Genetic diversity important for conservation of eelgrass meadows
The genetic variation of eelgrass is crucial for future protection of eelgrass meadows on the West coast of Sweden. For this reason, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have together with the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland studied the genetic diversity of 18 eelgrass meadows along the coast. The results can contribute to better conservation, management, and restoration of the meadows.
Biodiversity loss is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. While much focus has been placed on species loss, genetic diversity within species is increasingly recognized. The higher the genetic variation, the greater the ability of the species to adapt to environmental changes, or to resist diseases and other threats.
“We discovered in our study that some of the eelgrass meadows show very high genetic diversity and should therefore be prioritised for future protection. Other meadows show low genetic variation, but although some of those meadows seems to be doing well at the moment, they are still vulnerable to for example environmental changes due to their high clonality,” says Marlene Jahnke, researcher at the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg.
Some meadows need more protection
Genetic mapping is a very important piece of the puzzle for the success of various nature conservation efforts, such as protecting eelgrass in existing meadows, or when planning new marine protected areas (MPA). One important finding is that the eelgrass meadows in the region are genetically distinct and can be grouped into four major genetic clusters.
“Our results indicate that it’s important to protect a number of large eelgrass meadows within each genetic cluster to maintain genetic diversity. It's basically important to know which of one the meadows we need to protect a bit more,” says Marlene Jahnke.
Genetic mapping is also important in restoration efforts to reintroduce eelgrass in places where it has disappeared. The origin of the donor meadows is of great importance for the success of the restoration.
“To succeed, it’s important to plant the right genetic variant, otherwise there is a great risk that the restoration effort won’t be successful. We suggest choosing donor meadows from the same genetic cluster with high genetic diversity,” says Marlene Jahnke
Integrating genetic data into decisions
The study was carried out by researchers at the University of Gothenburg together with the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland. An important aspect of this study is the strong collaboration between researchers and local environmental authorities – there is a great need for improved knowledge about eelgrass meadows, so that municipalities and county administrative boards can make good decisions about conservation and management.
“Our study underlines the importance of including genetic information in broader monitoring, conservation and restoration programmes. When scientific evidence is used in everyday measures, they are likely to be more effective,” says Marlene Jahnke.
Writer: Annika Wall
The survey was carried out by researchers at the University of Gothenburg together with officials at the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland.
The research results were published in the article ‘Empowering Regional Conservation: Genetic Diversity Assessments as a Tool for Eelgrass Management’ in the journal Molecular Ecology.
More about eelgrass research
Read more about eelgrass research and restoration efforts at the University of Gothenburg on the Zorro research group's website.
