Genetic monitoring of populations currently attracts interest in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity but needs long-term planning and investments. However, genetic diversity has been largely neglected in biodiversity monitoring, and when addressed, it is treated separately, detached from other conservation issues, such as habitat alteration due to climate change. We report an accounting of efforts to monitor population genetic diversity in Europe (genetic monitoring effort, GME), the evaluation of which can help guide future capacity building and collaboration towards areas most in need of expanded monitoring. Overlaying GME with areas where the ranges of selected species of conservation interest approach current and future climate niche limits helps identify whether GME coincides with anticipated climate change effects on biodiversity. Our analysis suggests that country area, financial resources and conservation policy influence GME, high values of which only partially match species' joint patterns of limits to suitable climatic conditions. Populations at trailing climatic niche margins probably hold genetic diversity that is important for adaptation to changing climate. Our results illuminate the need in Europe for expanded investment in genetic monitoring across climate gradients occupied by focal species, a need arguably greatest in southeastern European countries. This need could be met in part by expanding the European Union's Birds and Habitats Directives to fully address the conservation and monitoring of genetic diversity.

Bavarian Office for Forest Genetics Teisendorf Germany

BC3 Basque Center for Climate Change Leioa Spain

BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics Biodiversity and Land Planning CIBIO Campus de Vairão Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal

Center for Tree Science Morton Arboretum Lisle IL USA

Centre for Research in Anthropology Lisbon Portugal

CIBIO InBIO Laboratório Associado and Departamento de Biologia Faculdade de Ciências do Porto Campus de Vairão Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal

Copenhagen Zoo Frederiksberg Denmark

Department of Animal Science University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia

Department of Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa

Department of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Sciences University of Novi Sad Novi Sad Serbia

Department of Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA

Department of Biology University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark

Department of Biology University of Iceland Reykjavik Iceland

Department of Ecology and Evolution Biophore University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland

Department of Environmental Systems Sciences D USYS ETH Zürich Zürich Switzerland

Department of Evolutionary Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Forest Ecology Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Department of Forest Genetics Physiology and Plantations Forest Research Institute Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia Bulgaria

Department of Forest Nature Conservation Forest Research Institute Baden Württemberg Freiburg Germany

Department of Genetics University of the Free State Bloemfontein South Africa

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden

Department of Plant Biology and Ecology Faculty of Sciences and Technology University of the Basque Country UPV EHU Leioa Spain

Department of Silviculture Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering Transilvania University of Brasov Brasov Romania

Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Sassari Sassari Italy

Department of Wildlife National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry 'Marin Dracea' Brasov Romania

Department of Zoology Division of Population Genetics Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden

Doñana Biological Station Seville Spain

EBM Estação Biológica de Mértola Mértola Portugal

Ecology Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation KU Leuven Leuven Belgium

Faculty of Agriculture Forest Science and Natural Environment Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Greece

Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland

Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture Nord University Bodø Norway

Faculty of Environmental Protection Velenje Slovenia

Faculty of Forestry Technical University in Zvolen Zvolen Slovak Republic

Faculty of Mathematics Natural Sciences and Information Technologies Department of Biodiversity University of Primorska Koper Slovenia

Faculty of Mathematics Natural Sciences and Information Technologies University of Primorska Koper Slovenia

Forest Ecology Unit Research and Innovation Centre Fondazione Edmund Mach San Michele all'Adige Italy

Genetic Resource Centre Latvian State Forest Research Institute 'Silava' Salaspils Latvia

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig Germany

IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science Bilbao Spain

Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology University of Sarajevo Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina

Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests Lisbon Portugal

Institute of Biology Geobotany and Botanical Garden Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg Halle Germany

Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics Geopolis University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland

Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences University of Tartu Tartu Estonia

Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences Kraków Poland

Institute of Silviculture Department of Forest and Soil Sciences University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic

Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research National Institute of Oceanography Haifa Israel

Natural History Museum Vienna Vienna Austria

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway

Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group Wageningen University Wageningen the Netherlands

Research Institute for Nature and Forest Geraardsbergen Belgium

School of Biosciences Cardiff University Cardiff UK

Science and Art Faculty Department of Biology Lab of Ornithology Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Burdur Turkey

Slovenian Forestry Institute Ljubljana Slovenia

Swedish Species Information Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland

UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science University College Dublin Dublin Ireland

Wildlife Ecology and Management University Freiburg Freiburg Germany

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Dealing With the Complexity of Effective Population Size in Conservation Practice