Applications
These techniques have wide ranging applications. One application of these specific molecular techniques is in defining species and sub-species of salmonids. Hybridization is an especially important issue in salmonids and this has wide ranging conservation, political, social and economic implications. In Cutthroat Trout mtDNA and alloenzyme analysis, hybridization between native and non-native species was shown to be one of the major factors contributing to the decline in their populations. This led to efforts to remove some hybridized populations so native populations could breed more readily. Cases like these impact everything from the economy of local fishermen to larger companies, such as timber. Specific molecular techniques led to a closer analysis of taxonomic relationships, which is one factor that can lead to extinctions if unclear.
Read more about this topic: Conservation Genetics