Predicting the fate of metapopulations is aided by DNA fingerprinting of individuals.

In this article, the author comments on a paper about the use of assignment tests in quantifying the degree of connectivity between demes that comprise a metapopulation. The paper demonstrated the accuracy of assignment tests in providing parameterization of migration rates in population viability analysis (PVA) models. It also showed how genetic data can be used to measure individual abundances in each dataset. The author commends the paper for bridging the gap between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprint and PVA models.