To bundle scientific and practical knowledge, a research project in conservation biology should involve practitioners from the onset. In GeneMig, practitioners and researchers first identified important topics and species of conservation concern in the context of environmental change. From this, a project of practical relevance will now be developed.
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Communication and collaboration between scientists and practitioners should make scientific results more relevant for practitioners. Drawing: Andrea Vaupel (WSL) |
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Discussion between stakeholders and scientists during the workshop in October 2012 Photo: Xenia Junge (WSL) |
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Landscape genetics provides tools to test the functional relevance of connectivity measures such as wildlife passages. Photo: Manuela Di Giulio (WSL) |
Module G1 is one of five research modules of the CCES GeneMig project, which focuses on biological and social sciences. The different research fields are dealing with one unifying topic within GeneMig, namely the migration of species and their genes in a changing environment.
In October 2012, the team of module G1, in cooperation with the social science module S, carried out a workshop together with 18 conservation practitioners of different national, cantonal and private agencies. The goal of this workshop was to identify pressing topics in conservation and landscape management based on practical and scientific expertise. A preparatory list of themes, including respective potentials and constraints, was prepared. This information will serve as a guide to identify suitable, relevant questions and study species in the context of migration and gene flow in a structured landscape. In a landscape genetics approach, the research will combine molecular genetics and landscape ecology to answer scientific questions, the results of which are directly applicable in conservation management.
Further information
Detailed description of the whole GeneMig project
Protocol of the Stakeholder-Workshop
Detailed insights in landscape genetics methods and empirical examples