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- Laikre, Linda, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Planned cull endangers Swedish wolf population
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 377:6602
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In May, the Swedish Parliament announced a goal to reduce the Swedish wolf population from about 400 to about 200 individuals (1). This action further threatens this highly endangered population, which is genetically isolated and inbred. Scientific advice for improvements has not been implemented (2, 3).The Swedish Parliament proposed this drastic cull at a time when biodiversity is a global focus. The 50-year anniversary of the first UN conference on the environment was celebrated in June, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will soon finalize its global biodiversity framework for 2020 to 2050. Sweden’s actions are inconsistent with the country’s obligations under the CBD and European Union law.Few wild populations are as well studied as the Scandinavian wolf. Genetic monitoring has provided a full pedigree since the population was reestablished in the 1980s after extinction, and the data confirm persisting genetic isolation (4–6). Hunting, conducted both legally and illegally, has prevented population expansion and the influx of genetic variation.Three founders comprised the population’s genetic origin until 2007, and only three more wolves have subsequently contributed genetically to the present population (6). The genetic base is thus extremely narrow, and genomic erosion has been confirmed (7, 8). The average level of inbreeding is similar to the level found in the offspring of two full siblings (6). Inbreeding in this population has been shown to reduce litter size (4). Also, high frequencies of anatomical defects (9) and male reproductive disorders (10) have been observed.To make this population viable, population size and immigration must increase. So far, the population has been too small, and limited immigration followed by inbreeding could lead to extinction, similar to the Isle Royale wolf population (11). The goal should be to recreate a well-connected metapopulation spanning Scandinavia and Finland with a genetically effective population size of over 500, in line with the proposed CBD indicator (12). Considerably more genetic exchange than the current one-migrant-per-generation aim is needed (3).
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| 2. |
- Roslin, Tomas, et al.
(författare)
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A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology Resources. - : Wiley. - 1755-098X .- 1755-0998. ; 22:2, s. 803-822
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.
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