Population Genomics in Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics

Dear Colleagues,

The research on "Population Genomics in Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics" is grounded in the urgent need to address the global biodiversity crisis, where species face numerous threats, including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, invasive species, and disease. Population genomics provides powerful tools for understanding genetic variation within and among populations, which is essential for assessing population size, structure, connectivity, and adaptive potential. These insights support effective conservation planning by identifying conservation units, managing inbreeding, detecting hybridization, and understanding the capacity of populations to adapt to environmental changes.

The Neotropics harbour one of the richest reservoirs of biodiversity on Earth, encompassing unparalleled levels of species diversity and endemism across ecosystems that play a critical role in global ecological stability and evolutionary processes.

Genomic tools also help detect cryptic population structures and adaptive divergence, which are crucial for designing conservation actions that improve species survival amid rapid environmental changes. As sequencing technologies become more accessible, integrating population genomics into conservation efforts is increasingly vital for sustaining biodiversity in the face of accelerating global change.

We are pleased to invite researchers to contribute to a Special Issue on "Population Genomics in Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics," which will explore the latest advances and applications of genomic tools in biodiversity conservation. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of how population genomics can be leveraged to understand genetic diversity, population structure, adaptive potential, and evolutionary processes that are essential for effective conservation management.

The aim of the Special Issue on "Population Genomics in Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics" is to provide a comprehensive overview of how genomic approaches can be used to understand and manage wildlife populations by assessing genetic diversity, population structure, adaptive capacity, and evolutionary processes. It seeks to highlight research that applies population genomics to address conservation challenges such as inbreeding, demographic history, and adaptation to environmental change, and to translate genomic insights into effective conservation and management strategies to help halt biodiversity loss and support species’ resilience in a changing world.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Rubens Pasa
Dr. Caroline Garcia
Dr. Karine Frehner Kavalco
Guest Editors

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• biodiversity
• genomics
• conservation
• bioinformatics
• population genomics