[Population as a conservation and management unit in vertebrate animals].

Under discussion are such population groups as management unit (stock) and evolutionarily significant unit, along with the problem of short-term ans long-term goals of conservation activities and wildlife management. The short-term goals may differ from the long-term goals. Management units (stocks) are demographically independent populations, though genetically they may be interconnected to a high degree. It is at this level of population organization that the short-term nature management goals are reached: the preservation of stable reproduction of management units, and the exclusion of excessive pressure on small groups. The evolutionarily significant units have independent conservation status determined by significant reproductive isolation and unique adaptations. It is at this level that long-term management goals are reached: the conservation of the native population structure, the evolutionarily significant differences, the maximum genetic diversity, and, thus, the evolutionary potential.