Molecular Markers Applied to Conservation Genetics of American Crocodilians

The subject of this chapter is addressed seeking to establish a balanced relationship of deepening, trying to be interesting for those who are looking for information on molecular markers, while not intending to be too long in the descriptions of the techniques and providing an indication of application in molecular ecology of crocodilians that are best treated in other chapters of the book. Whenever possible, we use examples of the results of our own research with crocodilians, while mixing them with illustrative images of the techniques with the intention of making the reading interesting both for the public that wants to study other groups of living beings and for other researchers like us falling in love with crocodilians. The application of molecular markers in molecular ecology is presented in the next chapters: a discussion of the progress in phylogenetic studies is done in Chap. 3; the application of molecular markers to study phylogeography is presented in Chap. 4; a more accurate review of the molecular markers used to conservation genetics studies is done in Chap. 5; in Chap. 6 parentage and mating systems of crocodilians are reviewed in the light of molecular markers; and in Chap. 7, examples of hybridization detected with those markers were depicted. A review of the development of molecular markers for later use in the studies of molecular ecology of crocodilians in America is presented in this chapter, from the first studies with isoenzymes to the most current techniques.