title: Maximizing the phylogenetic diversity of seed banks.
abstract: Ex situ conservation efforts such as those of zoos, botanical gardens, and seed banks will form a vital complement to in situ conservation actions over the coming decades. It is therefore necessary to pay the same attention to the biological diversity represented in ex situ conservation facilities as is often paid to protected-area networks. Building the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections will strengthen our capacity to respond to biodiversity loss. Since 2000, the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership has banked seed from 14% of the world's plant species. We assessed the taxonomic, geographic, and phylogenetic diversity of the Millennium Seed Bank collection of legumes (Leguminosae). We compared the collection with all known legume genera, their known geographic range (at country and regional levels), and a genus-level phylogeny of the legume family constructed for this study. Over half the phylogenetic diversity of legumes at the genus level was represented in the Millennium Seed Bank. However, pragmatic prioritization of species of economic importance and endangerment has led to the banking of a less-than-optimal phylogenetic diversity and prioritization of range-restricted species risks an underdispersed collection. The current state of the phylogenetic diversity of legumes in the Millennium Seed Bank could be substantially improved through the strategic banking of relatively few additional taxa. Our method draws on tools that are widely applied to in situ conservation planning, and it can be used to evaluate and improve the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections.
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom. kate.griffiths@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kate E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Sharon T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Balding
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dickie
authors.forename: Gwilym P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Tim R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grenyer
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*; D000068098:Seed Bank / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Banco de Semillas Millennium; Fabaceae; Leguminosae; Millennium Seed Bank; conservación ex-situ; conservation planning; diversidad filogenética; ex situ conservation; phylogenetic diversity; planeación de la conservación