What is the difference between species diversity and genetic diversity

To conserve genetic diversity, different populations of a species must be conserved. Genes are the basic units of all life on Earth. They are responsible for both the similarities and the differences between organisms.

Not all groups of animals have the same degree of genetic diversity. Kangaroos , for example, come from recent evolutionary lines and are genetically very similar. Carnivorous marsupials , called dasyurids, come from more ancient lines and are genetically far more diverse. Some scientists believe that we should concentrate on saving more genetically diverse groups, such as dasyurids, which include the Tasmanian Devil , the Numbat and quolls.

If we lose one species of dasyurid, we lose a substantial genetic resource. Several species of dasyurids are endangered and at least one, the Tasmanian Tiger, has disappeared forever since Europeans arrived in Australia. Get our monthly emails for amazing animals, research insights and museum events. Species diversity is the variety of species within a habitat or a region. Some habitats, such as rainforests and coral reefs, have many species.

Others, such as salt flats or a polluted stream, have fewer. Species are grouped together into families according to shared characteristics. In Australia, it is not just the individual species that are endemic - whole families of animals and plants are endemic. Seven families of mammals, four of birds and twelve of flowering plants are endemic to Australia. No other country has as many endemic flowering plant families as Australia.

Invertebrates include crabs , snails, worms, corals and seastars, as well as insects, such as beetles and flies. Insects fill many vital roles in ecosystems as pollinators, recyclers of nutrients, scavengers and food for others. Diversity in species is important for economic, biological, social and cultural reasons. Major threats to species diversity are loss of habitat and fragmentation, over exploitations fishing, hunting, extraction , pollution, the introduction of invasive species e.

In order to conserve species diversity, natural resource management and habitat protection are vital. Ecosystem Diversity can be defined as the variety of different habitats, communities and ecological processes. A biological community is defined by the species that occupy a particular area and the interactions between those species.

A biological community together with its associated physical environment is termed an ecosystem. Partly due to its complexity, biodiversity can be extremely difficult to measure. However, there are a few key indicators of biodiversity that we can accurately and efficiently monitor. For coral reefs these indicators include: seafloor diversity, seagrass, mangroves, seabirds, species of conservation concern and species richness and community structure of hard corals on the GBR.

In addition, the mean genetic diversity per AFLP locus v mean,2 was determined for each species, as an arithmetic average of v g,2 values for all loci. Gene flow, random drift, selection, and mutation create patterns of genetic differentiation, although distinction between these factors by AFLP analysis may be difficult and additional information may be required, such as the use of different genetic markers e.

However, extremely high or low genetic differentiation at very few AFLP loci suggests that diversifying forces are acting non-randomly differential selection or non-recurrent mutation or uniformly similar selection regimes in all populations [38].

The factors of the chain and of the model were as follows: output number of iterations 5, , thinning interval size 10 , pilot runs 20 , length of pilot runs 5, , additional burn in 50, , prior odds for the neutral model 10 , lower boundary for uniform prior on the inbreeding coefficients F is 0 and the higher boundary for uniform prior on F is 1.

When the denominator was zero, C was undefined [38]. Formally, 2. The AFLP primer combination yielded polymorphic bands of 75— base pairs across all individuals of Picea chihuahuana, while the respective numbers of bands for Pinus strobiformis , Pseudotsuga menziesii , and Populus tremuloides were , and Overall, 34— AFLP bands were found per Picea individual on average , 25— per Pinus individual on average 83 , 37— per Pseudotsuga individual on average 87 , and 20— per Populus individual on average The highest genetic diversities in Picea chihuahuana and Populus tremuloides were found in the northern locations, and the highest genetic diversities in Pinus strobiformis and Pseudotsuga menziesii was found in the southern populations.

According to the outlier analysis provided by the BayeScan software, differential selection significantly affected 6. Assuming that the mapped markers used in this study reflect the whole genome, 0.

Previous studies of interspecific variation in Quercus petraea and Quercus robur [45] , Picea abies [46] , Fagus sylvatica [47] , and Pinus monticola [48] in other parts of the world showed similar proportions of putative genetic AFLP loci caused by selection On a worldwide scale, the discovery of probably adaptive loci has increasingly been reported across ecological gradients in various species [48]. Together these results demonstrated that Populus tremuloides evolve within a community context.

