Effective population size (Ne) is one of the most important parameters in evolutionary biology, as it is linked to the long-term survival capability of species. Therefore, Ne greatly interests conservation geneticists, but it is also very relevant to policymakers, managers, and conservation practitioners. Molecular methods to estimate Ne rely on various assumptions, including no immigration, panmixia, random sampling, absence of spatial genetic structure, and/or mutation-drift equilibrium. Species are, however, often characterized by fragmented populations under changing environmental conditions and anthropogenic pressure. Therefore, the estimation methods' assumptions are seldom addressed and rarely met, possibly leading to biased and inaccurate Ne estimates. To address the challenges associated with estimating Ne for conservation purposes, the COST Action 18134, Genomic Biodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems (G-BiKE), organized an international workshop that met in August 2022 in Brașov, Romania. The overarching goal was to operationalize the current knowledge of Ne estimation methods for conservation practitioners and decision-makers. We set out to identify datasets to evaluate the sensitivity of Ne estimation methods to violations of underlying assumptions and to develop data analysis strategies that addressed pressing issues in biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Referring to a comprehensive body of scientific work on Ne, this meeting report is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to present approaches, workshop findings, and a collection of papers that serve as fruits of those efforts. We aimed to provide insights and opportunities to help bridge the gap between scientific research and conservation practice.

Applied Population Genetics and Conservation Genomics Department of Biology KU Leuven Leuven Belgium

BC3 Basque Center for Climate Change Leioa Spain

Behavioral Ecology Research Group Leipzig University Leipzig Germany

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

Department of Animal Science University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture Zagreb Croatia

Department of Biology Istiklal Yerleskesi Budur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Science and Art Faculty Burdur Türkiye

Department of Ecology and Evolution Estación Biológica de Doñana Seville Spain

Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland

Department of Forest Production and Products University of Ibadan Ibadan Nigeria

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 Brașov Brașov Romania

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

Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden

Dokuz Eylül University Buca Education Faculty Mathematics and Science Education Biology Education Izmir Türkiye

Faculty of Environmental Protection Velenje Slovenia

Gran Paradiso National Park Alpine Wildlife Research Center Noasca Italy

IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science Bilbao Spain

INRAE Univ Bordeaux BIOGECO Cestas France

Institute of Animal Sciences Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences Kaposvár Hungary

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia Bulgaria

Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research National Institute of Oceanography Haifa Israel

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Department of Human Behaviour Ecology and Culture Deutscher Platz 6 Leipzig Germany

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway

Research Institute for Nature and Forest Geraardsbergen Belgium

Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Vienna Austria

Royal Botanic Gardens Richmond UK

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh UK

School of Biosciences Cardiff University Cardiff UK

Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt Am Main Frankfurt Germany

Slovenian Forestry Institute Ljubljana Slovenia

Technical University in Zvolen Zvolen Slovakia

The Center for Tree Science The Morton Arboretum Lisle Illinois USA

The Committee on Evolutionary Biology The University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA

Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne France

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

WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute Birmensdorf Switzerland

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