Wildlife Genetic Management Group
Contact us
School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne,
Victoria 3800, Australia
Sasha Pavlova alexandra.pavlova@monash.edu
Paul Sunnucks paul.sunnucks@monash.edu
Based at the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Sasha Pavlova and Paul Sunnucks head the Wildlife Genetic Management Group.
We apply field biology, ecological genomics/genetics and spatial environmental analysis to the population biology of wildlife under natural and human-impacted conditions. With management agencies responsible for wildlife conservation, we co-design genetic management solutions to help prevent extinction of wildlife populations.
THE PROBLEM: millions of wildlife populations are made small and isolated by human impacts.
This increases the risk that the populations will go extinct, because of well-known negative outcomes such as loss of individuals, and insufficient habitat. But extinction risk of small, disconnected populations is also greatly increased by loss of genetic variation, which reduces the survival and reproduction of individuals, and their ability to adapt in the face of new threats.
THE SOLUTION: wildlife genetic management is a recent approach to preventing extinction of populations and species. It involves identifying which populations have which genetic problems and solving them. A mainstay is genetic rescue - providing useful genetic variation to the populations with genetic problems. This can be done by promoting the immigration of genetically diverse and/or different individuals into a population that is suffering genetic harm, so they can pass their useful genetic variation into it by breeding. When that is not an option, more intensive approaches might be used, such as captive breeding or gene technologies
OUR APPROACH: our team conducts world-class research on wildlife genetic management, across the range of areas needed to make it understood, practical, efficient and cost-effective. We adopt a learning-by-doing approach, working with partners in agencies responsible for preventing extinction to create innovative solutions.
OUR IMPACT: The Wildlife Genetic Management Group contributes world-leading cases of genetic rescue, participates in many key publications and media explaining the field, provides practical tools for wildlife managers, and engages in national and international groupings to enhance policy and practice.
INFORMATION FOR POTENTIAL FUNDERS: The Wildlife Genetic Management Group has established The Wildlife Genetic Management Hub to provide evidence-based genetic management advice for wildlife managers to solve genetic problems and help reduce extinction risk. Information about this initiative and how you can support it is here:
Monash Wildlife Genetic Management Hub single page (web).pdf