0000000001331925
AUTHOR
Matthew Low
showing 4 related works from this author
Can sexual selection theory inform genetic management of captive populations? A review
2014
International audience; Captive breeding for conservation purposes presents a serious practical challenge because several conflicting genetic processes (i.e., inbreeding depression, random genetic drift and genetic adaptation to captivity) need to be managed in concert to maximize captive population persistence and reintroduction success probability. Because current genetic management is often only partly successful in achieving these goals, it has been suggested that management insights may be found in sexual selection theory (in particular, female mate choice). We review the theoretical and empirical literature and consider how female mate choice might influence captive breeding in the co…
Gene flow relates to evolutionary divergence among populations at the range margin
2020
Background Morphological differentiation between populations resulting from local adaptations to environmental conditions is likely to be more pronounced in populations with increasing genetic isolation. In a previous study a positive clinal variation in body size was observed in isolated Roesel’s bush-cricket, Metrioptera roeselii, populations, but were absent from populations within a continuous distribution at the same latitudinal range. This observational study inferred that there was a phenotypic effect of gene flow on climate-induced selection in this species. Methods To disentangle genetic versus environmental drivers of population differences in morphology, we measured the size of …
Improving scientific rigour in conservation evaluations and a plea deal for transparency on potential biases
2020
Abstract The delivery of rigorous and unbiased evidence on the effects of interventions lay at the heart of the scientific method. Here we examine scientific papers evaluating agri‐environment schemes, the principal instrument to mitigate farmland biodiversity declines worldwide. Despite previous warnings about rudimentary study designs in this field, we found that the majority of studies published between 2008 and 2017 still lack robust study designs to strictly evaluate intervention effects. Potential sources of bias that arise from the correlative nature are rarely mentioned, and results are still promoted by using a causal language. This lack of robust study designs likely results from …
Towards a sustainable insect food production system
2018
Insect production has been suggested as a food production system that could be more sustainable than many conventional livestock systems. Insects are a promising source of nutrients for humans containing high amounts of good quality protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. A sustainable insect industry could have large impacts on land use, ecology and conservation. However, much around insects as a food source are unknown and only a small number of species have been used as livestock. Plenty of new information and understanding is needed if we are to develop food production systems and mass rearing of insects. The promise and also challenge of this food system is to develop it in a sust…