankham, Richard|title=Ecosystem recovery enhanced by genotypic diversity|journal=Heredity|volume=95|issue=3|page=183|year=2005|url=http://izt.ciens.ucv.ve/ecologia/Archivos/ECO_POB_2005/ECOPO7_2005/Frankham%202005.pdf|doi=10.1038/sj.hdy.6800706|pmid=16049423|s2cid=8274476|access-date=2016-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701180405/http://izt.ciens.ucv.ve/ecologia/Archivos/ECO_POB_2005/ECOPO7_2005/Frankham%202005.pdf|archive-date=2016-07-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> Because species diversity increases ecosystem function, increasing biodiversity through new conservation genetic techniques has wider reaching effects than before.

A short list of studies a conservation geneticist may research include:

# [[Phylogenetics|Phylogenetic]] classification of species, subspecies, geographic races, and populations, and measures of [[phylogenetic diversity]] and uniqueness.
# Identifying [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] species, hybridization in natural populations, and assessing the history and extent of introgression between species.
# Population genetic structure of natural and managed populations, including identification of [[Evolutionary Significant Unit]]s (ESUs) and management units for conservation.
# Assessing genetic variation within a species or population, including small or [[endangered]] populations, and estimates such as effective population size (Ne).
# Measuring the impact of [[inbreeding depression|inbreeding]] and [[outbreeding depression]], and the relationship between heterozygosity and measures of fitness (see [[Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection]]).
# Evidence of disrupted [[mate choice]] and [[Reproductive strategy#Reproductive strategies|reproductive strategy]] in disturbed populations.
# [[Forensic]] applications, especially for the control of trade in endangered species.
# Practical methods for monitoring and maximizing genetic diversity during captive breeding programs and re-introduction schemes, including mathematical models and case studies.
# Conservation issues related to the introduction of [[genetically modified organisms]].
# The interaction between environmental contaminants and the biology and health of an organism, including changes in mutation rates and [[adaptation]] to local changes in the environment (e.g. [[industrial melanism]]). 
#New techniques for noninvasive genotyping, see [[noninvasive genotyping for conservation]].
#Monitor [[genetic variability]] in populations and assess [[gene]]s of fitness amongst organism populations.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Wayne |first1=Robert K. |last2=Morin |first2=Phillip A. |date=March 2004 |title=Conservation genetics in the new molecular age |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1890/1540-9295(2004)002[0089:CGITNM]2.0.CO;2 |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=89–97 |doi=10.1890/1540-9295(2004)002[0089:CGITNM]2.0.CO;2 |issn=1540-9295|url-access=subscription }}</ref>