{"id":651811,"date":"2025-02-01T22:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T19:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/many-animals-and-plants-are-losing-their-genetic-diversity-making-them-more-vulnerable\/"},"modified":"2025-02-01T22:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T19:25:16","slug":"many-animals-and-plants-are-losing-their-genetic-diversity-making-them-more-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/many-animals-and-plants-are-losing-their-genetic-diversity-making-them-more-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"#Many animals and plants are losing their genetic diversity, making them more vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A panther named Athena looks out from her enclosure at the Naples Zoo during a Sierra Club tour of Florida panther country, Jan. 15, 2025, in Naples, Florida. Credit: AP Photo\/Lynne Sladky, File
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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 research published Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“A surprisingly 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.<\/p>\n

Researchers examined data for 628 species studied between 1985 and 2019. The greatest losses in genetic variation were seen in birds and mammals.<\/p>\n

Findings were published<\/a> in the journal Nature<\/i>.<\/p>\n

“When a species has different genetic solutions, it’s better able to deal with changes,” said David Nogu\u00e9s-Bravo at the University of Copenhagen, who was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Conservation efforts to connect isolated populations\u2014basically expanding the dating pool for a particular species\u2014can help maintain or even restore genetic diversity.<\/p>\n

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\u2014with kinked tails and low sperm counts in males.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“Isolated populations suffer,” said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who was not part of the research. “The solution is to reconnect them.”<\/p>\n

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More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCatherine Grueber, Global meta-analysis shows action is needed to halt genetic diversity loss, Nature<\/i> (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-024-08458-x<\/a>. www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-024-08458-x<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u00a9 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMany animals and plants are losing their genetic diversity, making them more vulnerable (2025, February 1)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 1 February 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2025-01-animals-genetic-diversity-vulnerable.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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