Richard Frankham

Macquarie University · Department of Biological Sciences

Molecular tools are increasingly applied for assessing and monitoring biodiversity and informing conservation action. While recent developments in genetic and genomic methods provide greater sensitivity in analysis and the capacity to address new questions, they are not equally available to all practitioners: There is considerable bias across insti...

Managed breeding programs are an important tool in marsupial conservation efforts but may be costly and have adverse genetic effects in unavoidably small captive colonies. Biobanking and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) could help overcome these challenges, but further demonstration of their potential is required to improve uptake. We used...

Genetic diversity among and within populations of all species is necessary for people and nature to survive and thrive in a changing world. Over the past three years, commitments for conserving genetic diversity have become more ambitious and specific under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) draft post-2020 global biodiversity framework...

Estimates of susceptibility to inbreeding depression for total fitness are needed for predicting the cost of inbreeding and for use in population viability analyses, but no such valid estimates are available for any wild invertebrate population. I estimated the number of lethals equivalents for total fitness in recently wild-caught populations of D...

Genetic diversity among and within populations of all species is necessary for people and the planet to survive in a changing world. Over the past three years, the conservation of genetic diversity has received increased ambition and specificity in commitments under the draft Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) post 2020 Global Biodiversity...

Estimates of susceptibility to inbreeding depression for total fitness are needed for predicting the cost of inbreeding and for use in population viability analyses, but no such valid estimates are available for any wild invertebrate population. I estimated the number of lethals equivalents for total fitness in recently wild-caught populations of D...

In the current negotiations regarding revision of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) proposals have been made to strengthen the genetic goals, indicators, and targets for wild species in natural habitats by specifying “tolerable” losses of genetic diversity. However, they have not been subjected to evaluations of their continued use over...

Zoo and wildlife hospital networks are set to become a vital component of Australia’s contemporary efforts to conserve the iconic and imperiled koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Managed breeding programs held across zoo-based networks typically face high economic costs and can be at risk of adverse genetic effects typical of unavoidably small captive...

Captive breeding is an important tool for amphibian conservation despite high economic costs and deleterious genetic effects of sustained captivity and unavoidably small colony sizes. Integration of biobanking and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) could provide solutions to these challenges, but is rarely used due to lack of recognition of...

Captive breeding is an integral part of global conservation efforts despite high costs and adverse genetic effects associated with unavoidably small population sizes. Supplementing captive-bred populations with biobanked founder sperm to restore genetic diversity offers a solution to colony size, costs and inbreeding, yet is rarely done, partly due...

Genetic rescue – ameliorating inbreeding depression and restoring genetic diversity of inbred populations through gene flow - is valuable in wildlife conservation. Empirically validated recommendations for genetic rescue supported by evolutionary genetics theory advise maximizing genetic diversity in target populations. Instead, recent papers based...

The first step in conservation management is to delineate groups for separate versus combined management. However, there are many problems with species delineation, including diverse species definitions, lack of standardized protocols, and poor repeatability of delineations. Definitions that are too broad will lead to outbreeding depression if popu...

Adverse genetic impacts on fragmented populations are expected to worsen under global climate change. Many populations and species may not be able to adapt in situ , or to move unassisted to suitable habitat. Management may reduce these threats by augmenting genetic diversity to improve the ability to adapt evolutionarily, by translocation, includi...

Inbreeding is reduced and genetic diversity enhanced when a small isolated inbred population is crossed to another unrelated population. Crossing can have beneficial or harmful effects on fitness, but beneficial effects predominate, and the risks of harmful ones (outbreeding depression) can be predicted and avoided. For crosses with a low risk of o...

Evidence of population structure and limited gene flow often leads to the questionable conclusion that populations should be managed as separate unit. A paradigm shift is needed where evidence of genetic differentiation among populations is followed by an assessment of whether populations are suffering genetic erosion, whether there are other popul...

Genetic management of fragmented populations involves the application of evolutionary genetic theory and knowledge to alleviate problems due to inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity in small population fragments. Populations evolve through the effects of mutation, natural selection, chance (genetic drift), and gene flow. Large outbreeding sexual...

Inbreeding reduces survival and reproduction (i.e. it causes inbreeding depression), and thereby increases extinction risk. Inbreeding depression is due to increased homozygosity for harmful alleles and at loci exhibiting heterozygote advantage. Inbreeding depression is nearly universal in sexually reproducing organisms that are diploid or have hig...

Most species now have fragmented distributions, often with adverse genetic consequences. The genetic impacts of population fragmentation depend critically upon gene flow among fragments and their effective sizes. Fragmentation with cessation of gene flow is highly harmful in the long term, leading to greater inbreeding, increased loss of genetic di...

Even without detailed genetic data, sound genetic management strategies for augmenting gene flow can be instituted by considering population genetics theory, and/or computer simulations. When detailed data are lacking, moving (translocating) some individuals into isolated inbred population fragments is better than moving none, as long as the risk o...

Thousands of species have been introduced to new ranges worldwide. These introductions provide opportunities for researchers to study evolutionary changes in form and function in response to new environmental conditions. However, almost all previous studies of morphological change in introduced species have compared introduced populations to popula...

