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Genetic Diversity and Environmental Future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Gabor Vida
Gabor Vida
Affiliation:
Professor and Head, Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum körut 4a, H—1088 Budapest, Hungary.
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Extract

Increasing evidence indicates that a major portion of the enormous amount of polymorphism present in natural populations is maintained by natural selection. This polymorphism is necessary for adaptation. In the absence of a suitable amount of genetic diversity, a species will tend to die out in a changing environment.

The genetic diversity of most species has been considerably reduced in historical times. Breeding for uniformity, and reduction in the number and size of wild populations, are largely responsible for this loss. Replacement of a natural forest ecosystem by modern agriculture reduces the genetic diversity by three orders of magnitude at the very least. A comparison of the estimated prehistoric and present amount of genetic diversity leads to the alarming conclusion that we may already have lost as much as 90% of the total genetic diversity of the biosphere. Further loss is expected because of the rapid growth of human population.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Summer 1978 , pp. 127 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1978

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