@article{DarwallBremerichDeWeveretal.2018, author = {Darwall, William and Bremerich, Vanessa and De Wever, Aaike and Dell, Anthony I. and Freyhof, Joerg and Gessner, Mark O. and Grossart, Hans-Peter and Harrison, Ian and Irvine, Ken and J{\"a}hnig, Sonja C. and Jeschke, Jonathan M. and Lee, Jessica J. and Lu, Cai and Lewandowska, Aleksandra M. and Monaghan, Michael T. and Nejstgaard, Jens C. and Patricio, Harmony and Schmidt-Kloiber, Astrid and Stuart, Simon N. and Thieme, Michele and Tockner, Klement and Turak, Eren and Weyl, Olaf}, title = {The alliance for freshwater life}, series = {Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems}, volume = {28}, journal = {Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1052-7613}, doi = {10.1002/aqc.2958}, pages = {1015 -- 1022}, year = {2018}, abstract = {1. Global pressures on freshwater ecosystems are high and rising. Viewed primarily as a resource for humans, current practices of water use have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater species and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems, including their genetic and functional diversity. Approximately three-quarters of the world's inland wetlands have been lost, one-third of the 28 000 freshwater species assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are threatened with extinction, and freshwater vertebrate populations are undergoing declines that are more rapid than those of terrestrial and marine species. This global loss continues unchecked, despite the importance of freshwater ecosystems as a source of clean water, food, livelihoods, recreation, and inspiration. 2. The causes of these declines include hydrological alterations, habitat degradation and loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and the multiple impacts of climate change. Although there are policy initiatives that aim to protect freshwater life, these are rarely implemented with sufficient conviction and enforcement. Policies that focus on the development and management of fresh waters as a resource for people almost universally neglect the biodiversity that they contain. 3. Here we introduce the Alliance for Freshwater Life, a global initiative, uniting specialists in research, data synthesis, conservation, education and outreach, and policymaking. This expert network aims to provide the critical mass required for the effective representation of freshwater biodiversity at policy meetings, to develop solutions balancing the needs of development and conservation, and to better convey the important role freshwater ecosystems play in human well-being. Through this united effort we hope to reverse this tide of loss and decline in freshwater biodiversity. We introduce several short- and medium-term actions as examples for making positive change, and invite individuals, organizations, authorities, and governments to join the Alliance for Freshwater Life.}, language = {en} } @article{CasasMarceMarmesatSorianoetal.2017, author = {Casas-Marce, Mireia and Marmesat, Elena and Soriano, Laura and Martinez-Cruz, Begona and Lucena-Perez, Maria and Nocete, Francisco and Rodriguez-Hidalgo, Antonio and Canals, Antoni and Nadal, Jordi and Detry, Cleia and Bernaldez-Sanchez, Eloisa and Fernandez-Rodriguez, Carlos and Perez-Ripoll, Manuel and Stiller, Mathias and Hofreiter, Michael and Rodriguez, Alejandro and Revilla, Eloy and Delibes, Miguel and Godoy, Jose A.}, title = {Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Genetic Variation in the Iberian Lynx along Its Path to Extinction Reconstructed with Ancient DNA}, series = {Molecular biology and evolution}, volume = {34}, journal = {Molecular biology and evolution}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0737-4038}, doi = {10.1093/molbev/msx222}, pages = {2893 -- 2907}, year = {2017}, abstract = {There is the tendency to assume that endangered species have been both genetically and demographically healthier in the past, so that any genetic erosion observed today was caused by their recent decline. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) suffered a dramatic and continuous decline during the 20th century, and now shows extremely low genome- and species-wide genetic diversity among other signs of genomic erosion. We analyze ancient (N\&\#8201;=\&\#8201;10), historical (N\&\#8201;=\&\#8201;245), and contemporary (N\&\#8201;=\&\#8201;172) samples with microsatellite and mitogenome data to reconstruct the species' demography and investigate patterns of genetic variation across space and time. Iberian lynx populations transitioned from low but significantly higher genetic diversity than today and shallow geographical differentiation millennia ago, through a structured metapopulation with varying levels of diversity during the last centuries, to two extremely genetically depauperate and differentiated remnant populations by 2002. The historical subpopulations show varying extents of genetic drift in relation to their recent size and time in isolation, but these do not predict whether the populations persisted or went finally extinct. In conclusion, current genetic patterns were mainly shaped by genetic drift, supporting the current admixture of the two genetic pools and calling for a comprehensive genetic management of the ongoing conservation program. This study illustrates how a retrospective analysis of demographic and genetic patterns of endangered species can shed light onto their evolutionary history and this, in turn, can inform conservation actions.}, language = {en} }