Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate across the globe. As species face mounting pressures from habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, and overexploitation, wildlife populations worldwide are undergoing dramatic declines. Amidst this crisis, conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent. Initial conservation strategies tend to focus on mitigating these threats and reversing population declines. Yet, there is another, less visible risk: the erosion of genetic diversity.
Genetic diversity underpins a species’ ability to adapt, survive disease, and respond to changing environments. When populations collapse, harmful mutations can accumulate, functional genetic variation is lost, and the substrate for future adaptation is compromised. These changes — known as genomic erosion — are difficult to detect without advanced tools, yet they can have lasting effects on a species’ long-term viability, even after population numbers have rebounded.
Our project, ERODE, aims to uncover how genomic erosion unfolds over time and to develop the tools needed to monitor and manage it. We focus on endangered species with well-documented conservation histories and use historical and modern genomes to reconstruct how their genetic health has changed. This allows us to assess not only how much genetic diversity has been lost, but also what that means for the future survival of these species.
ERODE combines evolutionary biology, genomics, and conservation science to address a key question: How can we better detect and manage the hidden genetic risks that threaten endangered species, even when their numbers appear to recover?
To do this, we are:
Reconstructing the evolutionary history of genetic diversity loss in multiple endangered bird species using museum specimens and modern samples;
Developing simulation tools and models to predict how genomic erosion evolves and affects species survival;
Designing practical genomic tools to guide conservation management, especially in captive breeding and reintroduction programs;
Exploring how genomic data can be integrated into international conservation assessments, such as the IUCN Red List and Green Status framework.
By linking the past to the present and building tools to guide future conservation efforts, ERODE contributes to a growing movement to make genomics a standard part of conservation planning. In the long term, our work supports more effective species recovery strategies and helps safeguard biodiversity in a rapidly changing world.
