Species conservation and natural variation among populations [Chapter 5]

Leonard F. Ruggiero; Michael K. Schwartz; Keith B. Aubry; Charles J. Krebs; Amanda Stanley; Steven W. Buskirk

Treesearch

Species conservation and natural variation among populations [Chapter 5]

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Leonard F. Ruggiero, Michael K. Schwartz, Keith B. Aubry, Charles J. Krebs, Amanda Stanley, Steven W. Buskirk

Year:

1999

Type:

General Technical Report

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

In: Ruggiero, Leonard F.; Aubry, Keith B.; Buskirk, Steven W.; Koehler, Gary M.; Krebs, Charles J.; McKelvey, Kevin S.; Squires, John R. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-30WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 101-116.

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Abstract

In conservation planning, the importance of natural variation is often given inadequate consideration. However, ignoring the implications of variation within species may result in conservation strategies that jeopardize, rather than conserve, target species (see Grieg 1979; Turcek 1951; Storfer 1999). Natural variation in the traits of individuals and populations is the product of the genetic composition of the individual and the environment to which the individual is exposed. Inherited traits are those that are largely genetically determined, whereas non-inherited traits result primarily from environmental influences and are not under direct genetic control. Inherited and non-inherited traits are an oversimplification of a complex phenomenon and represent two ends of a gradient of variation.

Parent Publication

Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States

Keywords

lynx, snowshoe hares, ecology, habitat, northern lynx, southern lynx, lynx management

Citation

Ruggiero, Leonard F.; Schwartz, Michael K.; Aubry, Keith B.; Krebs, Charles J.; Stanley, Amanda; Buskirk, Steven W. 1999. Species conservation and natural variation among populations [Chapter 5]. In: Ruggiero, Leonard F.; Aubry, Keith B.; Buskirk, Steven W.; Koehler, Gary M.; Krebs, Charles J.; McKelvey, Kevin S.; Squires, John R. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-30WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 101-116.