Intraspecific variation is the collective genotypic and phenotypic variability among individuals and populations of a species. Its documentation across taxa is considered essential for understanding ecological-evolutionary processes and biodiversity consequences in Anthropocene environments. The systematic assessment of intraspecific variation is, however, a complex task. Here, we present a conceptual approach for holistic surveying of intraspecific variation. We illustrate its feasibility through application in chimpanzees, a taxon with high anthropological significance for understanding hominid diversification and conservation importance as flagship and umbrella species. By establishing a large-scale, highly collaborative and well-structured network of research sites, standardized genomic, microbiome, mycobiome, physiological, dietary, demographic, behavioral and ecological data could be collected across many populations. Studies unprecedented in scale, complexity, and disciplinary integration allow addressing long-standing questions and complex topics which previously could not be studied with existing approaches restricted in extent and scale. Adopting similar approaches for other taxa exhibiting high intraspecific variation, including other primates, corvids, parrots or cetaceans will advance holistic species understanding. Such work will reveal generalizable patterns and improve understanding of contexts shaping ecological-evolutionary processes underlying the emergence of intraspecific variation, facilitating inclusion of intraspecific variation into conservation strategies and revealing consequences of losing intraspecific variation in Anthropocene environments.

Anthropogenically induced habitat modification and climate change are fundamental drivers of biodiversity declines, reducing the evolutionary potential of species populations, particularly at the limits of their distribution ranges. Supportive breeding or reintroductions of individuals are often made to replenish declining populations, sometimes informed by genetic analysis. However, most approaches utilised (i.e. single locus markers) do not have the resolution to account for local adaptation to environmental conditions, a crucial aspect to consider when selecting donor and recipient populations. Here, we incorporate genetic (microsatellite) and genome-wide SNP (ddRAD-seq) markers, accounting for both neutral and adaptive genetic diversity, to inform the conservation management of the threatened common midwife toad, Alytes obstetricans at the northern and eastern edges of its range in Europe. We find geographically structured populations (n=4), weak genetic differentiation and fairly consistent levels of genetic diversity (observed heterozygosity and allelic richness). Categorising individuals based on putatively adaptive regions of the genome showed that the majority of populations are not strongly locally-adapted. However, several populations demonstrate high numbers of private alleles in tandem with local adaptation to warmer conditions and rough topography. Combining genetic diversity and local adaptations with estimates of migration rates, we develop a decision-making framework for selecting donor and recipient populations which maximises the geographic dispersal of neutral and adaptive genetic diversity. Our framework is generally applicable to any species, but especially amphibians, so armed with this information, conservationists may avoid the reintroduction of unsuitable/maladapted individuals to new environments and increase the evolutionary potential of populations within species.