IUCN Red List protects avian genetic diversity

Low genetic diversity may be associated with an increase in species' extinction risk (Spielman et al. 2004, Frankham 2005). Still, global conservation assessments do not consider relevant genetic-based estimates for evaluating species threat status. Rather, they rely primarily on changes in population abundance and range size, with the inherent assumption that intra-specific genetic variability is tightly correlated with population size and...