Genomic Metrics Should Inform Formal Conservation Threat Assessments

Whole-genome resequencing data, associated metrics, and their trends over time can be used to inform extinction threat rankings rendered by conservation agencies around the world. Surveys of individual genome sequences can critically address risks to population sustainability by means of key metrics such as heterozygosity. Genomic metrics have yet-unrealized potential to help authorities determine how a given population or species of conservation concern should be formally categorized (e.g., 'listed' or 'delisted') with respect to discrete threat categories. To stimulate productive discourse, we provide a general heuristic framework for how genomic metrics could be used to refine conservation threat assessments (e.g., to help determine whether species should be listed or not).