INTERACTIVE TOOLKIT FOR
CROP WILD RELATIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING version 1.0

Taking target CWR genetic data into account when planning for conservation involves the following six steps:

1. Survey for existing genetic studies on target CWR.
2. Formulate the genetic questions to be answered and design the experiment.
3. Evaluate whether there are financial resources to undertake (further) genetic studies.
4. Assess whether there is a sufficiently large population sample to carry out the genetic study.
5. Determine whether there are skilled staff to carry out the genetic study, or alternatively.
6. Perform an ecogeographic diversity study for target CWR that can be used as a proxy of genetic diversity.
7. Incorporate genetic information into conservation planning.

Finally, a genetic erosion monitoring scheme  [1] should be implemented in order to detect changes in the genetic diversity of the CWR.

1. Survey for existing genetic studies on target CWR.

Existing information should be collated and its use for conservation planning will depend on the type of information obtained (e.g. neutral genetic diversity across geographic breadth, genetic erosion assessment). Information on a plant’s life history traits  [2], including its breeding system and seed dispersal mechanism, should be gathered as they are crucial in determining the patterns of genetic diversity within and among populations. Ideally, if no genetic information is available, novel genetic studies (on adaptive or neutral diversity) should be carried out.

2. Formulate the questions to be answered using genetic techniques and design the experiment.

CWR genetic information can be used in several steps of conservation planning, from identifying processes of genetic erosion to establishing population priorities for active in situ and ex situ conservation and identifying traits for crop improvement. An experiment should be designed appropriately to answer the biological question/s to be addressed. Where possible, experts should be consulted to help with experiment design.

3. Evaluate whether there are sufficient financial resources to undertake a genetic study.

The design of the genetic experiment will determine the necessary costs of the work and will enable the investigator to evaluate whether or not there are sufficient financial resources available to undertake the study.

4. Assess whether there are enough population samples available to undertake the genetic study.

Samples may either be plant material already present in available ex situ collections or material obtained through fresh collection from across the geographic range of the species.

5. Determine whether there are skilled staff able to undertake the genetic study.

If financial resources and expertise are available, a genetic study is desirable. If financial resources are available but no skilled staff, plant samples should be collected and then sent to skilled experts for analysis.

6. Perform an ecogeographic diversity study.

This is an alternative approach that can be carried out when current financial and human resources are insufficient for a genetic study. Ecogeographic diversity (together with information on reproduction and dispersal systems) can be used as a proxy for genetic diversity. In other words, across the geographic distribution of a priority CWR species it is assumed, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that genetic diversity or distance is partitioned in relation to ecogeographic diversity, and sampling from the maximum diversity of locations will result in the most genetically diverse samples. Disparate ecogeographic locations can then be identified for the establishment of in situ CWR conservation sites or the sampling of populations for ex situ conservation.

7. Incorporate the genetic information (either from existing genetic data or from a novel study) into conservation planning.

The genetic diversity data that results from these analyses may then be incorporated into conservation planning through:

• The production of hotspots maps of genetic diversity (see here  [3] for more details about mapping diversity).
• A complementarity analysis to detect the minimum number of sites that could conserve all genetic diversity (see here  [3] for more details about complementarity analysis).
• Analysis of genetic diversity gaps in existing conservation efforts of priority CWR, both in situ and ex situ (see here  [4] for more details about gap analyses).