Conservation Genetics of Sigmodontinae and Caviomorph Rodents: A Neotropical Perspective

The vast mammal diversity of the Neotropics is the result of a long evolutionary history. Among mammals, rodents comprise more than half of all Neotropical mammal species, and South America is home to about a quarter of the entire world’s rodent species. However, the economic growth of the region still depends strongly on natural resource exploitation and has high rates of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. In this context, conservation genetics offers means to help reducing current extinction rates and to preserve biodiversity. In this chapter, we discuss conservation genetics using examples from studies developed in the Neotropical region with rodents from the Sigmodontinae sub-family and rodents from the genus Ctenomys (Caviomorpha). Although some species are well studied and present a large amount of data based on different approaches, long-term genetic studies are needed to understand better the combined impacts of all ‘non-genetic’ and genetic threats faced by populations. Such studies are important because understanding these issues is still far from being accomplished for caviomorphs and sigmodontines in the Neotropical region. Moreover, conservation genetics is essential because it also addresses the conservation of processes like speciation and hybridization.