Humans are responsible for a cataclysm of species extinction that will change the world as we see it, and will adversely affect human health and wellbeing. We need to understand at individual and societal levels why species conservation is important. Accepting the premise that species have value, we need to next consider the mechanisms underlying s...

Thousands of small populations are at increased risk of extinction because genetics and evolutionary biology are not well-integrated into conservation planning – a major lost opportunity for effective actions. We propose that if the risk of outbreeding depression is low, the default should be to evaluate restoration of gene flow to small inbred pop...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

One of the greatest unmet issues in conservation biology is the genetic management of fragmented animal and plant populations. Many species across the planet have fragmented distributions with some small isolated populations that are potentially suffering from inbreeding, loss of genetic diversity, and elevated extinction risk. Fortunately, these e...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of animal and plant populations decrease and fragmentation increases, loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment, with inbreeding and reduced fitness inevitable conse...

Many species have isolated, inbred populations that have a high risk of extinction from inbreeding depression. While inbreeding can be reversed by outcrossing (genetic rescue), doubts have been expressed about whether fitness benefits persist beyond the F1 generation. To address this issue, I used a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of outcross...

Many species have fragmented distribution with small isolated populations suffering inbreeding depression and/or reduced ability to evolve. Without gene flow from another population within the species (genetic rescue), these populations are likely to be extirpated. However, there have been only ~ 20 published cases of such outcrossing for conservat...

Inbreeding refers to mating of related individuals. It results in a decline in survival and reproduction (reproductive fitness) in inbred progeny, known as inbreeding depression, in most species of plants and animals. Outbreeding refers to matings between individuals from different populations, subspecies, or species. Outbreeding can result in a de...

The Letter from Rosenfeld (2014, Biological Conservation) in response to Jamieson and Allendorf (2012, Trends in Ecology and Evolution) and Frankham et al. (2014, Biological Conservation) and related papers is misleading in places and requires clarification and correction. We provide those here.

Inbreeding refers to mating of related individuals. It results in a decline in survival and reproduction (reproductive fitness), known as inbreeding depression, in most species of plants and animals. Outbreeding refers to matings between individuals from different populations, subspecies, or species. Outbreeding can result in a decline in reproduct...

Some introduced populations thrive and evolve despite the presumed loss of diversity at introduction. We aimed to quantify the amount of genetic diversity retained at introduction in species that have shown evidence of adaptation to their introduced environments. Samples were taken from native and introduced ranges of Arctotheca populifolia and Pet...

Cited By (since 1996):2, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

This impressive author team brings the wealth of advances in conservation genetics into the new edition of this introductory text, including new chapters on population genomics and genetic issues in introduced and invasive species. They continue the strong learning features for students - main points in the margin, chapter summaries, vital support...

Cited By (since 1996):4, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

Translocations are being increasingly proposed as a way of conserving biodiversity, particularly in the management of threatened and keystone species, with the aims of maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function under the combined pressures of habitat fragmentation and climate change. Evolutionary genetic considerations should be an important p...

Levels of genetic diversity in finite populations are crucial in conservation and evolutionary biology. Genetic diversity is required for populations to evolve and its loss is related to inbreeding in random mating populations, and thus to reduced population fitness and increased extinction risk. Neutral theory is widely used to predict levels of g...

Fragmentation of animal and plant populations typically leads to genetic erosion and increased probability of extirpation. Although these effects can usually be reversed by re-establishing gene flow between population fragments, managers sometimes fail to do so due to fears of outbreeding depression (OD). Rapid development of OD is due primarily to...

I discuss future challenges and opportunities in genetic approaches to biodiversity conservation. Resolving taxonomy uncertainties and identifying diverged evolutionary units within species are both bedevilled by a plethora of definitions: the challenge for the conservation community is to come to an agreed definition of species and for a unit with...

Many threatened species are being maintained in captivity to save them from extinction, often with the eventual aim of reintroduction. The objective of genetic management in captivity is to ‘freeze’ evolution i.e. to avoid genetic adaptation to captivity and to retain genetic diversity. Most current genetic management of threatened species addresse...

ANOVA table for maximum dark-adapted fluorescence yield (Fv/Fm) and coral (holobiont) growth. (0.05 MB DOC)

ANOVA table for light-adapted fluorescence yields (ΦPSII, ΦNPQ, and ΦNO). (0.07 MB DOC)

ANOVA table for symbiont pigment ratios (DT/(DD+DT) and XP/(LH+XP)). (0.05 MB DOC)

ANOVA table for coral host gene expression (Magnetic Island). (0.05 MB DOC)

ANOVA table for coral host gene expression (Orpheus Island). (0.05 MB DOC)

The persistence of tropical coral reefs is threatened by rapidly increasing climate warming, causing a functional breakdown of the obligate symbiosis between corals and their algal photosymbionts (Symbiodinium) through a process known as coral bleaching. Yet the potential of the coral-algal symbiosis to genetically adapt in an evolutionary sense to...

