From Genomes to Conservation Policy - Plenary talk
At this month’s ERGA Plenary meeting, Stefan Prost will present a talk titled “From Genomes to Conservation Policy.”Focusing on endangered cheetahs in Asia and Africa, he will share concrete examples of how genetic information is used to inform conservation and policy decisions, and how to generate meaningful, policy-focused genetic data.
Abstract
The generation of genomes has become easier over the last years. This has resulted in the publication of a large number of genomes, including those for endangered species. However, a single genome has limited conservation value, but can be the start of conservation focused research. In this presentation I will outline how we go from the generation of a reference genome to conservation policy. My talk will focus on endangered cheetahs in Asia and Africa, and provide concrete examples what genetic information can be and is used for policy and conservation management decision and how to generate meaningful, policy focussed genetic data.
Speaker
Stefan Prost is a tenure track Assistant Professor at the Ecology and Genetics Research Unit at the University of Oulu, Finland. His research group focuses on conservation and environmental genomics, biodiversity monitoring (in situ and environmental DNA) and wildlife forensics, with a special focus on conservation applications. He is a member of the IUCN working group to reassess the felid taxonomy, an observer member for the University of the Arctic in the Arctic Council Biodiversity Working Group (CAFF) and a scientific advisor for the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). In his research he applies trans- and interdisciplinary research methods to enable evidence-based conservation and to democratize genetic biodiversity monitoring.
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