Patterns in the long-term viability of North American zoo populations
Recent concerns about the viability of zoo populations have motivated studies on the historic and current status of animal populations in North American and European zoos. However, these evaluations may not accurately reflect the populations’ long-term viability in the decades to come. Here, we assessed the projected future status of North American zoo populations by […]
Retrospective investigation of captive red wolf reproductive success in relation to age and inbreeding
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20224.abs The critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been subject to a strictly managed captive breeding program for three decades. A retrospective demographic analysis of the captive population was performed based on data from the red wolf studbook. Data analyses revealed a decrease in the effective population size relative to the total population […]
Extinction risk assessment for the species survival plan (SSP®) population of the Bali mynah (Leucopsar rothschildi)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20228.abs The Bali mynah Species Survival Plan (SSP®), an Association of Zoos and Aquariums program, strives to maintain the genetic and demographic health of its population, avoid unplanned changes in size, and minimize the risk of population extinction. The SSP population meets current demographic and genetic objectives with a population size of 209 birds […]
Single large or several small? Population fragmentation in the captive management of endangered species
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:63.3.CO;2-V Captive populations of endangered species are typically maintained effectively as single random-mating populations by translocating individuals between institutions. Genetic, disease, and cost considerations, however, suggest that this may not be the optimal management strategy. Genetic theory predicts that a pooled population derived from several small isolated populations will have greater genetic diversity, less […]
Minimizing kinship in captive breeding programs
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1997)16:53.3.CO;2-3 Captive populations of endangered species are managed to preserve genetic diversity and retain reproductive fitness. Minimizing kinship (MK) has been predicted to maximize the retention of gene diversity in pedigreed populations with unequal founder representation. MK was compared with maximum avoidance of inbreeding (MAI) and random choice of parents (RAND) using Drosophila melanogaster. […]
Assimilation of new founders into existing captive populations
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430130210.abs When new founders are added to an existing captive population, it is useful to establish a target number of offspring from each of these new founders that will maximize the amount of gene diversity retained in the captive population. This article presents a method for calculating an optimal number of offspring that should […]
Gene survival in the Asian wild horse (Equus przewalskii): II. Gene survival in the whole population, in subgroups, and through history
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430080402.abs In populations with a known pedigree, exact joint probability distributions of numbers of surviving of genes from each founder can now be calculated for moderately large complex pedigrees (1,000–2,000 individuals and much inbreeding). The usefulness of such calculations is shown by our analysis of gene survival in the Asian wild horse (Equus przewalskii), […]
Analysis of founder representation in pedigrees: Founder equivalents and founder genome equivalents
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430080203.abs The concepts of “founder equivalent” and “founder genome equivalent” are introduced to facilitate analysis of the founding stocks of captive or other populations for which pedigrees are available. The founder equivalents of a population are the number of equally contributing founders that would be expected to produce the same genetic diversity as in […]
Genetics driven interventions for ex situ conservation of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus murghi) populations in India
Genetics driven interventions (GDI) are imperative for ex situ conservation to exhort long-term sustenance of small and isolated populations in captivity as they are more prone to an increased extinction risk due to inbreeding and genetic drift. We investigated constitutive genetic attributes of four captive Red Junglefowl (RJF) populations in India, to facilitate the prioritization […]
Contrasting results from molecular and pedigree-based population diversity measures in captive zebra highlight challenges facing genetic management of zoo populations
Zoo conservation breeding programs manage the retention of population genetic diversity through analysis of pedigree records. The range of demographic and genetic indices determined through pedigree analysis programs allows the conservation of diversity to be monitored relative to the particular founder population for a species. Such approaches are based on a number of well-documented founder […]