To ensure both long-term persistence and evolutionary potential, the required number of individuals in a population often greatly exceeds the targets proposed by conservation management. We critically review minimum population size requirements for species based on empirical and theoretical estimates made over the past few decades. This literature...

Cited By (since 1996):56, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

An official journal of the Genetics Society, Heredity publishes high-quality articles describing original research and theoretical insights in all areas of genetics. Research papers are complimented by News & Commentary articles and reviews, keeping researchers and students abreast of hot topics in the field.

Genetic considerations are important both to the initial success of reintroduction programmes and to their long-term viability. Genetic contributions to initial success will be maximized by choosing founders with low inbreeding coeffi cients and high genetic diversity that are well adapted to the reintroduction environment. Inbreeding and loss of g...

Reproductive fitness characters are crucial in animal and plant breeding, evolutionary genetics and conservation biology. However, the nature of their variation is not well understood. I review evidence on the comparative architecture of genetic variation for fitness and peripheral characters for both wild populations and domestic livestock. Fitnes...

Fitness and adaptation are fundamental characteristics of plant and animal species, enabling them to survive in their environment and to adapt to the inevitable changes in this environment. This is true for both the genetic resources of natural ecosystems as well as those used in agricultural production. Extensive genetic variation exists between v...

The effective population size is required to predict the rate of inbreeding and loss of genetic variation in wildlife. Since only census population size is normally available, it is critical to know the ratio of effective to actual population size (Ne/N). Published estimates of Ne/N (192 from 102 species) were analysed to identify major variables a...

It is critical to search for, and to apply, robust generalizations in conservation biology as species-specific data on endangered species are often limited. While generalizations are common in conservation genetics, where processes are treated on the scale of generations, the unique population dynamics of species are often stressed in ecology and c...

As wild environments are often inhospitable, many species have to be captive-bred to save them from extinction. In captivity, species adapt genetically to the captive environment and these genetic adaptations are overwhelmingly deleterious when populations are returned to wild environments. I review empirical evidence on (i) the genetic basis of ad...

Undomesticated (wild) banteng are endangered in their native habitats in Southeast Asia. A potential conservation resource for the species is a large, wild population in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in northern Australia, descended from 20 individuals that were released from a failed British outpost in 1849. Because of the founding bottleneck, w...

Conservation and the Genetics of PopulationsBY FRED W. ALLENDORF AND GORDON LUIKART xix + 642 pp., 34.5 × 17 × 3 cm, ISBN 1 4051 2145 9 paperback, GB£ 34.99/US$ 69.95, Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2006 - - Volume 34 Issue 1 - RICHARD FRANKHAM

Cited By (since 1996):10, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

Inbreeding is reputed to distort sex-ratios by reducing the proportion of the homogametic sex. However, many data sets do not show such an effect, and there is a known selective publication bias. To resolve the issue, we (a) developed detailed theoretical expectations for the effects of inbreeding on sex-ratios for autosomal and sex-linked loci wit...

One of the biggest threats to the survival of many plant and animal species is the destruction or fragmentation of their natural habitats. The conservation of landscape connections, where animals, plants, and ecological processes can move freely from one habitat to another, is therefore an essential part of any new conservation or environmental pro...

The role of inbreeding depression in the extinction of wild populations is controversial, largely because there are no quantitative estimates of its impact using realistic levels of inbreeding depression. To address this deficiency, this study (1) provides a comprehensive estimate of the impact of inbreeding depression on wild, mammalian and avian...

Charles Fox and Jason Wolf have brought together leading researchers to produce a cutting-edge primer introducing readers to the major concepts in modern evolutionary genetics. This book spans the continuum of scale, from studies of DNA sequence evolution through proteins and development to multivariate phenotypic evolution, and the continuum of ti...

Genetic adaptation to captive environments is likely to reduce the reproductive fitness of endangered species when they are reintroduced into natural environments. Equalization of family sizes is predicted to halve genetic adaptation to captivity as it removes selection among families and is recommended in captive management of threatened species....

Cited By (since 1996):107, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

The role of genetic factors in extinction has been a controversial issue, especially since Lande’s paper [Genetics and demography in biological conservation, Science 241 (1988) 1455–1460] paper in Science. Here I review the evidence on the contribution of genetic factors to extinction risk. Inbreeding depression, loss of genetic diversity and mutat...

The biodiversity of the planet is rapidly being depleted, largely as a direct and indirect consequence of human activities (the 'sixth extinction': Leakey and Lewin, 1995). IUCN, the World conservation Union, recognizes the need to conserve biodiversity at three levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity (McNeely et al, 1990). Genetics is kno...

Stress, adaptation and evolution are major concerns in conservation biology. Stresses from pollution, climatic changes, disease etc. may affect population persistence. Further, stress typically occurs when species are placed in captivity. Threatened species are usually managed to conserve their ability to adapt to environmental changes, whilst spec...

Quantitative genetic variation, the main determinant of the ability to evolve, is expected to be lost in small populations, but there are limited data on the effect, and controversy as to whether it is similar to that for near neutral molecular variation. Genetic variation for abdominal and sternopleural bristle numbers and allozyme heterozygosity...