Linking genomics and fish conservation decision making: a review

Despite the promising applications of genome-wide information to conservation, the field of conservation genomics remains hindered by a research-practice gap. Identifying the benefits from genomics in relation to fish conservation planning and decision-making could contribute to bridging this gap. The goals of our study were twofold. First, we reviewed the fish conservation genomic literature to determine how genomic information has been used to inform conservation decision making; and second, we examined how genomic information can be linked to an existing conservation decision framework. Our review showed that, as fish conservation genomics studies accumulate over time, collaborations between researchers and conservation practitioners are becoming increasingly frequent. While the field is dominated by studies of economically important families (e.g. salmonids, acipenserids) in first-world countries (North America, Europe), it has a broad taxonomic coverage where species of both local and global conservation concern are well represented. We also show that genomic information can readily be harnessed to guide decisions within existing conservation decision frameworks, from the conceptualization (identification of conservation targets and threats) to the implementation and the monitoring of conservation actions. In addition, our review identifies some limitations related to genomic inferences for conservation and proposes solutions to address these uncertainties and improve communication between conservation genomic scientists and practitioners. For genomic researchers, we outline how conservation decisions are made; for practitioners, we illustrate how genomic information can inform decision-making.