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Study says animals, plants losing genetic diversity, becoming vulnerable

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Two-thirds of animal and plant populations are declining in genetic diversity, which makes it harder to adapt to environmental changes, according to a research published in the journal Nature Wednesday.

An Iberian lynx takes its first steps after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range, Spain, February 20, 2024. /VCG
An Iberian lynx takes its first steps after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range, Spain, February 20, 2024. /VCG

An Iberian lynx takes its first steps after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range, Spain, February 20, 2024. /VCG

Long before a species goes extinct, the population becomes smaller and more fragmented, shrinking the number of potential mates and therefore genetic mixing. This leaves a species more vulnerable to future threats such as disease.

"A surprising trend was that we saw genetic diversity declining even among many species that aren't considered at risk," said co-author Catherine Grueber, a conservation biologist at the University of Sydney.

Researchers examined data for 628 species studied between 1985 and 2019. The greatest losses in genetic variation were seen in birds and mammals.

Healed pelicans are released to their natural habitat in San Pedro, California, U.S., April 25, 2024. /VCG
Healed pelicans are released to their natural habitat in San Pedro, California, U.S., April 25, 2024. /VCG

Healed pelicans are released to their natural habitat in San Pedro, California, U.S., April 25, 2024. /VCG

"When a species has different genetic solutions, it's better able to deal with changes," said David Nogues-Bravo at the University of Copenhagen, who was not involved in the study.

If a new disease spreads through a population or climate change alters summer rainfall, some individuals will fare better than others, in part because of their genes. Higher genetic diversity also means there's a greater chance of a species' survival.

A stray Siberian ibex kid is rescued by locals in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, September 11, 2024. /VCG
A stray Siberian ibex kid is rescued by locals in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, September 11, 2024. /VCG

A stray Siberian ibex kid is rescued by locals in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, September 11, 2024. /VCG

Conservation efforts to connect isolated populations – basically expanding the dating pool for a particular species – can help maintain or even restore genetic diversity.

Florida panthers are an endangered species that have steadily lost habitat to freeways and urban sprawl. By the mid-1990s, the remaining big cats in southern Florida showed clear signs of inbreeding – with kinked tails and low sperm counts in males.

Biologists brought eight female panthers from Texas to Florida. Twenty years later, the number of Florida panthers in the wild has grown significantly and genetic diversity increased.

A newly born seal pup reacts on the sand dunes of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Donna Nook nature reserve near Grimsby, England, November 29, 2024. /VCG
A newly born seal pup reacts on the sand dunes of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Donna Nook nature reserve near Grimsby, England, November 29, 2024. /VCG

A newly born seal pup reacts on the sand dunes of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Donna Nook nature reserve near Grimsby, England, November 29, 2024. /VCG

"Isolated populations suffer," said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who was not part of the research. "The solution is to reconnect them."

(Cover: Fallow deer in a wild animal enclosure near Rottweil, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, July 4, 2024. /VCG)

Source(s): AP
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