Oral Paper

         Conservation Biology

Conservation of Nigerian Trees

Presenting Author
Temitope Onuminya
Description
Biodiversity loss as a major cause of climate change is one of the greatest threats to sustainability of the environment. This is a growing issue in Nigeria as indigenes depend on resources obtained from the diverse fauna and flora in their environment. The reliance on biodiversity resources have led to its over-exploitation, endangerment and often extinction. Hence, the growing calls for strategies on how to conserve Nigerian trees. Our project aimed to use the ex-situ conservation strategies of DNA banking and barcoding to conserve endangered tree species in Nigeria. Twelve locations comprising 2 locations each from North East, North Central, South-South and 6 locations in South Western Nigeria respectively were visited for sample collection. The plant samples were randomly harvested from statutory forests, non-statutory forests, parks, roadsides, sacred grooves and farmlands. Samples of the plants were collected and processed for further treatment in the herbarium. Non-formal periodic interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were conducted on the inhabitants and the Park rangers for information about the plant uses and the problems of conservation that are prevalent in the areas. Samples were assessed using the IUCN criteria for category designation and those with high threat status were subjected to DNA Banking and Barcoding using standard procedures. A total of 274 tree samples were collected based on already established IUCN status and recommendations from local forest officials and rangers on the conservation status of species within the regions. Of these, 90 trees were designated as either endangered or vulnerable based on the IUCN criteria for category designation after assessment and these were selected for conservation. The species have a wide range of uses upon which the life of man is closely dependent. The species checklist, specific uses and use categories are presented. It was observed that the categories of the uses of the various plants (food, commercial and medicine) are closely related to their IUCN categorization. Genomic DNA extraction yielded high quality DNA materials which were deposited at the University of Lagos, DNA Bank. Also, amplification and sequencing of the genomic materials yielded DNA Barcodes from 3 gene regions (maturase K, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit and Internal Transcribed Spacer) which have been deposited in the gene bank for further studies. This project was funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund, NRF grant (Ref: TETFund/DR&D/CE/NRF/STI/11/VOL 1) Nigeria.