Genetics, Ethics, and Systematics: A Workshop for Freshwater Chelonia Biologists, August 2005 at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

本研讨会将于2005年8月在哈佛大学比较动物学博物馆举行。研讨会将汇集使用遗传/基因组工具研究海龟和陆龟的国际研究人员。研讨会将集中讨论基础和应用研究界面临的几个关键挑战，并将把研究工作集中在遗传工具和传播信息所需的策略上，以便与这一麻烦的古老生物群体合作。淡水龟和陆龟对有效的保护和系统研究提出了一系列挑战，这些挑战可以与大多数脊椎动物分支相媲美或超越。它们在社会上的定位的一个结果是，海龟经常在宠物、食品和医药市场上出现，这使得地球上几乎每一个物种都可以用于许多研究问题。然而，海龟也带来了一系列独特的研究挑战，包括它们的受保护地位，缺乏遗传资源，以及它们的庞大体积。许多博物馆不能收藏许多物种的大型标本，许多政府不允许研究人员收集海龟并提供凭证。最后，世界各地的海龟数量正在减少，研究团体必须迅速就各种各样的问题达成共识，这些问题大致属于保护遗传学的范畴。本次研讨会的目标是将不同群体的利益相关者聚集在一起，制定策略，以优化社区在使用遗传工具进行这一重要的、困扰的生物群体的基础和应用研究方面的有效性。研究结果可以作为其他类似问题生物群体的模板，这些群体被非研究界广泛利用，许多问题需要遗传工具来解决。讲习班的主要优势之一是将聚集在一起的广泛的国际听众，以及将开发的工具。讲习班将包括来自几乎每个大洲的工人，以及新的研究生和经验丰富的学术和非学术专业人员。研讨会的成果将包括以下战略：1)作为濒危物种普遍模式的网络凭证；2)以合乎道德的方式处理来自宠物和野生动物交易的材料；3)开发有利于国际研究和保护界的遗传资源。

This workshop will be held in August 2005 at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. The workshop will bring together the international community of researchers using genetic/genomic tools to study turtles and tortoises. The workshop will focus on several key challenges that face both the basic and applied research community, and will serve to focus research efforts on the genetic tools and strategies for dissemination of information needed to work with this troubled, ancient group of organisms. Freshwater turtles and tortoises present a class of challenges to effective conservation and systematics research that rivals or surpasses those of most vertebrate clades. One of the results of their niche in society is that turtles are often available in the pet, food, and medicinal markets, rendering virtually every species on earth accessible for many research questions. However, turtles also pose a unique series of research challenges, including their protected status, lack of genetic resources, and their sheer bulk. Many museums cannot curate large specimens of many species, and many governments will not allow researchers to collect and voucher turtles. Finally, turtles are declining around the world, and it is imperative that the research community quickly reaches a consensus on a wide variety of issues that loosely fall under the heading of conservation genetics. The goal in this workshop is to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to develop strategies that will optimize the effectiveness of the community in using genetic tools for basic and applied research on this important, troubled group of organisms. Results may serve as a template for other, similarly problematic groups of organisms-those that are widely exploited by the non-research community, and for which many problems require genetic tools. One of the primary strengths of the workshop is the wide, international audience that will come together, and the tools that will be developed. The workshop will include workers from nearly every continent, as well as new graduate students and seasoned academic and non-academic professionals. The products of the workshop will include strategies for 1) web-based vouchering that will serve as a model for endangered species in general, 2) working with material from the pet and wild animal trades in an ethical manner, and 3) developing genetic resources that will benefit the international research and conservation communities.