Does recognized genetic management in supportive breeding prevent genetic changes in life‐history traits?

Evolutionary Applications

Rémi Chargé²  Gabriele Sorci³  Michel Saint Jalme²  Loïc Lesobre¹  Yves Hingrat¹  Frédéric Lacroix¹ 

[1] Reneco Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;Centre d'Ecologie et de Sciences de la Conservation UMR 7204 CNRS/MNHN/UPMC, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France;Biogéosciences, UMR CNRS 6282, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France

关键词: captive populations;    conservation genetics;    quantitative genetics;   

DOI  :  10.1111/eva.12150

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

Supportive breeding is one of the last resort conservation strategies to avoid species extinction. Management of captive populations is challenging because several harmful genetic processes need to be avoided. Several recommendations have been proposed to limit these deleterious effects, but empirical assessments of these strategies remain scarce. We investigated the outcome of a genetic management in a supportive breeding for the Houbara Bustard. At the phenotypic level, we found an increase over generations in the mean values of gamete production, body mass and courtship display rate. Using an animal model, we found that phenotypic changes reflected genetic changes as evidenced by an increase in breeding values for all traits. These changes resulted from selection acting on gamete production and to a lesser extent on courtship display. Selection decreased over years for female gametes, emphasizing the effort of managers to increase the contribution of poor breeders to offspring recruited in the captive breeding. Our results shed light on very fast genetic changes in an exemplary captive programme that follows worldwide used recommendations and emphasizes the need of more empirical evidence of the effects of genetic guidelines on the prevention of genetic changes in supportive breeding.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 The Authors. Evolutionary Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.