Abstract
There is an increasing awareness worldwide on the importance of protecting intraspecific genetic variability within threatened and exploited species, and to monitor unintended anthropogenic changes in biodiversity. So far, however, few genetic monitoring programs focused on wild population have been initiated, and it is largely unclear how such programs should be designed. This research program aims at producing scientific information of central importance for the conservation and management of three critically endangered Swedish freshwater fish species (European catfish, spring-spawning cisco, and European eel). Analyses of new and previously collected molecular genetic and phenotypic data and a breeding experiment will be used for assessment of population structure, monitoring of changes in genetic variation, detection of hybridization and inbreeding depression, and estimation of effective population size. The results will provide practical guidelines for conservation and management of these and other species.
Sweden