RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Is the genomics cart before the restoration ecology horse? Insights from qualitative interviews and trends from the literature
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.08.05.455206
DO 10.1101/2021.08.05.455206
A1 Jakki J. Mohr
A1 Peter A. Harrison
A1 Jessica Stanhope
A1 Martin F. Breed
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/08/06/2021.08.05.455206.abstract
AB Harnessing the power of new technologies is a vital component to achieving the global imperative to restore degraded ecosystems. We explored the potential of genomics as one such tool. We aimed to understand the barriers hindering the uptake of genomics, and how to overcome them, via exploratory interviews with leading scholars in both restoration and its sister discipline of conservation – a discipline that has successfully leveraged genomics. We also conducted a systematic mapping review to explore publication trends that have used genomics to address restoration and conservation questions. Our qualitative findings revealed multiple tensions in harnessing genomics. For example, scholars without genomics experience felt pushed to use genomics prematurely. In contrast, scholars with genomics experience emphatically emphasized the need to proceed cautiously. Both genomics-experienced and less-experienced scholars called for case studies to demonstrate the benefits of genomics in restoration. However, our qualitative data contrasted with our systematic mapping review findings, which revealed 70 restoration genomics studies in total, particularly studies using environmental DNA as a monitoring tool. We provide a roadmap to facilitate a more rapid uptake of genomics into restoration, which should help the restoration sector meet the monumental task of restoring huge areas to biodiverse and functional ecosystems.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.