Mate choice screening in captive solitary carnivores: The role of male behavior and cues on mate preference and paternity in females of a model species, American mink (Neovison vison)
Mate choice studies suggest that choosy females benefit from increased fecundity, litter size, and offspring survival. Thus, providing females with the opportunity to choose among potential mates, deemed genetically suitable based on studbook data, might improve breeding management in production and zoo animals and thereby the sustainability of captive populations. Investigating mate preference via odor […]
Opportunity for female mate choice improves reproductive outcomes in the conservation breeding program of the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii)
Captive breeding is fundamental to recovery programs for many endangered species. Most programs seek to maximise retention of genetic variation and minimise inbreeding risk by assigning individuals to pre-determined pairings, but the reproductive outcomes of such pairings are often poor. There is evidence that pairing individuals in captivity that are instead genetically and behaviourally compatible […]