"The genetic diversity comprised in farm animal species and breeds is an important resource in livestock systems. For several reasons, within the different species used for food production, only a few breeds are developed towards high-output breeds fitting in high-input systems. In this process many breeds are set aside from the food producing livestock systems. These breeds will be faced with extinction unless new functions for these breeds are found. This is a real threat for the genetic diversity within species. This book is intended to give insight into the issues of the utilisation and conservation of farm animal genetic resources towards a broad group of readers interested in these subjects. The insight is presented as applications of population, molecular and quantitative genetics that can be used to take appropriate decisions in utilisation and conservation programmes. A previous edition of this book is a key resource in courses worldwide and cited in many scientific publications. The first two chapters discuss the decisions to be made in utilisation and conservation. Chapter 3 surveys the different ways in which the diversity we observe within a species can be characterised. Chapter 4 illustrates recent results using this theory for utilisation and conservation purposes. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 give theoretical backgrounds necessary to make decisions and chapters 8 and 9 present the operation and practical implications of selection and conservation schemes."

These guidelines present the basic concepts involved in the development and implementation of in vivo conservation plans for animal genetic resources for food and agriculture. The guidelines are intended for use by policy-makers in the management of animal genetic resources, managers of animal breeding organizations, persons responsible for training in management of animal genetic resources and any other stakeholders with leading roles in designing and implementing in vivo conservation programmes for animal genetic resources. Although individual breeders and livestock keepers are not the direct target audience, the guidelines include background information that is relevant for all stakeholders involved in planning conservation programmes.

This book provides an overview of developments in the conservation and sustainable utilisation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources. It is based on presentations given at a conference on this subject co-organised by the British Society of Animal Science, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the Sheep Trust.

This anchor volume to the series Managing Global Genetic Resources examines the structure that underlies efforts to preserve genetic material, including the worldwide network of genetic collections; the role of biotechnology; and a host of issues that surround management and use. Among the topics explored are in situ versus ex situ conservation, management of very large collections of genetic material, problems of quarantine, the controversy over ownership or copyright of genetic material, and more.

Sustainable use, development and conservation of the world's livestock genetic resources are of vital importance to agriculture, food production, rural development and the environment. In recognition of the need to develop and effective framework for the management of these resources and to address the threat of genetic erosion, 109 countries came together in September 2007 at the first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture held in Interlaken, Switzerland. The Conference adopted the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources- which includes 23 strategic priorities for action to promote the wise management of these vital resources. The Global Plan of Action is the outcome of a country-driven process of reporting, analysis and discussion, which also resulted in the preparation of the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the first comprehensive global assessment of livestock diversity and its management. The Conference also adopted the Interlaken Declaration on Animal Genetic Resources, which affirms countries' commitment to the implementation of the global Plan of Action and to ensuring that the world's livestock biodiversity is utilised to promote global food security and remain available to future generations.

Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation in Tropical Islands provides comprehensive information on climate change, biodiversity, possible impacts, adaptation measures and policy challenges to help users rehabilitate and preserve the natural resources of tropical islands. While biodiversity and climate change of tropical islands has previously received less attention, it is ironically one of the most vulnerable regions in this regard. The core content of the work derives largely from the ideas and research output from various reputed scientists and experts who have recorded climate change impacts on aquatic and coastal life in tropical regions. Contributors have direct working experience with the tribes in some of the tropical islands. All of their expertise and information is compiled and presented in the work, including coverage related to climate change. This work highlights the ever-growing need to develop and apply strategies that optimize the use of natural resources, both on land and in water and judicious use of biodiversity. It functions as a critical resource on tropical island biodiversity for researchers, academicians, practitioners and policy makers in a variety of related disciplines. - Covers a huge range of biodiversity documentation, conservation measures and strategies that can be applied to various sectors, from forests to agriculture - Brings together expertise from researchers in the area who have direct experience in the regions described - Contains a wealth of field research related to biodiversity conservation and its applications from a variety of tropical islands

It follows naturally from the widely accepted Darwinian dictum that failures of populations or of species to adapt and to evolve under changing environments will result in their extinction. Population geneti cists have proclaimed a centerstage role in developing conservation biology theory and applications. However, we must critically reexamine what we know and how we can make rational contributions. We ask: Is genetic variation really important for the persistence of species? Has any species become extinct because it ran out of genetic variation or because of inbreeding depression? Are demographic and environmental stochas ticity by far more important for the fate of a population or species than genetic stochasticity (genetic drift and inbreeding)? Is there more to genetics than being a tool for assessing reproductive units and migration rates? Does conventional wisdom on inbreeding and "magic numbers" or rules of thumb on critical effective population sizes (MVP estimators) reflect any useful guidelines in conservation biology? What messages or guidelines from genetics can we reliably provide to those that work with conservation in practice? Is empirical work on numerous threatened habitats and taxa gathering population genetic information that we can use to test these guidelines? These and other questions were raised in the invitation to a symposium on conservation genetics held in May 1993 in pleasant surroundings at an old manor house in southern Jutland, Denmark.