Evaluation the conservation strategies of endangered species based on
population genetics
Yu-Chung Chiang1 and Ya-Zhu Ko1
1
Department of Biological Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 80424,
Taiwan
In order to keep the critically endangered species away from risk of extinction,
conservation managements designed for different species are an important strategy for
the rare and endangered taxa. For examples, the perennial cycad, Cycas taitungensis
Shen, Hill, Tsou & Chen and Amentoaxus formosana H. L. Li. are two endemic species
with two and one remaining populations in Taiwan, respectively. For C. taitungensis,
the IUCN was increased this endemic species to endangered level in 2009 caused by
Aulacaspis yasumatsui, an invasive species that infests cycad plants in the past decade
in Taiwan (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2011.1:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/). Populations have been in extreme decline and we need to
enhance the conservation administration of the threatened taxa. For A. formosana, this
species is categorized at the critically endangered level in the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species based on only population with thousands individuals. The Forestry
Bureau in Taiwan has considered C. taitungensis and A. formosana for ex situ
conservation management such as “seed storage” or “transplanting” to keep these
endemic species survival if the wild population becomes extinct. Based on this propose,
we estimate the genetic diversity, effective population size, and identify the distinct
genetic units based on polymorphic microsatellite loci. We select individuals from
different genetic units in order to maintain the maximum genetic diversity of C.
taitungensis and A. formosana.