The number of Populus tremuloides trees per plot N explained the positive relationship between tree species diversity and mean multilocus genetic diversity per AFLP locus because population size has been positively related to mean genetic diversity [66]. The Populus tremuloides trees were more frequent in locations of higher tree species diversity.

The highest tree species diversity and tree density were found in the most humid and coldest climate on the Sierra Madre Occidental in Durango [67] , the optimal climate conditions for Populus tremuloides in forests of Durango [68]. However, we cannot explain why N was positively correlated with genetic diversity by differential selection at the putatively adaptive AFLP Thus, we can only speculate as to why the genetic structure at the putative adaptive AFLP and of Populus tremuloides was strongly correlated with species diversity in the tree community under study.

The relationship between the two levels of diversity was positive for detected putatively adaptive AFLP Table 4. Thus, the genetic [29] [47] [55] [56] [57] and species structures [58] in the tree community were possibly simultaneously adapted to a combination of ecological or environmental factors [6] [3] [31]. However, genetic differentiation may also be directly affected by the differential genetic response [59] to competition with other tree species [60].

The positive but non-significant relationships between tree species diversity and the mean genetic diversity per AFLP locus including all AFLPs found in three tree species under study Table 5 implied selection Table 3 that may affect higher multilocus genetic diversity and thus drive individual specialization [61].

The present observations also support the findings of [7] , i. Perhaps the locations that are rich in both tree species and genetic diversity Table 2 [27] [69] were the oldest, i. The present findings indicate the existence of correlations between genetic and species diversity as the two most important levels of biodiversity [2] and that interactions between genetic variants and species diversity may be crucial in shaping tree communities [30] [59] [63] [64].

Thus, the present results may contribute to a better understanding of the concurrence of evolutionary and ecological processes for determining community structure and dynamics [33] [34] and thus help to develop preservation and conservation strategies for this rare tree species community [33].

However, further study is needed to detect the complex variable local characteristics that influence both genetic and species diversity in the Picea chihuahuana tree community [31].

Revised the paper: CALS. Helped create the map: CALS. Browse Subject Areas? Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. Abstract Species diversity and genetic diversity, the most basic elements of biodiversity, have long been treated as separate topics, although populations evolve within a community context. Introduction Species diversity and genetic diversity, the most basic elements of biodiversity, have long been treated as separate topics, although populations evolve within a community context [1] , [2].

Material and Methods We confirm that the field studies provide the specific location of study Table 1. Download: PPT. Table 1.

Information about the 14 locations studied in the Picea chihuahuana M. Figure 1. Map of the 14 study locations black triangles in the Picea chihuahuana tree community, Mexico. Sampling sites The target tree species Picea chihuahuana was fully scored i.

Formally, 1 p is the relative frequency of a variant i. Genetic differentiation at AFLP loci Gene flow, random drift, selection, and mutation create patterns of genetic differentiation, although distinction between these factors by AFLP analysis may be difficult and additional information may be required, such as the use of different genetic markers e. Results The AFLP primer combination yielded polymorphic bands of 75— base pairs across all individuals of Picea chihuahuana, while the respective numbers of bands for Pinus strobiformis , Pseudotsuga menziesii , and Populus tremuloides were , and Table 2.

Figure 2. Table 3. Table 4. Table 5. Discussion and Conclusions Assuming that the mapped markers used in this study reflect the whole genome, 0. Supporting Information. Data S1. Raw data used in this work. Acknowledgments We thank Dr. Oleksandra Kuchma for excellent technical assistance. References 1. I: Conocimiento actual de la biodiversidad. View Article Google Scholar 2. Bergmann F, Gregorius HR, Kownatzki D, Wehenkel C Different diversity measures assess species-genetic diversity relationships differently: A marker-based case study in forest tree communities.

Silvae Genet 62 1—2: 25— View Article Google Scholar 3. Lett 8: — View Article Google Scholar 4. Wehenkel C, Bergmann F, Gregorius HR Is there a trade-off between species diversity and genetic diversity in forest tree communities? Plant Ecol —